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Home , Alexander Wurz, Allan McNish, Andrea Belicchi, Andrea Piccini, Audi R10 TDI, Casper Elgaard

IN TOUCH THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF DUNLOP [ www.injection.tv ] QUALIFYING EDITION

How fast they go? The fastest LMP1 car was clocked at 344km/h (214mph) on Wednesday night. Cars break 200mph three times during a single lap and more than 75% of the circuit is completed at full throttle. The fastest LMP2 car was the van Merksteijn at 326km/h. GT1’s fastest car was the IPB Spartak Murcielago at 315km/h and in GT2 the Virgo Motorsport clocked 299km/h. Last year’s winning completed 5,091km at an average of 209.152km/h.

How long is the track? Last modified in 2007, the track length is 13.629km. The qualifying time from 2007 was 3m26.344s set by Stephane Sarrazin for Peugeot, and the fastest race lap was 3m27.176 set by Allan McNish’s Audi. Sarrazin is on pole this year with a 3m18.513s lap, an average lap speed of 247.16km/h.

How do the tyre manufacturers stack up? Dunlop has won the Le Mans 24 hours 34 times, its first in 1924 with and its most recent in 1991 with . The next best score for a tyre manufacturer is with 16 wins, and Goodyear has 14, most recently in 1997.

Mixed fortunes for Dunlop How many tyres will Dunlop bring this year? Dunlop has brought nearly 3,000 tyres to Le Mans this year. These include five different slick dry-weather variants, and three levels of wet weather tyre. One third of the total number were built since teams in qualifying at Le Mans the test day on June 1. The tyres are taken on 12 trucks and 36 personnel will oversee the process of mounting the tyres, with one Dunlop service engineer dedicated to each car who will live with the team in the pit box throughout the 24 hours to help make critical tyre decisions. Dunlop teams had mixed fortunes during the four two- speed of the car,” said Joao Barbosa, who will share the hour qualifying sessions on Wednesday and Thursday car with and Stephen Gregoire. How many sets of tyres does each team have? evenings with strong performances in two of the three The Creation team had an accident on Thursday with A partner team such as Virgo Motorsport will have nine sets of classes contested by the tyre manufacturer. However, Stuart Hall at the wheel. The car returned to the pit on wheels, fitted with tyres for wet weather, dry weather and light-wet there were also incidents that left two of Dunlop’s a flat bed lorry and the team immediately started work tyres. Four sets will be fitted with various compounds of slick dry weather tyres. In normal dry conditions, the team will change tyres teams with a race against time to prepare their cars for on repairs ahead of the warm-up session on Saturday at every during daylight. You cannot change tyres at the Saturday’s 3pm race start. morning. Another of the Dunlop teams, Kruse Schiller, had same time as refuelling the car, so the challenge is to ‘double-stint’ was on provisional LMP2 a big accident on Wednesday night. rolled the tyres and save approximately 20s per pit stop. overnight on Wednesday in the Team Essex Porsche the car spectacularly at the first turn causing extensive damage. The team has worked hard to repair the car and What are the differences between the classes? RS Spyder. The Danish-entered car, driven by Maassen, LMP1 cars are for 900kg cars, running maximum 6- normally John Nielsen and , was the fastest Dunlop expects to have it ready for Noda, Allan Simonsen and aspirated engines, 4-litre turbocharged engines, or 5.5 litre qualifier overall. Jean de Pourtales. turbocharged diesel engines. Fuel capacity is 90 for petrol, 81 “We didn’t need to make any changes to the set-up of Amanda Stretton will become the first British woman litres for diesel, tyre width is 16 inches. driver to race in the top class at Le Mans since Margie LMP2 is for 825kg cars with 3.4 litre 8-cylinder engines, 4-litre the car and I have never been able to say that,” said normally aspirated engines or 2-litre turbocharged engines. Fuel Maassen. The other Porsche RS Spyder in the class, Smith-Haas in 1985, and with the Chamberlain Synergy capacity is 90 litres, tyre width is 14 inches. with Dutchman at the wheel, pipped the team aims to become the first British woman to be GT1 is for road-based cars. Engine capacity is 8-litre normally Essex car on Thursday and the Essex team elected not to classified at the finish since Betty Haig finished 15th in aspirated, 4-litre turbocharged and a minimum weight of 1,125kg. challenge again. 1951. She will share the Dunlop-shod Lola with her Fuel tank capacity is 90 litres, tyre width is 14 inches. GT2 engine capacity is the same as GT1, but engines are restricted The Virgo Motorsport Ferrari qualified third fastest in husband Bob Berridge, and Gareth Evans, but the Lola in power output. Tank capacity is 90 litres, and the minimum weight the GT2 class, the quickest Ferrari, and the team was suffered a water leak before their qualifying run, forcing is 1,125kg. Tyre width is set according to weight. Below 1,200kg delighted with its preparation for the race. The Ferrari 430 an engine change. The team concentrated on giving tyre width is 12 inches, above 1,200kg cars may run 14 inches. GT has the all new 2008 aerodynamic kit which has less Stretton time in the car ahead of her first race in LMP1 drag and is more efficient than the previous package. “We and Evans commented: “The tyres are brilliant, a big step set the time on the soft compound tyres, but we have up from last year.” found that the harder compound is more stable and we The Quifel Team ASM had gear selection problems in are hopeful that we can double stint them in the cooler qualifying and will line up seventh in LMP2 while the weather,” said lead driver Bell. Bruichladdich team gave Ben Devlin time in the car The Rollcentre Pescarolo, who finished 4th overall in ahead of his debut at Le Mans. The Autocon team will 2007, will start the race from 18th position on the line up 21st in the LMP1 class in their Creation, while the grid after having their qualifying run disrupted with a Farnbacher Racing Ferrari team is expecting a good race mechanical failure. “We did put on qualifying tyres but we with , Lars Eric Nielsen and Pierre Ehret. They had an alternator problem and so couldn’t establish the did not run qualifying tyres, but were still fifth fastest in the GT2 category.

Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder, Le Mans 2008, Sascha Maassen, Casper Elgaard, John Nielsen

Photograph, David Reygondeau LE MANS 24 HOURS, 2008 GRID Dunlop teams in bold

8. Team Total Peugeot HDI FAP LMP1 /Stephane Sarrazin/ 3m18.513s 9. Total Peugeot 908 HDI FAP LMP1 // 3m18.682s 7. Team Total Peugeot Peugeot 908 HDI FAP LMP1 Marc Gene// 3m20.451s 2. Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI LMP1 /Allan McNish/ 3m23.347s 3. Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R10 TDI LMP1 Alexandre Premat// 3m24.287s 10. Lola LMP1 Stefan Mucke//Tomas Enge 3m25.158s 1. Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI LMP1 // 3m25.289s 11. Racing Team Dome S102 LMP1 Daisuke Ito/Yugi Tachikawa/Tatsuya Kataoka 3m26.928s 16. Pescarolo Judd LMP1 Jean-Christophe Boullion// 3m28.533s 5. Team Matmut Courage ORECA Judd LMP1 //Loic Duval 3m30.490s 17. Pescarolo Sport Pescarolo Judd LMP1 Harald Primat//Bernard Treluyer 3m30.618s 12. Charouz Racing System Lola Judd LMP1 Greg Pickett// 3m31.135s 6. Team ORECA Matmut Courage ORECA Judd LMP1 //Loic Duval 3m31.243s 21. Epsilon Euskadi Epsilon Euskadi Judd LMP1 Jean-Marc Gounon// 3m32.939s 20. Epsilon Euskadi Epsilon Euskadi Judd LMP1 Angel Burgueno/A Valles/Miguel Angel de Castro 3m34.281s 18. Rollcentre Racing Pescarolo Judd LMP1 Vanina Ickx/Stephen Gregoire/Joao Barbosa 3m35.020s 14. Creation Judd CA07 LMP1 Stuart Hall// 3m35.994s 24. Terramos Courage Mugen LMP1 /Kasuho Takahashi/Hiroki Katoh 3m37.560s 19. Chamberlain Synergy Lola AER B06/10 LMP1 Gareth Evans/Bob Berridge/Amanda Stretton 3m38.024s 4. Saulnier Racing Pescarolo Judd LMP1 /Richard Hein/Marc Faggionato 3m42.162s 23. Autocon Creation Judd LMP1 Michael Lewis/Will Bryan/Chris McMurry 3m47.695s 22. Tokai University - YGK Courage ORECA YGK LMP1 Toshio //Hiroshi Kurosawa 3m53.143s

34. van Merksteijn Motorsport Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 Peter van Merksteijn/Jos Verstappen/ 3m32.301s 31. Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 John Nielsen/Casper Elgaard/Sascha Maassen 3m33.441s 32. Barazi Epsilon Zytek 07S LMP2 Juan Barazi/Michael Vergers/Stuart Moseley 3m35.344s 33. Speedy Racing Team Sebah Lola Judd LMP2 Xavier Pompidou// 3m35.401s 45. Embassy Racing Embassy Zytek LMP2 //Joey Foster 3m39.926s 25. RML Lola MG B05-40 LMP2 Tommy Erdos/Mike Newton/Andy Wallace 3m40.027s 40. Quifel ASM Team Lola AER B05/40 LMP2 //Guy Smith 3m41.193s 35. Saulnier Racing Pescarolo Judd LMP2 /Mathieu Lahaye 3m42.545s 41. Trading Performance Zytek 07S LMP2 Karim Ojjeh/Claude-Yves Gosselin/Adam Sharpe 3m43.148s 26. Team Bruichladdich Radical AER SR9 LMP2 /Ben Devlin/ 3m46.631s 44. Kruse Schiller Motorsport Lola Mazda LMP2 Jean de Pourtales/Hideki Noda/JF Yvon 3m47.802s

63. Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R GT1 Johnny O'Connell// 3m47.668s 50. Larbre Competition S7R GT1 // 3m47.761s 64. Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R GT1 // 3m48.539s 009. Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 David /Antonio Garcia/ 3m48.994s 007. Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 //Heinz-Harald Frentzen 3m49.060s 55. IPB Spartak Racing GT1 /Romain Rusinov/ 3m52.175s 72. Aventures Corvette C6.R GT1 Luc Alphand/Jerome Policand/ 3m52.993s 59. Team Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 Jos Menten// 3m53.031s 53. Team Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 Alex Negrao/Peter Hardman/ 3m53.475s 73. Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette C6.R GT1 /Jean-Luc Blanchimain/Laurent Pasquali 3m55.736s

76. IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche GT3 RSR GT2 Raymond Narac// 3m58.152s 77. Team Felbermayr Proton Porsche GT3 RSR GT2 //Horst Felbermayr Snr 3m59.072s 96. Virgo Motorsport Ferrari 430 GT GT2 Rob Bell//Tim Mullen 3m59.820s 80. Flying Lizard Motorsport Porsche GT3 RSR GT2 Jorg Bergmeister//Seth Nieman 4m00.106s 90. Farnbacher Racing Ferrari 430 GT GT2 Pierre Kaffer/Lars Eric Nielsen/Pierre Ehret 4m01.464s 82. Ferrari 430 GT GT2 // 4m01.598s 97. BMW Scuderia Italia Ferrari 430 GT GT2 Matteo Malucelli// 4m02.080s 99. JMB Racing Ferrari 430 GT GT2 Alain Ferte/Ben Aucott/Stephane Daoudi 4m03.293s 85. BV Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2 //Alexei Vasiliev 4m03.641s 78. AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT GT2 /Tomas Biagi/Christian Montanari 4m03.810s 83. Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT GT2 /Nic Jonsson/ 4m04.515s 94. Speedy Racing Team Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2 Andrea Chiesa/Benjamin Leuenberger/Iradj Alexander 4m08.284s

For further information: Dunlop Motorsport Division, Jean-Felix Bazelin, General Manager, Motorsport, EU, jean_felix_bazelin@dunlop-.com Ltd, Fort Dunlop, Jeremy Ferguson, International Motorsport Manager, [email protected] Birmingham, B24 9QT Gary Wassell, Manager, Car Motorsport, EU, [email protected] Tel: +44 121 306 6000 Stephen Male, Manager, Motorcycle Motorsport EU, [email protected] fax: +44 121 306 7000 Jason Dee, Sales and Product Manager Motorcycle EU, [email protected] e-mail; [email protected] Paul Bryant, Key Account Manager - Car Motorsport EU, [email protected]

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