94 replies to this topic

[JHS]

lewisthegreat2, on 08 June 2011 - 07:18 PM, said:

I mentioned in the U.S. racing thread that big news was coming tomorrow in terms of sports cars.

The only clue out there is that it may be at the ACO presser tomorrow, and it may be the DeltaWing (former IndyCar concept...now with a closed roof, revised bodywork, and headlights) going Le Mans racing in the near future...

That's an interesting story, thanks Eric, will look forward to hearing about it if it happens.

Qualifying just starting now. www.radiolemans.com seems to be working fine now (touch wood) so tune in! Expect some action, as rain is predicted for tomorrow, so it is likely most teams will be setting competitive times tonight.

[JHS]

Oh, and live video streaming thanks to Justin.tv right here. Enjoy!

[JHS]

Oh, and the RLM commentary is slightly ahead of that video stream, so keep that in mind if you're watching the video with RLM commentary as I am.

Edited by JHS, 08 June 2011 - 08:07 PM.

[JHS]

Greaves Motorsport Zytek in the pits with damage. That's the quickest car in LMP2 at the moment.

[JHS]

Aston problem was a headlight issue - oh dear!

Audi #2, #1, #3 in that order at the top of the table so far.

[JHS]

Bad news for you Eric, the #68 Ford in trouble with engine issues. They'll replace the engine tomorrow morning, so it won't be out on track tonight.

[JHS]

Dumas off in the Audi....

Red flag.

Edited by JHS, 08 June 2011 - 08:53 PM.

[JHS]

GT Am Aston was broadside in the middle of the track, Dumas didn't see it and clattered in to it. Scary incident.

[JHS]

Sarrazin takes the #8 peugeot to provisional pole. Will Audi respond? Obviously the #1 won't be...

[JHS]

Huge problems for Strakka. Nick Leventis has crashed the car heavily with only a few seconds of quali to go.

[JHS]

So that was the first part of qualifying, the #8 Peugeot leading the three Audis. It'll be interesting to see what happens tomorrow.

Despite a heavy crash at the end of the session, Strakka lead P2, but it'll be interesting to see if they can get the car fixed. It looked very badly damaged. The Signatech Nissan and Oreca are second and third in class.

In GT Pro, BMW holds the advantage over Ferrari so far, just. The #56 car has a half second advantage over the #51 Af Corse car with the #55 BMW third.

In GT Am, the the #70 Labre Porsche heads the #81 Flying Lizard Motorsport machine, with the Aston that was damaged earlier in the session third. The driver was fine and the team believe they'll be able to get it fixed.

[JHS]

The first incident between the Audi and Aston already found its way on the 'tube.



And here's a picture of the Strakka car.

Full run down of the times and a report of the session from AUTOSPORT.

Edited by JHS, 08 June 2011 - 10:30 PM.

[JHS]

Deltawing will race at Le Mans '12

Can't say I'm a fan of the looks, never have been, but it's great to see a new project be announced.

[JHS]

Second session of qualifying on at the moment, same video stream as yesterday. New fastest time for the #1 Audi to put it on pole, that was the car that missed most the session yesterday.

[JHS]

Andy Priaulx crashes the #56 BMW big time. #7 Peugeot leads #8 Peugeot, #2 Audi, #3 Audi and #1 Audi. #9 Peugeot next.

Edited by JHS, 09 June 2011 - 06:54 PM.

[JHS]

Epic end to the session! Fassler and Sarrazin battling hard, Sarrazin was on a better lap on his last lap, but lost time in the last sector. #2 Audi on pole by 0.195 of a second, #8 Peugeot second, #7 Peugeot third, #3 Audi fourth, #1 Audi fifth with the #9 Peugeot slowest of the group down in sixth.

Signatech Nissan on pole for P2 so far, followed by the Oreca, Pecom and Strakka racing car next up.

Bruni manages to snatch pole for AF Corse in the dying moments of the session in GT Pro for AF Corse, with the #55 BMW second and another 458, the #89 machine third.

GT Am pole also goes to AF Corse with the #61, followed by two Porsches, the #63 and #81.

Just under 50 minutes to the final part of qualifying. Will we see a late dash for the cash or teams focusing on race set-up? Either way, don't miss it!

Edited by JHS, 09 June 2011 - 07:14 PM.

[JHS]

Last session of qualifying starting now. No video stream currently as Eurosport are showing some footbore instead.

[JHS]

Ah, here we go.

Enjoy the action.

[JHS]

Its started. Dumas improves and goes fastest.

Edited by JHS, 09 June 2011 - 08:16 PM.

[JHS]

Improvements in GT Pro, BMW #55 on pole.

Red flag. Luxury Racing car off. #58

[JHS]

Session about to go back green, oil was down at Arnage.

[JHS]

Benoit Treluyer takes the #2 Audi to the top.

[JHS]

Pagenaud improves to third for Peugeot with 12 minutes to go. Kristensen about to go on a run. Things building up nicely.

[JHS]

Kristensen bins it! Pagenaud can't step up to the mark, so it looks like the #2 Audi has pole!

[JHS]

So here's how they line up for the race. Audi 1-2, Peugeot 3-4, Audi, Peugeot.

Signatech hold on to pole in LMP2. Strakka managed to move up to second after their crash yesterday, with the Oreca third.

BMW deny AF Corse by just 0.448 of a second , the #55 BMW on pole, with the damaged #56 that didn't set a lap time tonight holding on to third.

AF Corse did however, manage to secure the GT Am pole in the 430, with a sizeable 2.250 gap over the second placed car, the #63 Felbermayr car.

[JHS]

Mad Friday tomorrow, but as ever, no track action. It's a time for mechanics to get any broken cars fixed, any set-ups tweaked and to get some rest. For the drivers, it's a day to relax and enjoy meeting the fans.

Things recommence Saturday morning for warm-up of the greatest race, before it all starts at 3pm. Don't miss it (yes Eric, I'm looking in your direction).

Full quali report from AUTOSPORT.

Edited by JHS, 09 June 2011 - 10:36 PM.

[Rainmaster]

Have no idea about endurance racing but I'll probably be dipping in and out of the coverage of this one. Bit of a rubbish weekend for those who watch lots of series though, scheduling wise, what with F1, MotoGP, Le Mans, WSB...

[mikathegreat2]

Top six separated by less than a second!! Race start should be very exciting, bring on Saturday!!! GTE Pro battle should be good, BMW on pole but Ferrari & Corvette are on the money too, Porsche not so! Fantastic livery on the Flying Lizard's but the car is past its sell-by date at this point, even though it's a 2011-spec 997 in Pro, very little changes were made from 2010! They need to make a new 911 project in order to be back up there!

[JHS]

Here, let Allan McNish explain:



I've sort of gone off MotoGP a little bit. The races aren't really that exciting at the moment, the championship isn't close and there's hardly any bikes on the grid. I'll watch Le Mans, thanks.

[JHS]

The latest news from today is that Oreca is now involved with Nissan, building a new LMP1 for next year, whilst Toyota and Hyundai are also interested in coming to Le Mans. Great news if true!

Edited by JHS, 10 June 2011 - 10:36 PM.