News Story

11/06/2010 00:20:00

Primat to start from Le Mans petrol car pole

Qualifying for the 78th Le Mans 24 Hours took place last night from 19:00 to 21:00 and then from 22:00 to midnight. Following some rain during the day, the track was largely damp throughout both sessions, making the 13.4-kilometre circuit extremely slippery.

This meant that the times established during Wednesday evening’s qualifying session still stood, giving Harold Primat’s Aston Martin 007 eighth place as the fastest petrol runner thanks to team mate Stefan Mücke’s 3m26.680s lap.

The sister 009 car will line up directly behind it, by virtue of Darren Turner’s benchmark of 3m26.747s.

Completing Aston Martin’s strong performance in the unofficial petrol class was the 008 car run by French team Signature Plus, with which Franck Mailleux set a time of 3m29.774s yesterday that will put the crew 11th on the grid. For much of the session the 008 car was classified just behind the two works cars, until it was edged out of 10th in the closing minutes.

Although start position is not so critical in a 24-hour race, during which the cars are expected to cover more than 5000 kilometres in about 360 laps, all the teams are eager to benefit from the prestige of pole position. Once more, the diesel cars enjoyed a significant advantage, although the Aston Martins were still quicker than two of the diesel runners.

“It’s good to be back at Le Mans which is such an impressive place because of the speed,” said Primat after the final qualifying session. “The team is exactly where we want it to be in terms of performance and of course we’re also ahead of the other petrol runners. We can see that our pace will be good and should be able to follow the Audis early in the race, although Peugeot are one step ahead.

“We’ve worked on a race set up, making sure the car is comfortable to drive, consistent and kind to its tyres. Hopefully we can finish as the best petrol car and maybe even get ahead of some diesels if the chance arises.

Team Principal George Howard-Chappell concluded: “Really there’s no change from Wednesday, but all the drivers did a good job, and there’s no damage to the cars – which have been reliable throughout the sessions held so far. I think all the drivers are well-prepared now, so we’re looking in good shape.”

The 78th Le Mans 24 Hours will get underway at 3pm on Saturday 13 June, with Aston Martin aiming to defend the honour it claimed last year of being the fastest petrol car at the La Sarthe circuit.

Live race coverage can be found at www.astonmartin.com and www.astonmartinracing.com with additional behind the scenes updates on Facebook; www.facebook.com/astonmartin and through Twitter at www.twitter.com/astonmartin. Eurosport will be broadcasting live throughout the week, while coverage with Radio Le Mans can be found at: www.radiolemans.com.

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