Club Arnage - 2001 Le Mans 24 hours

Morning Warmup

By: Jock Simpson

"Warm Up" isn't quite the right word! The weather is distinctly autumnal; the
forecast is also a bit moody. We are told not to expect the violent thunderstorms they
promised us but we can look forward to a cloudy, overcast, cold 24 hours, with
occasional showers plus the odd breaks in the cloud to let the sun shine in. In other
words expect almost anything! The temperature as we came into the circuit was 15C
(59F); the max we are told will be no more than 21/22C, to make life a little more
miserable for the spectators there will be a fresh breeze as well..

With this sort of weather forecast presumably teams will have to start thinking about
softer dampers and springs wet settings so maybe they will use the warm up to try out
a wet/damp set up, trouble is the track is not currently wet. Testing and qualifying
were dry. Other things to keep in mind will be bedding in brake pads and discs, also
several cars will have had new race engines and gear boxes fitted so teams (and
drivers!) will want to be sure they have screwed the car together properly. Another
interesting point is that the cooler, moister air will effect fuel consumption so that
needs checking as well. So it may not be a great spectacle but this period is crucial for
the teams.

So far we talked a fair bit about Bentley and Audi, maybe we should be keeping an
eye on Cadillac. They are running a rather lower key operation this year so they are
quietly sitting 8th and 12th, we will keep you informed.

09:00 hrs. Track still very damp in places.

Frank Biela #1 Audi just done a single "installation" lap, and back into pits for a
quick check on connections, leaks etc etc. They are grabbing every chance to practice
driver changes, refuelling etc.. their attention to detail is awesome.

#64 Corvette car stopped at Dunlop Bridge and pushed away!

Rumour has it that the Dome will make approx (!) 18,000 gear changes in 24 hours!
Gearboxes are therefore a bit crucial!

The MG has 90 litre tanks and could do 17 laps and Audi are saying they will do 15
laps per tank (some of else think they might be bluffing and do maybe 16/17) Bentley
will do less laps than Audi.

09:15hrs #34 MG routine pits. MG not doing a lot in this session.

Track still damp and catching out drivers.. One of the Panoz was a victim, spun and
rejoined, all a bit embarrassing.

09:18 #1 Audi driver change
#32 Lola Nissan spins, no drama rejoins.
#2 Audi into the garage, engine cover off
A dry line is emerging.
09:23 hrs Panoz #11 in gravel at Arnage. The car is now ankle deep in gravel and
there is muck on the track. It is in deep and a chunky tractor is at the site!

We are getting cracking TV pictures in car, on car etc. If this is the Channel 4
coverage it looks impressive. The circuit looks very tricky with wet bits and dry bits.

09:27 Panoz out of gravel and driver out of car and they are going no further.
09:27 #7 Bentley top of time sheets with a 3:47.9 ahead of #2 Audi.
09:29 #2 Audi responds and do a 3:44.6
09:30 #5 Cadillac upto 5th (qualified 8th)
Callaway Corvette #70 big moment!
09:40 Gulf Audi pit stop and changed driver and rear body work for practice.
Remember those whole rear end changes for Audi last year?
If conditions remain this variable tyre choice and tactics will be crucial.

Panoz pit (and driver incidentally!) not sure why the #11 went straight on.

MG did a couple of installation laps, they don't want to break anything and want to be
sure to be on the grid, they have 600 guests here to watch!

09:44 #4 Audi has an elegant half spin and rejoins, back end simply seemed to escape,
over exuberance ? No damage.

09:45 Chequered Flag.

The #77 Porsche that crashed heavily on Thursday is struggling, they are still fixing
(rebuilding!) the car, refitting engine etc, they are not sure they will make the race.

#11 Panoz came back on trailer.

Warm up positions:-
2.1.7.17.5.12.16.18.3.4.6.9.8.38.20.21.10.36.15.62.11.59.61.57.63.60.37.56.30.35.14.
70.82.55.74.72.75.83.80.79.71.19.33.32.34.76.