The final countdown...
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IT Development
For Aston Martin, along with all the other teams that will start at Le Mans this year, the pre-event test day means that the waiting is finally over. After a year of preparation, the Aston Martin drivers finally got their chance to take to the eight-mile La Sarthe circuit last Sunday.
As a large part of it – namely the legendary Mulsanne straight – is usually the N138 main road towards Tours, the full Le Mans circuit is only open once a year. Consequently, the first day of running is always an adventure.
Despite its name, the Mulsanne is actually far from being straight – and the asphalt on it is very different in nature to that used on the permanent circuit. “The first time you drive on the full circuit all year, the track always feels horrible,” explains the experienced David Brabham, who will form part of the 009 crew this year. “That’s because the circuit is very ‘green’ – in other words, slippery and greasy. As a large part of it is used as a normal road, you get the usual problems that you find on main roads: small oil spillages, ruts on the road and so on. Racing cars tend to lay down rubber on the track as they use specialist tyres, but that’s obviously not the case when it comes to ordinary road cars. So the first time on the Mulsanne is always a good wake-up call!”
It’s easy to see why nobody wants to be first out – particularly when it is raining as hard as it did at Le Mans last weekend. Add some damp to the existing road grease, and the circuit quickly becomes a skating rink – as many of the top competitors found out the hard way. However, these are all conditions that may well occur again during the actual race, so it’s always important to maximise the time that is available on the track as well.
“We did wait a bit before going out, but it’s usually a compromise,” said Brabham. “For me, it was important to get re-acquainted with the car as much as I could, but obviously the conditions meant that we couldn’t do any detailed set-up work.”
With heavy rain for most of the day, the track was seldom the same from one lap to the next – and the local fire brigade was even called out to pump water from some of the trackside bars and restaurants. As set-up work always requires a stable reference point – so that changes to the car can be accurately assessed – there was no point in doing more than a basic run-out for the drivers and cars.
“We’ve left ourselves with a lot of work to do during the Le Mans week itself, but everyone’s in the same situation,” observed Aston Martin Racing Team Principal George Howard-Chappell. “The weather is so random that all we can really do is give the drivers a bit more experience with the car in a wide variety of conditions. The rest will have to wait.”
There are no prizes given out for test day: it is purely an opportunity for the teams to get to grips with the track. The new drivers at Le Mans also have to pre-qualify by completing a certain number of laps, but for the rest of them it is optional.
Antonio Garcia, in the 009 car, was probably the luckiest of the Aston Martin Racing drivers as he managed to get in a number of laps in the dry. “It didn’t last very long, but I did do some laps in the dry on slicks,” he said. “I knew this was the only chance I would get of some dry running so I pushed quite hard and I’m encouraged by the times we were able to set.”
Success at Le Mans is rarely about speed over just one lap though: it’s all about keeping a consistent pace over the 24 hours. “That’s the key to it,” summed up 007 driver Karl Wendlinger, returning to Le Mans for the first time since 2001. “You have to choose a rhythm that is not too quick and not too slow. Above all, you have to stay out of trouble. The test day was useful for that.”
To prove his point, it’s enough to remember that the 009 DBR9 that won the GT1 class at Le Mans last year actually spent the least amount of time of any car in the pits. Consistency is of the essence, as the crews will find out when they return to the track next week for the final free practice sessions and qualifying...
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