2011 Le Mans 24: Dress Rehearsal Sets The Scene For Le Mans Epic

2011 Le Mans 24: Dress Rehearsal Sets The Scene For Le Mans Epic Posted by: MSulka on Jun 05, 2011 - 11:05 AM

The return of the once traditional test day at Le Mans whetted the appetite of most of the teams that will take part in this year's 79th running of the great race. In pleasant spring conditions, the eight hour test session was a valuable chance for Rebellion Racing, Pecom Racing and Level 5 Motorsport to get their new packages ready for June when they take to the track with 51 other entrants to qualify for the big race. Showcasing a brand new look to their brace of Lola-Toyota LMP1 entries, Rebellion spent the test finding set ups for the newly developed front bodywork which utilises the larger 14 inch front wheels. Neel Jani set the 9th fastest time of the day on the final lap of the test and commented, "Many new features have been tested today, we started to find some satisfactory set ups for the race week.

Team boss Bart Hayden summed up the test by saying: "The improvements on the car are all pointing in the right direction and should help us improve our performance at the 24 Hours race. We already have a good understanding of the new configuration of the Lola-Toyota and where to work for the further development of our cars. We leave Le Mans with a lot of data and information. Pecom Racing had a fruitful test at Le Mans, completing many laps in their Judd powered Lola B11/40 LMP2 car. With Luis Perez Companc unable to attend the test it was up to Pierre Kaffer and Matias Russo to undertake driving duties and the duo lapped consistently to register the 4th fastest LMP2 time of the test.

Maximising their track time at the test day was the Level 5 Motorsport team, who brought two Lola B11/80 LMP2 to La Sarthe. The intention for the team was to ensure maximum seat time for their three registered drivers; Scott Tucker, Joao Barbosa and Christophe Bouchut.

This the team achieved and they left the test happy with almost 1000 miles logged by the HPD powered Lola designed and constructed LMP cars. "We got a lot accomplished today," said Tucker. "It was our plan all along for me to spend the majority of the day in the No. 33 car, so we stuck to it. And right when the bell rang at 9 a.m, we were rolling. We’re very fortunate as today was a good day for us."

Also in action at Le Mans was the Kronos Racing Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 LMP1. The team completed their designated laps with Vanina Ickx and Maxime Martin on driving duties. The team reciced notification of their entry in mid May after the Highcroft Racing withdrew their Acura HPD LMP1.