The ACO's annual press conference featured a number of significant announcements, including the 56th entrant for 2012. (Photo: Brecht Decancq)
GreenGT’s LMP H2 car, a hydrogen-powered prototype, as well as Yves Courage’s all-electric prototype sit as the second and third reserves, respectively. ACO Sporting Director Vincent Beaumesnil confirmed they will only accept a serious program and will carefully monitor each team’s progress in the run up to next year’s 24-hour classic.
“I think it would be good to see the car at other races before Le Mans so we can evaluate,” Beaumesnil said. “We don’t want to select one car and then have it only do one lap and then finish. We would lose one entry at Le Mans where we could have had a different team instead. If we do it, we want the car to run seriously the entire race.”
The good news for Highcroft’s program is that there is ambitions of running the DeltaWing in select American Le Mans Series races next year, unclassified, much as the Porsche 911 GT3-R Hybrid did at last year’s Petit Le Mans.
LEVEL 5’s COLOSSAL EFFORT —Twenty-four hour races undoubtedly stretches man and machine to the limits. But the statistics behind Level 5 Motorsports’ effort in this year’s race might help realize the size and magnitude that is required to win the twice-around-the-clock classic.
The numbers are just staggering: over 35 crew members; three drivers; 25 guests; 30 hotel rooms; one chateau; two motor homes; one transporter along with a support truck and van; 730 meals for crew members; 50 flats of water; 60 pounds of bananas; 60 pounds of misc. fruit; 12 pounds of coffee beans; ten cases of Gatorade and 15 cases of Red Bull.
And in case you were wondering about the car, Level 5 estimates that its LMP2-class Lola B11/80 Honda will cover just over 3,000 miles, make 30 pit stops, including 13 driver changes, go through 10-15 sets of Michelin tires and consume around 570 gallons of fuel over the course of the race. Additionally, over 75 percent of a typical lap around the 8.5-mile circuit is under full-throttle.
Try and wrap your head around all those numbers and it might take 24 hours to figure it all out!
LE MANS TEST DAY RETURNING? — While many thought that this year’s Le Mans Test Day was a one-off, it appears there’s a strong chance of it returning again in 2012, according to Vincent Beaumesnil. The ACO Sporting Director said that it would have to first be approved through the new FIA Endurance Commission, which has been tasked to finalize the rules and calendar for 2012.
“We are working with the FIA on the calendar,” Beaumesnil said. “For sure, I think the Test Day is a good thing but it depends on the calendar. I will be asking the question during the constructors meeting next week to see if they would consider the costs acceptable.”
If the Test Day returns, Beaumesnil said it would likely only be mandatory for new cars, teams or drivers, much like this year. It’s unknown what kind of effect this could have on the ALMS, which was planning on expanding its 2012 schedule in the April-May time frame.
VANESSA’S 24 HOURS — Some of the hardest-working people in the sportscar racing world are often hidden behind the scenes. One of those unsung heroes of this weekend is Vanessa Weikart, who owns and operates one of the major hospitality services for teams in the paddock.
Entering her 21st year at Le Mans, Weikart is a regular on the American Le Mans Series beat and serves nearly all of the U.S.-based teams this weekend, including Level 5 Motorsports, Krohn Racing, Flying Lizard Motorsports, Robertson Racing and the Risi Competizione-crewed Luxury Racing outfit.
“We have our clients all year long in the States and where are they going to go when they come over here?” Weikart said. “We’ve been told that we’re a big relief on many occasions to not have to worry about that part of it. We try and give them similar food items they’re accustomed to. That takes one big worry away.”
Weikart and her crew of two-dozen employees serve well over 100 people each day. Every morning, Vanessa heads to the local Metro, the equivalent of a Sam’s Club in America, to fill up a 425 cubic-foot truck with food for the day. While it no doubt makes for long days, the toughest is obviously yet to come.
“The advantage of having something like what we do is that we have non-stop food service during the 24 hours,” she said. “So we’re starting at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning with food and then from there we’ll always be full until Sunday at 9 p.m.”
As I found out this week, Vanessa provides much more than just meals. She also offers driver cabins, golf cart and scooter rentals, negotiates local house accommodations and even gives teams restaurant recommendations. Her knowledge base is nearly unrivaled in the paddock, and surely has some of the most interesting stories to tell, off the track.
STRAKKA RACING TO RETURN — Despite suffering a monstrous 120 mph+ accident in the closing moments of Wednesday’s qualifying session, Strakka Racing’s HPD ARX-01d is expected to return to action this evening for the final two sessions. The British squad worked through the night to rebuild the LMP2 class contender, which currently holds the class pole.
KROHN’S CIRCULAR HERO CARDS — Krohn Racing has thought outside of the box this week with the creation of circular-shaped autograph cards. With tomorrow’s parade attracting thousands of fans, drivers often have a hard time handing out their cars while sitting atop the classic cars that take them through downtown Le Mans.
“I saw too many cases where we’d throw those little rectangles out there and hit somebody, not meaning to of course,” Tracy Krohn said. “So we decided to do it differently. [A Frisbee] was our first thought but we decided that we just didn’t have enough room.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at askdagys@gmail.com
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