The LMP 900 class

Top of class;
Audi, they came and when it mattered they delivered, even Jan Lammers disallowed time would only have been good for 5th in the end. They have all the foundations in place to take their third win which if achieved may end the life of one of the great sportscar designs of all time. I do not think anyone can beat them but this year they could lose. The Margin to the rest has closed and there will be pressure from within as they very badly want this third win, this year as well there will be pressure from the rest of the field. They have enjoyed lady luck over the past two years and that to may desert them. It is easy to draw parallels with Toyota's supposed superiority in 1999.

Good Progress;

Top of this group has to be Cadillac, two difficult years were followed by a very poor test weekend when the cars were frankly awful. The Practice sessions did not start well with the 7 car being pushed away as the cars waited to start the session, repairs took the first two hours but by the end of Wednesday both cars were in the top twelve. At the end of practice they were in the top 10 and within six seconds of pole and the times were being reproduced with regularity.

Ascari have probably come almost as far but with a fraction of the budget. Much of the credit must go to Ian Dawson who has put together a well-knit team and taken what in 2000 was a rudderless ship plagued with unreliability and produced a team that has managed three out of four finishes at Daytona and Sebring this year. The team was hard hit when one entry was refused but they have come back to complete a very pretty and quick car. Last year here they showed the potential of the car when it the wet it was often the fastest car on the circuit. This year they have a tyre contract with Dunlop and they are much closer to the Michelin performance. They deserve a good result to make up for the disappointment of only one entry.

Multimatic is transforming MBD Panoz LMP07 from what was a pig's ear into almost a silk purse. The car is one of the most striking in the field and when it first appeared was met with great optimism. The reasons for its initial failure are numerous but most of the reliability issues seem to have been resolved as shown by both cars running well and finishing at Sears Point. They now have to find some speed but this looks to be a long-term project with a good working relationship with Panoz and Mugen.

Racing For Holland amaze for a small team with limited resources. They work very well with Dome who has produced a car that is comfortably fastest on the straight. It is a development of a very good car last year and also appears to be easy for a small private team to maintain and develop with very supportive factory backup.

Panoz have made good progress on the much-revised LMP01, Much of the testing for this team has to be done in public and they do not have the resources of the likes of Audi. They can keep Audi Honest in the ALMS sprint races but perhaps not yet at Le Mans. Brabham last night closed to within 5 seconds of the Audi at the end before the car was badly damaged by a fire that may have originated from debris breaking the oil filter. The tub has required extensive repairs but it looks like the car will start.

Oreca Dallara continued to show the progress of the test weekend, they may have lost their way a little in copying the side plates that Audi showed at the test weekend and it will be interesting to see if they run them in the race. They deserved best of the rest and the team have as good a record in endurance racing as anyone.
Riley and Scott have not set the world alight with times but the car has been quick and reliable. Sebring and Daytona show it is strong and after the Audi is perhaps the most likely to there at the finish. An EMKA McLaren 1998 like performance will see a very good result perhaps even emulating the McLaren's 4th.

Courage Competition is back for the first time since 1999. In the intervening years they have been well represented by Pescarolo and Gache. This year at both the test and in practice the C60 has been consistently fast.

Could do better

Pescarolo this year seems to have lost its way. The swoopy C60 Peugeots are only in front of the MBD Panoz The very private Dome and the two old film cars. The glory days of 2000 must seem a very long way away. It is hard to say if the lack of speed lies at the feet of engine or bodywork.

Also rans

The Leader and Vaillante are both old cars but they have been well prepared by DAMS and should not be a mobile chicane. Finishing position is less important than finishing for these cars. The Kondo Dome is quick but other than Ian McKeller the drivers probably lack the pace to produce a result worthy of the chassis.

The LM GTP class

Bentley are the only competitor in the GTP class The car is very fast on the straights, second only to the Dome but is hindered by its smaller rear tyres (two inches narrower than the LMP900 cars) Attempts at a banzia lap were always hindered by traffic but last night the car was regularly on the 3.35 pace. A finish will be a class win and if reliable it could be the closest challenger to Audi. Sadly, only one car this year.


The LMP 675 Class

Top of the class
MG is the class and the two works and one private entry head the field. The works cars will probably lead overall at the end of the first hour, They should go further and be lighter on tyres than the Audi and they are only 3.5 seconds behind the pole time. The ACO formula seems to be just about perfect. With reliability a podium is a very strong possibility but which step?
The Knight Hawk team are learning fast, an off by Mel Hawkins on Wednesday has given the team some extra work. The team and all three drivers are Le Mans virgins and are learning fast and sometimes painfully. A sensible run will bring a good result.
Also rans.
The ROC Reynard VW and both Peugeot and Mazda WR can only hope for the MG's to fail. Surprisingly the WR Peugeot was faster than the ROC cars but still fifteen seconds from MG pace.

LM GTS
Top of the class.
Budget and experience make the Corvette the class favourite, but they have been badly shaken by the speed of the Prodrive Ferrari, which on speed alone would win by a country mile. The Ferrari is however very new and still lacking miles and experience at Le Mans but they have been practising changing potential weak links so progress could be a series of sprints. There are however three very quick and strong Vipers and this could be the most closely fought class in the race.

Also rans
It seems strange to class last years hares as also rans but limited production means that the car is carrying extra weight and a smaller restrictor that has left the car short on speed. The cars also do not have the driver strength of last year and their only hope is that the battle for the lead destroys the rest. Reduced restrictors and power could equate to greater fuel mileage and a trouble free run could result in a bottom step.

LM GT
Top of the Class
Porsche are the class but some are more class than the rest and that is the "works" The Racers Group car. This is backed up by several very good private cars of which Freisinger, Seikel and PK are the cream. The former two have a huge Le Mans experience but PK have learned very fast.

Good Progress
Most praise must go to the Morgan, who are perhaps here a year too soon. The test was little short of a disaster with engine problems but during practice progress has been spectacular and a lap by least experienced of the three Le Mans virgins was just over five seconds from the works Porsche a time of 4.16.847 compared with the test best of 4.46.077.

Spyker likewise deserve credit as this is an even newer project than the Morgan and they like the Saleens are heavily penalised. Times in practice are just shy of the test and the car; a new chassis has been hampered by a vibration. Like the Morgan it uses a very strong BMW V8 and both deserve a finish for effort.

Ferrari is the dark horse with the 360 Modena. Two Cars from JMB who are reigning FIA GT champions but none of the usual drivers are included. The number 70 car with Sam Hancock and Martin Short provide a British interest and third driver Cort Wagner has Ferrari 360 experience.

Club-Arnage qualifying images (wednesday)

Club-Arnage qualifying images (thursday)

For timing and scoring, go to the official ACO site

Copyright© 2002 Club Arnage




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