The warm-up for the Le Mans 24 Hours saw Aston Martin Racing’s Tomas Enge set second-fastest time this morning, just a second behind the Corvette of Oliver Gavin.
The 007 car driver reported that he was not pushing hard though, as conditions are still damp with more intermittent rain expected during the day. Although the worst of the standing water has gone, the track is still extremely slippery. As well as a lack of grip, the drivers also have to deal with a lack of visibility – as the spray thrown up from other cars can often reduce forward vision to just a few metres.
“It wasn’t easy this morning, as with wet conditions and cold asphalt there was very little grip,” said Enge. “However, we achieved our objectives as I think we’ve got a very good racing car now in both wet and dry conditions: it gives you confidence. Certainly at the start of the race the key to winning will be not losing – just staying clean and consistent. Then we will see what happens, but we look to be in good shape.”
The Aston Martin Racing team spent yesterday re-building the race cars, which will start the 24-Hour endurance classic with new engines, gearboxes and driveshafts.
Darren Turner, part of the crew competing in the 009 car, said: “The warm-up is really just to check that everything is working properly after the cars were rebuilt yesterday. It’s also good to get a chance to sample the conditions again, close to the start of the race.”
With the start expected to take place in damp or rainy conditions, the teams will go with a full wet set-up for the start of the race at 1500. As and when conditions dry out, small changes can be made to stiffen the car up and make it more suitable for dry conditions. It’s a tough task for the two race engineers, as with three drivers in each car, set-up is always a series of compromises.
In the 007 car, Peter Kox is down to take the start – from 10th on the GT1 grid – while David Brabham will start the 009 car from fourth on the grid.