Messrs Rémy Brouard, the ACO General Manager, Pierre Fillon, Vice President and Vincent Beaumesnil, Sports Manager, used the presence of the media to the 1000 Km of the Nürburgring to unveil the 2010 Le Mans regulations.
British motor racing legend Nigel Mansell will return to the international motorsport arena next month, when he races a Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S in the Le Mans Series finale at Silverstone.
Mansell, who remains the most successful British Formula One driver of all time and last competed at Grand Prix level in 1995, will be joined for the first time by son Greg and former Le Mans winner, Ginetta Chairman Lawrence Tomlinson to compete in the world famous endurance race 1000km of Silverstone‘.
With his son Leo driving the team Modena’s Ferrari F430 GT in LMGT2, we can say that the 1000 Km of Silverstone will be a family affair for Nigel Mansell!
Some days before the ADAC 1000 Km of the Nürburgring, Marc Lieb, Porsche works driver and leader of the Felbermayr-Proton team, drives you on the track of the mythical circuit.
The Grand Prix track of the Nürburgring is a modern racing circuit with a lot of variation of slow and medium speed corners.
After the Start-Finish line you enter turn 1 into the Mercedes Arena. It is a very tight right hand hairpin in 1st gear and a critical part at the start. The cars come from top speed down to 55km/h. The following two left corners are also quite slow in 2nd gear with another slow 90-degree right hander exiting the Mercedes Arena. The Arena is a tricky place and very technical. It is not my favourite part of the circuit though.
After accelerating to fifth gear…
It is official now: three Lola Aston Martins will be present on the Nürburgring track next week.
The ADAC 1000 Km of the Nürburgring are one of the most awaited rounds of the season, and the fourth one, just after the wonderful night race which took place two weeks ago in Portugal. And for the first time, three prototypes of the British manufacturer will be present on the starting grid!
Regarding the drivers line up, the internationality is of bet: two Czechs, two Britishs, one Portuguese, one Swiss and a German driver of course: Stefan Mücke!
10 LMP1s will therefore fight for the victory during this last but one race, before the final round at Silverstone in September.
The Portimao race track has all the character of an old British or American track. There are twists, turns and elevation changes everywhere, making this track alike a tarmac rollercoaster. All of the drivers heaped praise on the new circuit, and it brought us some brilliant racing.
The inaugural 1000Km do Algarve, the first Le Mans Series night race, was a huge success and produced one of the most fascinating races of the season.
Pescarolo Sport took up the challenge of this brand-new track and claimed first place overall, Quifel ASM Team took his first victory of the season in the LMP2 class. Luc Alphand Aventures won again in the GT1 class and JMW Motorsport overshadowed the GT2 class.
Motor racing, and especially Endurance racing, is absolutely not, as could be expected, an individual sport. Opposite, the crew members rely on each other and the links are so strong between them that we often speak about some family relationships.
Unlike Spa, the qualifying result was much harder to predict in the LMP1 class. Nevertheless, it is not so astonishing that Oreca-Matmut AIM made the grade and will start from the front and the second row in the LMP1 class. The French team will try to continue to forge ahead after its fifth place at Le Mans. I am not really surprised, confirmed Nicolas Lapierre. We have been competitive till the beginning of the weekend. It was a tough fight, but we are on the pole. Our car is well adapted to the track because of its good mechanical grip. The main job is for tomorrow.
But Aston Martin Racing is right behind and should put its life on the line tomorrow. After a victory at Barcelona and a third place at Spa, Aston Martin Racing demonstrated again that it is a great pretender to the title at the end of the season and fought hard but failed for the pole.
As you were told before, the third round of the season, which will take place at night, is above all an endurance race, of course, but this is also a way to celebrate motorsport and a good opportunity to expand the Le Mans spirit beyond borders.
This is the reason why The Fingertips will play live tomorrow from 10 pm. This band of four genious musicians and one singer is one of the most famous ones in Portugal, thanks to its Coldplay’s style pop-music.
The spectators will so have the opportunity to combine their passion for sport and their love of music, in a warm-hearted atmosphere and a georgeous background: the Algarve.
Tiago Monteiro, Bruno Senna, Miguel Ramos, Francisco Cruz Martins ! Four big names of Portuguese motorsport. Four names which arouses interest. Three Portuguese and one Brazilian – who knows how much Portuguese fans like him – drivers gathered this afternoon for a nice family picture and a very friendly meeting.
They all know how much the fans rely on them to make a Portuguesa fill the air on Saturday night, and they all will do their best in their respective class to make the fans happy.
It is not necessary to introduce Bruno and Tiago, who will co-drive the Oreca 01-AIM Nr.10, which is currently fourth of the teams‘ classification in the LMP1 class. The two young stars can therefore be full of hope.
Invited by the Mayor of Portimao and the circuit, drivers and team managers gamely signed autographs yesterday on the beach!
Enjoying the idyllic settings of the Marina, with fine sand and turquoise sea in the background, many competitors came to meet their public and for the occasion showed their knowhow to the entirely won over holidaymakers!
The weekend promises to be very, very hot!
Third episode of the "Tracklap with…" series, discover the advise of the former Formula 1 driver Tiago Monteiro, one of the rare Le Mans Series driver who already knows the Portimao circuit.
The track is really original, different and difficult! It is a great challenge because it winds up and down and includes blind corners. Drivers should find the track difficult, but very interesting. It is a mix of several tracks such as Spa or Laguna Seca. The race should be sunny but may be windy! The circuit is a success on the whole. […]
One Frenchman will replace another on WR/Salini’s WR/Zytek. Indeed, Brunce Jouanny will reinforce the team formed of Philippe and Stéphane Salini for the 1000 Km of Algarve, replacing Tristan Gommendy, held back by another race in England.
Bruce who finished 8th in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Pescarolo Judd n°16 will bring all his endurance experience to the LMP2 team, today 10th in the classification of its category after the first two races of the season.
The news is good, his back operation went well and « Lucho » was able to return home to Serre Chevalier 10 days ago to continue his convalescence. We are sure that his excellent physical condition will allow him to overcome this difficult phase with few after effects.
Whilst their leader is resting and building up his strength, all whole team continues working to reach the goal fixed by the ex-ski champion at the beginning of the season. Thus, Philippe Poincloux announced: We are going to concentrate all our energy on the 1000 km of Portimao where our aim in this discipline is to win the GT1 title for the second consecutive year. This meeting, which will be held at night for the second time in the history of the Le Mans Series Championship, should offer a wonderful show.
The Spanish motorbike driver, Alfonso Nieto, better known as Fonsi, is starting a new career this year in the Le Mans Series races. The ex-champion of Spain in 125cc and winner of many 250cc World Championship races (he was even vice-champion in 2002) is now taking on four wheeled machines!
Indeed, he will take the start of the 1000 km of Algarve in two weeks time behind the wheel of an LMP2 entered by Iberian team Q8 Oils Hache. The crew members will be 100% Spanish and one third feminine! Fonsi will be sharing the relays with his compatriots Maximo Cortes and a newcomer to Endurance, Carmen Jorda. The young lady, who is also the motorbike pilot’s girlfriend, started racing in Formula 3 and now combines her racing career with marketing studies as well as posing for many magazines
Gentlemen, you have been warned!
Let’s discover the 1000 Km of Algarve timetable. This night race, which will take place on Saturday night, is announced as an exceptional round and will be the nail of a very complete show. There will be no less than six support races among which the CER, the Formula Le Mans, the Formula Renault 3.5…and a lot of other ones.
Under Portimao’s sun, teams and drivers will meet for the very first time since the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even if the atmosphere will be very a summer one, the third round of the season promises to be…very hot!
