Thursday 9th June 2011
In less than four days time, the lights will go green for the 79th 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. Competing for Aston Martin Racing in the AMR-One LMP1 prototype, Swiss racing driver Harold Primat will line up alongside team mates Andy Meyrick and Adrian Fernandez in the 009 car.
The oldest and most prestigious sports car race of the year will see Primat put the AMR-One through its paces as the team look to accumulate valuable experience and information as part of its ambitious three year development programme.
The AMR-One features a new 2.0 litre straight six turbo-charged engine designed and built by Aston Martin Racing. The new open-cockpit car was only given the green light in September 2010 and since then the team has been busy designing, building and developing the car ready for its most demanding challenge yet.
Having already competed in six 24 Hours of Le Mans races, including two with the British-based team, Swiss racing driver Harold Primat brings a wealth of endurance racing experience, and is looking forward to once again competing in this iconic race.
Q&A with Harold
Primat
Q - Le Mans is one of the greatest races in
the world. What makes it so special in your opinion?
A – It is special
for many reasons. It’s special because
of its history – of all the great names that have raced here since 1923. The nature of the circuit design - how it
encompasses the town’s roads as well as the straights of the race track - also
makes it a special place to race.
The atmosphere is also very special. We
arrive a week ahead of the race and you can feel the atmosphere build as we get
closer to race day. You really can feel
the electricity in the atmosphere as everyone gets excited about going racing
here.
Q- Le Mans is a tough race both physically
and mentally. How have you been
preparing ahead of the race?
A - I have been
training all year for this season so my fitness levels have been good in the
lead up to Le Mans. I have done some
specific training for Le Mans over the past few weeks to ensure I’m 100% ready
physically and mentally. I’ve been doing
some training in the south of France which has included long hikes along the
coast and climbing. I’ve also been doing
gym work to keep my strength and balance up.
One of the best forms of exercise for endurance racing is cycling so
I’ve been going out on a lot of long distance endurance cycles to prepare for
the race.
Q - What is the biggest challenge of Le
Mans?
A - There are a lot
of challenges. It is a very technical
race for teams as you need to set up a car that is able to go fast along the
straights but that can also corner quickly so the challenge is to get the best
possible balance and the right levels of down-force in order for the car to
perform best on all areas of the track.
On the human side it is a very challenging race as racing for 24 hours
takes up a lot of energy and it is not natural to be awake throughout the night
to go racing! So the challenge is to prepare and manage your body so it is best
equipped to deal with racing throughout the night.
Q - During the race, when you are not in
the car, how do you ensure you get enough rest and keep your energy levels up
for your stints in the car?
A – We have a great
set up at Aston Martin Racing whereby all the drivers have a room to rest in at
the track. This means we can maximise
our rest time without having to travel to hotels outside of the track. We have a special diet for the week to keep
our energy levels up and there is also a fitness area where we can do gym work
and cycling before getting into the car to keep our bodies alert.
Q -How has the pre-Le Mans testing gone?
A - We had a very
productive two day test at Motorland Aragon and a second two day test at Monza,
where we made a lot of progress. While
the official Le Mans test didn’t go to plan, due to the issues we experienced
with the plasma cylinder, we have made some big advances in all areas of the
car over the last few weeks and have overcome these teething problems.
Q -The AMR-One LMP1 prototype is an
innovative car and is undergoing a three year development programme. What are your expectations for Le Mans this
year?
A –We are involved
in a very exciting three year project, but that does mean that nine months into
the programme that it is still in its early stages, so our expectations for the
race have to be realistic. Last year
we’d known the car for a while as it had been developed for several years so we
had higher expectations and finishing sixth was a pretty good achievement. This year is a very different situation and
so to finish the race would be a great achievement for the whole team. However
I have every confidence in the team that over the course of the next three
years, Aston Martin Racing will continue to develop and drive the car forwards
so that we will be able to achieve our long term objectives.
The 24 hour of Le Mans begins at 15:00 local time on Saturday 11 June
with live television coverage on Eurosport and commentary via Radio Le Mans (www.radiolemans.com).
Le Mans Timetable
The 24 hour of Le Mans begins at 15:00 local time on Saturday 11 June with live television coverage on Eurosport and commentary via Radio Le Mans (www.radiolemans.com).
Thursday 9 June
19:00-21:00 Qualifying practice
22:00-24:00 Qualifying Practice
Friday 10 June
18:00-20:00 Le Mans driver parade
Saturday 11 June
09:00-09:45 Warm-up
15:00 Race start
-ends-
Notes to editors:
About Harold Primat:
Harold
Primat is a Swiss racing driver with over 15 years racing experience including
British F3, World Series Lights, Le Mans Series and American Le Mans Series.
Harold
Primat is supported by the following personal sponsors; Banque Baring Brothers
Sturdza, Harwood International, Crans Montana and Primland.
www.haroldprimat.com
Follow
Harold on Twitter @Harold_Primat and on Facebook
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For management enquiries, please contact:
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Coton – Aces Management
didier.coton@aces-management.com
+377
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