Shuffling the deck at Le Mans

Porsche were leading the timesheets going into the second qualifying session

We got confusing messages from Audi and The ACO. Suffice to say that it Loic Duval will not be driving the car again at this year’s 24 Hours. The Official Bulletin issued by the ACO says that having taken the views of the team manager and the FIA Medical Delegate, the Stewards have decided to accept the request from Audi to change the driver.  So spaniard Marc Gené will drive in place of Duval. The knock on effect of this is that Gené having moved to the Audi it now leaves the #38 Jota Sport Nissan short of a driver! So Jota have been allowed to draft Oliver Turvey into their car, providing that he passes all the administrative checks, has the correct race suit etc. and has a special briefing from the Race Director. Just to ‘square the circle’ you may recall that Turvey was to have been in the #22 Oreca Nissan that was withdrawn. 

This same bulletin suggests that Duval was ‘seriously injured’.. Which was worrying and while we hope this is not accurate it does make the stewards decision that it is OK to replace Duval a lot easier. Plus the Stewards consider that, quote “...it is more safe to go with three drivers rather than two”, We also gather that a team of engineers came down from Ingolstadt to get on with rebuilding what is now once again known as the #1 Audi. Despite the fact that not much, other than maybe a wheelnut and brake light, might be carried over from the wrecked #1. It is expected to run in the final session tonight.  

Those of you with a semblance of memory left on your mental hard drive will recall the famous ‘replacement’ of the destroyed JLOC Lamborghini that mysteriously evaporated in 2009 only to be replaced by an entirely different car that didn't even look like original ! Even longer ago a Venturi did a similar smoke and mirrors trick and reappeared with different livery and lots of gaffer tape .. Likewise last year the Ferrari of Tracy Krohn was badly damaged and a spare car was rushed in overnight. So there are plenty of precedents to support the Audi situation and we understand that there is a clause in the regulations that permits chassis change at the discretion of the race stewards.

The only other car we were waiting to hear about was the #99 Aston Martin that stopped the last session. We have just heard that it has been withdrawn because it was too badly damaged.

Another car that is technically OK, in other words it hasn't actually crashed yet, is the #0 Nissan. However it has hardly been exposed to any risk out on the track since it hasn't yet completed a lap this week under its own or any other sort of power for that matter! Tony pointed out that so far it must be easily the most eco-friendly car out here because it has done most of its track time being pushed by human beings!! 

Jock Simpson

Qualifying Session One : Le Mans 24hrs 2014

There have been huge sighs of relief since news has reached us that Loic Duval survived that huge accident with no broken bones and is in hospital taking interest and has been speaking to the team.  The only injuries appear to be the odd graze here and there. Great credit is due to Audi who have clearly built an immensely strong car with a tub that looked after the driver.  

This is where things start getting serious. These are proper qualifying  times and they now ‘ count ‘ and should the weather change they could well decide the final grid positions. However it still rather strange that surely over a 24 hour race a grid position here or there would not seem to matter… but these guys are racing drivers and the teams are massively professional. Also of course appearing on TV is a major feature as well.

It was a lovely evening with a fine sunset. As the action began to get into a bit of a rhythm the Red Flags came out again, this will be the 4th time today.. The car involved with this Red flag was the #37 Oreca driven by Minassian went off at the Porsche Curves. We didn’t know how serious this accident was but it seems to take a long time to clear up the mess each time.

Just when you thought it was safe to go racing again we had yet another Red Flag.. This was caused by the #99 Aston Martin V8 Vantage driven by Fernando Rees. It was unclear what happened but the car was ‘parked’ across the track! We were told that Fernando was fine. These stoppages were  ruining any continuity the teams might have been hoping for, this important session was becoming very fragmented.

A bit of trivia.. I noticed that when the Corvette pitted they peeled off a layer of windscreen, rather like visor rip offs. I wonder how many they will use in 24 hrs?!

At 23:30 hrs with 30 minutes still left in the session it has been abandoned. It seems the barriers were too badly damaged after the #99 Aston Martin accident. This is a great pity all round since over the years this last part of night qualifying has always give us some fabulously quick laps. 

There be a #1 car out tomorrow but Loic Duval will probably not be driving it. It comes as a bit of a surprise to see that the two Porsches are lying 1st and 2nd with #20 on provisional pole and #14 beside it. Then came the two Toyotas #7 & #8.. Maybe Audi were working a plan but they might be a bit disappointed to be behind the Porsches and Toyotas. However there are two more sessions tomorrow so watch this space..

Don't forget our live feed is @clubarnage on Twitter 

LM P1 quickest #20 Porsche from #14 Porsche and #7 Toyota
LM P1-L #13 Rebellion fastest from #12 Rebellion
LM P2 #26 Morgan fastest from #36 Alpine and #47 Oreca
GTE Pro #51 Ferrari fastest from #97 Aston and #92 Porsche
GTE Am #72 Ferrari fastest from #61 Ferrari and #77 Porsche

Free Practice 1.

At the third stroke  the time was  4 o’clock precisely ( that dates us!), the pit lane exit light went green  and Le Mans 24hrs 2014 was up and running. The Club Arnage Team are in place.. if a little fragile after ‘over-training’ the previous night. Tony is on pole ready to deploy our secret weapon .. looking out of the window and into the pit-lane.. hi-tech eh?  Lennart is exploring the ins and outs of Twitter  and other ‘social media’  Jock is scribbling as and when required. Le Grand Fromage is buried deep in the bowels of the ACO bit doing live texting for them under what appear to be rather trying circumstances.

Just as we started writing the #0 Nissan ZEOD RC ground to a halt on its ‘out lap’.. 12 whole minutes of racing. By the way ZEOD RC means Zero Emission On Demand Racing. The engines were working but not talking to each other so it seems the gearbox maybe the trouble and that was changed during a long stop. 

Would you believe that there are 42 ‘Rookies’ here this year.. where do they find them ! 

While we settling into the ‘Le Mans’ routine reality kicked in very suddenly when at 17:07 we saw pictures of the remains of #1 Audi which had a huge accident at the Porsche Curves. Loic Duval was at the wheel  and it was very worrying that the marshals couldn’t immediately start extracting Duval until a team technician arrived to ‘power down’  the hybrid system. Obviously the red flag came out and the session was stopped immediately. Loic was extricated  from the car and then sent off to the Medical Centre. We heard later that he had been on the phone talking to Dr Ulrich. The car almost certainly won’t be back for the race this year but Audi may have a spare tub etc to build up another one by tomorrow.

The session restarted again at 17;55hrs. 

We have already blogged a fair bit about the Hybrids and the technology. Finally we have found what you might call “ A Dummy’s  Guide to Hybrids”. After this you will have no excuses and will be able to impress your mates down the pub!

	Audi R8 e-tron quattro	Toyota TS040 Hybrid	Porsche 919 Hybrid
Engine	V6 4.0 litre turbo	V8 3.7 litre non turbo	V4 2.0 litre turbo
Fuel	Diesel	Petrol	Petrol
Power	540+ bhp	520+ bhp	500 bhp +
Torque	800+ Nm	Unknown	Unknown
ERS	Inertia Flywheel	Supercapacitors	Lithium –ion battery
Fuel tank	54.3 litres	68.3 litres	68.3 litres
Weight	870 kgs	870 kgs	870 kg

Audi Pros:-Well known , well tested hybrid technology, plenty of power from V6 TDI engine

Audi Cons:- The hybrid system is heavy and cumbersome for very little gain.

Toyota Pros:- A competitive and reliable hybrid system based on superconductors. Rapid ‘restocking’ and disposal of energy

Toyota Cons:- Drivers have to use the extra power under acceleration instantly

Porsche Pros:- F1 technology

Porsche Cons:- Weight of the battery . Question marks over reliability 

Back to free practice .. with about 30  mins to go the #67 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Erik Maris went off at the 1st Chicane , known this year as The Forza Chicane . We are not all that  familiar with  computer games but this is apparently a driving game on the Xbox! Anyway this brought out the Red Flags again and the session was stopped for about twenty minutes and restarted with 15 mins to go. The Red Flags came out because there was debris all over the track and it was too dangerous for the marshals to clear it all up.

In the end the session was stopped and that was the first free practice over.

Have a look HERE for detailed timing.

So, what can we pick out of that? To date your team have not made their traditional, alcohol fuelled predictions. Last night was an away win for the alcohol and we forgot!

In LMP1 it has been said all along that the Toyotas are not lacking in pace but of course this is free practice and nobody is going to show their cards . You may recall that Porsche got their wrists smacked for their ‘flexible’ bodywork and it didn't take long to explain to them that it as illegal and would have to go... and robbed some of their original straight line speed! Audi as usual seem to be working at their own very professional pace and while some say they lack speed they will make up for it in clockwork efficiency.  We are told that Audi can rebuild , if that is the right word, the #1 car that crashed. In effect it must be going to be based on a new tub, bodywork.. everything!

The #13 Rebellion car only did 6 laps while his team mate in the #12 car did 15. They are still off the pace despite a number of concessions but as always they surely won’t see the podium .

LMP2 needs watching.. it is producing some of the best racing at the moment but always gets ‘lost’ in amongst the LMP1 hype..the first six cars all share the same second.  OAK are up front followed by Murphy Prototypes and SMP racing.

Changes to the ‘Balance of Performance’ since Silverstone now means that a well driven ‘Am’ car can mix it with the ‘Pro’ drivers.  This means that the ‘ Aston Martin #95 ‘Am’ car is ahead of the #51 Ferrari 458 Italia by 0.013 secs !! Corvette #73 is fourth and the Manthey factory Porsches are languishing 7th and 8th . We rather suspect there maybe more to come..

By Jock Simpson

Tyre wars at Le Mans this year?

This year at Le Mans the “tyre war” if any, can only be in the LM P2 class, where Dunlop provides tyres for 12 cars and Michelin for 5. In the other classes Michelin have a de-facto monopoly in 2014. Dunlop have withdrawn from the GTE classes as they rationalise their production this year having closed down their racing operations in England and moved to mainland Europe. They may well return in future years to challenge Michelin and other tyre manufacturers in GTE and maybe even LM P1.

Surface

One key difference in racing at Le Mans is the track surface. Because about 70% of the circuit is used by the public for the rest of the year it brings special problems for tyre companies. The rubber particles and diesel spillage over the year make for a very highly polished surface which makes the track less “grippier” and conditions can change dramatically on different parts of the circuit.

Straights

Durability is important here because of the long straights. Even though the track is low on abrasion it is important to keep heat in the tyres and sometimes tyres can be too cold coming off the straights. Tyre companies therefore concentrate on designing compounds to warm up quickly and still ensure that the construction is strong enough.

Downforce

At Le Mans, teams run bespoke aerodynamic packages with an emphasis on straight line speed. Tyre companies help teams compensate for a lower downforce set up by having an increased contact patch and compounds that maximise grip.

Temperatures

Temperatures at Le Mans drop at night, sometimes as low as 4C but grip levels are different here. Therefore it’s important to achieve as wide an operating window as possible as conditions change during the race.

Pressures

Car set up and driver styles are all different and there may be subtle differences between the 3 drivers in one car. Therefore tyre engineers have to liaise closely with the team engineers, throughout the week the set up and tyre pressures need to be optimised to get the best performance. This can change due to changing weather conditions and as the track cleans up and “rubbers in” during practice and qualifying.

Award
This year at Le Mans there will be the "Michelin Total Performance Award", which is intended to reward the competitor with the most efficient use of energy and materials. This is measured by five criteria combining durability and energy efficient performance. 

Today the skies are overcast but the forecast is for warm conditions for the race, the tyre engineers must be ready for every eventuality!

Le Mans 24 Hours scrutineering 2014

The KCMG Oreca-Nissan arrives in the square.

The scrutineering and driver sign-on process (known to the French as 'pesage') is given a festival atmosphere in Le Mans city centre. What would normally be a relatively dull set of inspections takes place in the Place de La Republique where a set of tents and metal barriers define the short lap of the square. The local population are however given a uniquely intimate and close-up view of both cars and drivers. While the cars are processed, the drivers have licences checked, race suit and helmet authorized and official head shots taken. Finally they appear on a small stage to answer questions in front of an appreciative crowd. It has to be said, the 'pesage' is fairly low key, but it does have a relaxed party atmosphere that contrasts sharply with the more serious events of later in the week. 

Driver interviews are a public favourite.

This year, it was no surprise that all cars and drivers passed muster without incident. There were a few highlights during the day such as the revelation of the #75 Prospeed Porsche in its unique 'Art car' livery and the surprise unfurling of a giant banner by the Corvette team thanking the people of Le Mans for their support. 

The 'Art car' of Prospeed brought Celtic art to the 24 hours

Rumours of a Ferrari prototype programme were given credibility with the promise of an announcement on Saturday that is expected to reveal a Garage 56 project for the Prancing Horse, leading to a possible factory LM P1 programme the following year.... watch this space!

There have been major changes this year. Following the fatal accident of Allan Simonsen during the 2013 race, the ACO have implemented improvements to the safety barriers at the Tertre Rouge and Corvette (formerly the Karting “S”) corners. Tec-Pro barriers have also been added at the Porsche curves, and beefy inner kerbs have been added at the Ford chicane to dissuade corner cutting. At test day a few drivers were caught out by the big kerbs, including the flying Porsche #91 that retired with broken chassis and #66 Ferrari sustaining suspension damage. Additionally, a slow zone system will be utilized for minor incidents by limiting all cars in one section of the circuit to a speed to a speed of 60kmh (37mph). 

The #24 Oreca Nissan is entered by 9 times World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb.

Rookies and drivers who have not raced at Le Mans for the past 5 years will be required to participate in a half-day simulator training course. All cars will be fitted with an in-car marshalling telemetry system to help the race controller send out information.

Here is a quick reminder of the classes running at the 24 hours 2014.

The #3 Audi has Britain's Oliver Jarvis in its driver line-up

LM P1 (9 Cars)  : The premier class in endurance racing, competing with purpose built prototypes. LM P1-H is for manufacturer entries and Hybrid technology, free engine size, while LM P1-L (Light) is for privateer teams and with engine size limited to 5.5 litres and they are also 20kg lighter (850kg minimum - but see #12 Rebellion Racing). Hybrid cars can run in any of the Energy Recovery System classes – <2MJ (chosen by

Drivers of #66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia, Spencer Pumpelly and Seth Neiman sign autographs 

Audi), <4MJ, <6MJ (chosen by Toyota & Porsche) or <8 MJ. The cars carry Red number panels and have White headlamps. HY on engine cover denotes hybrid system installed. No bronze rated drivers allowed. Fuel tank size is 68.3 litres for petrol engine cars and 54.3 litres for diesel. The cars have a 7 speed gearbox. All cars are running on Michelin tyres.

LM P2 (17 Cars) : The second prototype class, featuring purpose built cars with a cost cap of €400,000. 5 litre normally aspirated or 3.2 litre turbo engines allowed (petrol only). Each entry must feature at least one bronze or silver rated driver. 

The cars carry Blue number panels and have Yellow headlamps. Fuel tank size is 75 litres and minimum weight 900kg. The cars have a 6 speed gearbox.

The only class with a “tyre war”, with  12 cars running on Dunlop tyres and 5 on Michelins (#24 Oreca, #27 Oreca, #33 Ligier, #37 Oreca and #50 Morgan). 

GTE Pro (9 Cars)  : The top production based category in Le Mans racing. The cars share a basic resemblance and some components with their road car cousins. The maximum engine size is 5.5 litres for normally aspirated cars or 4 litres for turbos (petrol only). GTE cars must be approved road going vehicles of which at least 100 have been built (25 in the case of small manufacturers).

The cars have Green number panels and Yellow headlamps. No restrictions on drivers. Fuel tank size is normally 90 litres and minimum weight 1,245 kg, but may be adjusted by Balance of Performance changes. The cars have a 6 speed gearbox. All GTE Pro and Am cars are running on Michelin tyres.

GTE Am (19 Cars)  : The same regulations as GTE Pro. They must feature at least one bronze rated driver and one bronze or silver rated driver. 

The cars have Orange number panels and Yellow headlamps. The cars have a 6 speed gearbox.

Innovative Technology (1 Car)  : An entry which demonstrates new automotive technology. The Nissan ZEOD RC is powered by electric motors and a small petrol engine. The car aims to complete the first all-electric lap of the famous 8.5 mile circuit. The car has Black number panels.

A look back at Test Day, and a look forward to the 24 hours.

The 24 hours 2014 is destined to be a vintage one, whatever the final outcome. With three manufacturer teams in LM P1, a well stocked P2 grid and ultra-competitive GTE categories, there is will be tough fight for overall and class honours.

Photo: Romain Scholer

In addition to the traditional classes, there is also the 'Garage 56' entry in the unusual shape of the Nissan ZEOD RC. At test day last week it turned its first laps on the 24 hours circuit, putting in times in between the bottom of LM P2 and the top of LM GTE Pro. The car is lightweight, agile and powered by a three cylinder engine weighing only 40kg but producing 400hp. The car also has an electric motor that it is hoped will be able to take the ZEOD RC around an entire lap of the circuit on 'zero emission' mode when required. Having only completed 24 laps on Test Day due to fuel pump failure and a cracked exhaust manifold. Its best time was 10 seconds slower than the Deltawing in the 2012 24 hours.

Image: Dave Davies

In LM P1 Audi have long experience and the law of big numbers on their side. Toyota have a completely different approach to hybrid technology and cars which have demonstrated a higher top speed than Audi at Spa WEC. Facing them is the new Porsche factory effort that has been two years in gestation. The 'Mission 2014' project has resulted in two very quick LM P1 hybrid prototypes that have the potential to pull off a victory, but only if they can last the 24 hours. In the LM P1 privateer class, Rebellion's pair of new Toyota engined R-One are unopposed since the withdrawal of the Strakka Dome that had an accident in recent testing. Rebellion might even climb onto the overall podium if there is attrition in the factory teams.

Image: Dave Davies

In LM P2 it is anyone's guess as to the front runners. G-Drive appear to be strong after winning at the Spa WEC, but competition is very tough in the second largest individual class of the 24 hours (17 cars despite the loss of Millennium Racing). During test day the P2 times were slightly faster than at test day in 2013 and most of the field were lapping within a second or so of each other.

The two GTE classes, Pro and Am are essentially comprised of cars running to the same technical regulations, but with year-old cars in the Am class and a limit of one professional driver per car. It is traditionally the toughest fought class and the Am contingent are the most numerous (19 cars).  Two new factory Corvettes in Pro are pitted against a pair of factory Porsche 911, Aston Martin Vantage V8 and three Ferrari 458. In Am there is an army of 11 Ferraris two Astons and four Porsche 911. Fireworks are pretty much guaranteed with enthusiastic 'gentlemen' drivers.

On test day last week Bonanomi in #3 Audi topped the morning session and Buemi in the #8 Toyota was faster in the afternoon though not as quick by 0.5 secs as last year's test day. The Toyota, Audi and Porsche works teams all completed their programmes successfully over the 8 hours. All three ran 13 lap stints but no one attempted 14. The Porsche #14 had a small flash fire in it's pit but no damage was done, neither human nor mechanical. The Rebellion #12 hit the barriers at Porsche curves and sustained front bodywork damage which brought the 2nd session to a slightly early end.

In LM P2 the Oak Racing Morgan #26 set the fastest lap with Rusinov at the wheel on a low fuel/new tyre run late in the day. It was faster  than last year's test day time by one second. The Jota Zytek #38 of Simon Dolan had tyre blow our resulting in bodywork damage.

In GTE Pro the Porsche #92 set fastest lap by Makowiecki faster than last year by 1.6 seconds. In the morning, Porsche #91 got airborne over new kerbs at Ford Chicane and missed afternoon session, the chassis having sustained damage and had to be replaced. Ferrari were given dispensation to run new aero configuration despite their design being notionally frozen at end of 2013.

For GTE Am it was the 8Star Ferrari #90 fastest with a time set by by Paulo Ruberti, making it the fastest 458 of the day (including GTE Pro entries), and 3.4 seconds faster than last year's test day. The IMSA Porsche #76 of Raymond Narac (winner last year in Am) had big off at the Dunlop chicane and sustained considerable  frontal damage. The JMW Ferrari #66 had an airborne moment over new kerbs at Ford Chicane, damaging its suspension.                            

Today (Sunday) is the first day of race week activity with scrutineering and driver sign-on that takes place this year in the Place de la Republique in the city centre. The event is popular with the local population of Le Mans and the region, being rather too early to attract race fans from further abroad. It is however set up as a spectacle in its own right, but more of that later....

Worst kept secret of 2014? Nissan announce LM P1 programme.

Nissan announce LM P1 programme for 2015.

After weeks of speculation, hints and leaks, Nissan finally owned-up to their plans to race an LM P1 prototype in 2015 for the first time since their R391 in 1999. Although it appears that it will take the name "GT-R LM", the chances of it being a recognisable evolution of its road-going namesake are pretty slim. Of course Nissan will be at Le Mans in 2014 with their Garage 56 entry the ZEOD RC.