AU N EGL

"The Le Mans Test Day preview will be broken down into two articles: one for LMP1/LMP2 and the other for GT1/GT2. We will start off with the Grand Touring machines first.

Twelve GT1 cars in total have been selected to compete in this year’s 24 Hours".

4 - Prodrive Aston Martin DBR9’
2 - additional DBR9s will be present, one by Rob Schirle’s Cirtek squad and the other example from the works-supported effort of BMS Scuderia Italia.



2 - Factory Pratt & Miller Corvettes

1- C5-R corvette


ACEMCO Motorsports makes their second Le Mans appearance, the first with their Saleen S7R.


Three Ferrari 550 Maranellos will grace the grid once again at La Sarthe. In what will most likely be their last year for the Prodrive-built machines, a strong challenge will be mounted by at least two of the entries. Cirtek Motorsport will in fact enter two GT1 cars, the second one being a prancing horse.



Finally, we come to the twelfth and final entrant in GT1, that being the JLOC Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT of Marco Apicella, Yasutaka Hinoi and Koji Yamanishi. The Murcielago makes its Le Mans debut in which could prove to be a tough race for the V12 supercar. However, with Reiter support and a solid driver lineup, the Lambo could surprise many. "

Source:
http://www.the-paddock.net/component...,244/Itemid,1/

Lancer033

which C5-R chassis is that or who is running it? It's cool to see them back. Maybe we'll have our 1st 1-2-3 Corvette finish




....but if I was a betting man, I'd say the win is the C6.Rs to lose with the Astons in 2nd and 3rd beign a toss-up between corvette racing and aston martin

95jersey

The DBR9's are going to be very tuff to beat. They will have faster strait line speed which is critical at Le Mans. I would imagine if the DBR9's can manage fuel and pit stops and not break down, they could definately beat the Corvette's.

AU N EGL

" it will be three as an older C5-R example will be entered by French hero Luc Alphand. The French downhill skiing champion has a diverse motorsports background and is no stranger to Le Mans, after competing in the past years with Porsches and a Ferrari. Alphand himself has been concentrating on Rally-Raid for the 2006 season, after claiming victory in the prestigious Dakar Rally in January. However, the talented Frenchman will be behind the wheel of the car at Le Mans, sharing with Jerome Policand and Patrice Goueslard. While the chassis may be a few generations old, the reliability of the C5-R could help the team claim a deserving result.

yellow01

I want the vettes to win, but damn is that AM gorgeous! IMHO.

micro

Terry Borcheller had two polls last year with Acemco Motorsports (Mosport and Laguna Seca) and finished on the same lap as the factory C6-Rs at Mosport last September which ran caution-free. Acemco is one of the top three Saleen S7R teams in the world (Oreca and Zakspeed won last month).

Corvette Racing will have the best pitstops this year. When was the last time the crew made a costly mistake?

The C6-R won't weigh 176 pounds more than the Astons at Le Mans, right?

rasrboy

I can't wait to see the action. I am flying out to Paris June 13th. I work for Kumho Tire and we sponsor a LMP2 car and I will be right in the pits doing tire temps and such. I will be sure to stop by the Corvette garage when I have a break to get some pictures and hopefully some autographs. Will Post here when I return.

Aaron Quine
Kumho Tire (Motorsports Division)

micro

395,000,000 TV viewers in 110 countries watched the 73rd 24 Hours of Le Mans.

http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans..._canal_gb.html

The factory Aston Martin Racing team will run with Michelin tires at Le Mans. They had Pirelli tires when running the past three ALMS races and will use Pirelli tires if they run the rest of the ALMS season.

Aston Martin Racing driver line-up, tires, 25 more kilos, etc

Oliver Gavin's thoughts on Le Mans

http://www.olivergavin.com/news.cfm/.../flag/2/id/263

95jersey

Just read the the AM's aren't allowed to run their high downforce bumper, have gotten a smaller air restictor, and had 25kg additional weight. I think this is for them breaking the time limit last year. I would like to hear if the C6R's get the same penalties as ALMS.

AU N EGL

Test days and Screutineering ( sp?) starts tomorrow

ghoffman

I love the paint on the C5-R with the Valeo sponsorship.

daveydc5

The AMs are awesome machines, but is it just me or do they look like a catfish from the front.

Good luck to the Corvettes!!!

Rob Willis

Can't wait. I'm a huge ALMS/LeMans fan.

Test day is this coming Sunday, June 4th 2006.

TEST DAY “24 HEURES DU MANS”
Friday 2nd June 9.00 am to 5.00 pm: Administrative checking and scrutineering
Saturday 3rd June 9.00 am to 3.00 pm: Administrative checking and scrutineering
Sunday 4th June 9.00 am to 1.00 pm / 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm: Test day "24 Heures du Mans"

That would translate into roughly 3am EST STD time on Sunday morning here if I'm correct.

You should be able to listen to a lot of the action via Radio Le Mans (RLM) and Globecast 0157 live come test day. Visit their site at http://www.radiolemans.com/

Nobody is sure whether the official ACO/LeMans site will have timing/scoring up, but if they do, you should be able find it at: http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans...ccueil_gb.html under the chronos heading at the top.

The first pictures from Test Days scrutineering are coming in:
http://www.endurance-info.com/articl...d=2147&thold=0
http://www.endurance-info.com/articl...d=2145&thold=0

Looks like SPEED (tv) will have roughly ~20hrs of coverage total. Stock up on VHS tapes or clear some space on the TIVO. Here is the breakdown:

Saturday, June 17th (All Times Eastern)
9:30a-10:00a - Le Mans Test Day Coverage (0.5 Hours)
10:00a-10:30a - Le Mans Pre-Qualifying Coverage (0.5 Hours)
10:30a-3:00p - Le Mans 24 Hours: THE START (4.5 Hours)
8:00p-12:00a - Le Mans 24 Hours: NIGHT INTO DAY (4 Hours)

Sunday, June 18th (All Times Eastern)
12:00a-6:00a - Le Mans 24 Hours: DAY RACING (6 Hours)
6:00a-11:30a - Le Mans 24 Hours: THE FINISH (5.5 Hours)

Love the C6Rs, but like "yellow01" stated, darn those Astons are beautiful. I wouldn't care whether the factory GM C6Rs or the ProDrive (#007/#009) take the win at La Sarthe!!

Acemco Saleen S7R has a nice new subtle livery paintjob also. Hopefully their gremlins won't get them and they will have a respectable run.

AU N EGL

Good Job Rob. Great info


Yup even with those Catfish mouths

micro

It is a nod to the AM race cars of the 1950s.

DB3S

johninar

I am so jealous, I hope you get some great pics. I'm in London and fly to Paris today. I didn't realize when I scheduled this trip how close the LeMans dates were. I'm back to London on the 15th. I could have extended my trip and been there. Now it's too late to change (what an idiot I am).

rasrboy

That stinks! Could have met up for a and chatted. I promise to get pictures and post here.

Aaron Quine

johninar

I'm flying my wife to Paris on the 9th and I called her today to pack my Corvette ALMS Compuware crew shirt. I saw a couple of Ferrari shirts when I was visiting the Eiffel Tower today. I want to show our colors. I also got my 2002 LeMans Champs hat as well! I want to make sure they know we're here.

Rob Willis

Top Three in Class From Test Day

LMP1
1 - #17 - Pescarolo Sport - Pescarolo - 3:30.195
2 - #7 - Audi Sport Team Joest - Audi R10 - 3:32.090
1 - #16 - Pescarolo Sport - Pescarolo - 3:32.205

LMP2
1 - #25 - RML - MG Lola EX264 - 3:41.873
2 - #22 - Rollcentre Racing – Radical SR9 – 3:43.373
3 - #33 - Intersport Racing - Lola B05/40 - 3:43.408

LMGT1
1 - #007 - Aston Martin Racing - Aston Martin DBR9 - 3:51.408
2 - #009 - Aston Martin Racing - Aston Martin DBR9 - 3:52.664
3 - #64 - Corvette Racing - Chevrolet Corvette C6-R - 3:53.029

LMGT2
1 - #87 - Scuderia Ecosse - Ferrari 430GT - 4:04.252
2 - #76 - IMSA Performance Matmut - Porsche 996 GT3 RSR - 4:04.914
2 - #80 - Flying Lizard Motorsports - Porsche 996 GT3 RSR - 4:05.600

Full final results from test day:
http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans...hronos_gb.html

rcolling

Pretty much the same prerace results as last year for LMP1 and GT1.

The AMs are just a lot faster on the top end than the Corvettes but somewhere during the race a driver error, a pit error, a mechanical error will screw them up.

Even if the Saleen is fast I can't believe that they can come to LeMans without racing this year and be competitive for long.