24 Hours of Le Mans: Qualifying Provides First Real Impression of Racing Performance
Understatement of the century: the 24 Hours of Le Mans is important.
A whole year of research & development, testing, simulation, modelling, racing, training, and preparation is invested for just one day of glory.
Up to this point, testing has given the race teams a chance to prepare their vehicles, iron out any kinks, and to also closely study the progress and performance of their opponents. Some teams might even be sandbagging, concealing the true performance of their race car in hopes to gain the element of surprise on race day.
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However, the shadowboxing is over. By qualifying, everything is out in the open and race teams receive the first real impression of where they truly stand. From LMP1, LMP2, to GTE-Pro, and GTE-Am, here are the teams you have to keep your eyes on for the weekend's showdown.
Click on 'START' to begin the slide-show.
Photo:Team Joest Racing Audi R18 e-tron quattro
Audi R18 e-tron quattro [LMP1]
In a grid of more than 50 competitors, the battle for overall victory at Le Mans is expected to come down to the efforts of two manufacturers - the LMP1 prototypes of Audi and Toyota.
During an interview with YouTube channel Drive, Audi head engine engineer Ulrich Baretzky, he considered the inherent horsepower advantages of a gasoline powered engine and expected for the Toyota TS030 to be quicker around Circuit de la Sarthe than the diesel Audi R18 e-tron quattro.
Surprise surprise, the e-tron quattro locked out 1-2 on the starting grid, posting a fastest lap of 3:25.453. The #1 Audi is driven by team Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Tréluyer.
Photo:Toyota Toyota TS030 Hybrid
Toyota TS030 Hybrid [LMP1]
Both Toyota and Audi prototypes will feature a hybrid drivetrain. While Audi's system features electric motors delivering power to the front wheels, the R18 e-tron quattro's hybrid drive does not engage until it travels above 120 km/h. The Toyota TS030 Hybrid, on the other hand, has the ability to engage hybrid performance to its rear wheels at any speed.
Unfortunately, Toyota didn't earn the pole position it expected. Adding salt to the wound, even the inferior Audi R18 Ultra, which isn't a hybrid, managed to qualify ahead. The #7 Toyota TS030 Hybrid of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre, and Kazuki Nakajimi will place fourth on the grid with the personal fastest lap time of 3:27.191
Photo:TDS Racing Oreca 03-Nissan
Oreca 03-Nissan [LMP2]
Of the hotly contested LMP2 category, 13 out of the 20 entries are Nissan-powered. Grid wise, Nissan stands to not only dominate by numbers, but dominate in performance as well. Nissan-power makes up for 7 of the top 10 LMP2 qualifiers.
The fastest of all is the #46 Thiriet TDS Racing Oreca 03-Nissan driven by Pierre Thiriet, Mathias Beche, and Christophe Tinseau with a personal fastest lap of 3:39.252secs.
Photo:motors.all-free-photos.com HPD ARX03b-Honda
HPD ARX03b-Honda [LMP2]
The Oreca 03-Nissan isn't going to run away with the LMP2 class victory, not if the HPD Honda has anything to say about it.
The #44 Starworks Motorsport HPD ARX03b-Honda driven by Enzo Potolicchio, Ryan Dalziel and Tom Kimber-Smith posted a personal fastest of 3:40.639, only slightly slower than the leading Thiriet TDS Racing team. This is Kimber-Smith's fourth Le Mans appearance while teammates Potolicchio and Dalziel are new to the track.
Photo:Nissan Nissan DeltaWing experimental
DeltaWing Nissan [New Tech]
Of Nissans' 13 LMP2 entries, engineers are especially keen to study the performance of the radical Nissan DeltaWing. Thanks to its efficient packaging, the DeltaWing is only half as heavy, and possesses only half the aerodynamic drag of a conventional racing car.
The experimental #0 will be driven by Marino Franchitti, Michael Krumm, and Satoshi Motoyama. Qualifying 26 overall, the Highcroft Racing DeltaWing Nissan posted the fastest time of 3:42.612.
Photo:motors.all-free-photos.com Ferrari 458 Italia
Ferrari 458 Italia [GTE-Pro]
The first and only female owned race team, the Luxury Racing's Ferrari 458 Italia is sexy, quick, and number 1.
By the middle of the first qualifying session, Fréderic Makowiecki put down the fastest GT lap of the day at 3:55.393, good for GT pole. Makowiecki is joined by his teammates Frederic Makowiecki, Jaime Melo, Dominik Farnbacher.
A privately owned team, the Ferrari is a fighter. Veteran driver Jaime Melo has won GT at Le Mans before.
Photo:motors.all-free-photos.com Chevrolet Corvette C6
Chevrolet Corvette C6 [GTE-Pro]
12-year veterans, the Team Corvette Racing and its "Jake Skull" logo have conquered rivals Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Porsche, perhaps the most iconic trio of manufacturers in the prestigious racing event. Once again, the Chevrolet Corvette is going to be the GT car to beat for 2012.
Richard Westbrook, Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner take their Corvette to GTE-Pro to third in class, setting a lap time of 3:55.910.
Photo:motors.all-free-photos.com Porsche 997 RSR
Porsche 997 RSR [GTE-Pro]
With a record of 16 overall title wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, manufacturer Porsche is the most respected name in motor racing. Coming in second with only 10 overall victories, Audi doesn't even come close.
In the GT Class, the most formidable privateer is without a doubt Team Flying Lizard. Their record includes 2007 Petit Le Mans GT2 winner, 2008 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring GT2 winner, ALMS record holder for most consecutive wins (five) by a single driver pair in GT2, and GT2 Champions 2008 and 2009.
This year, the Flying Lizard Porsche is looking for a victory once again and the no nonsense factory drivers Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister will see that it happens.
The fastest Flying Lizard Porsche sets 3:57.594.
