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2010 Le Mans 24 hour endurance race, 12-13 June, updated

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Le Mans 24 Hours

Six Porsche 911 GT3 RSR at legendary long distance classic

LIVE TIMING
http://www.lemans.org/en/courses/24h-chrono-en-direct-2010.html



With six 911 GT3 RSR fielded by customer teams from Europe and the USA, the Porsche colours fly strong at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Taking up the world's most famous long distance race amongst the favourites for GT2 class honours at 15.00 hours on 12 June are works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Wolf Henzler (Germany) competing for Germany's Felbermayr-Proton squad.

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Their factory pilot colleagues Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Pilet (France) and Patrick Long (USA) as well as Porsche Junior Marco Holzer (Germany) are also tackling Le Mans. With 16 overall victories since 1970, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer by far in the history of the legendary 24 hour classic.

Like last year, Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) have been given the green light to compete for Audi. With an Audi R15 TDI, they are eager to go for overall victory in the class for the most powerful vehicles, the LMP1 sports prototypes.

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At the 78th edition of the long distance classic in the Sarthe region, Porsche customer teams face strong opposition with major-league names in the GT2 class. 'We are up against tough competition this year from BMW, Ferrari, Corvette and Aston Martin," states Marc Lieb, who mans the number 77 car. 'But the 911 GT3 RSR is reliable and quick. You need a very well balanced car here, particularly for the extremely fast corners – and that's just what we have.

The long full throttle passages also suit our car and Michelin is the perfect tyre partner. We have the chance to fight for class victory, and we'll be doing everything to make it happen." As reigning GT2 champions and current points' leaders of the Le Mans Series, Richard Lietz teams up with Lieb. Lietz is looking forward to Le Mans: 'This race is always something special. The whole affair has flair and the circuit is simply fantastic." The Felbermayr team enters a second 911 with start number 88, in which the Austrians Horst Felbermayr senior and junior with Slovakian Miroslav Konopka share driving duties.

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At the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR run by the French IMSA Performance Matmut team, regulars Patrick Pilet and team boss Raymond Narac (France) join forces with support, as usual, from Patrick Long. 'We kicked off the season with victory at the 24 hour race in Dubai, perhaps that was a good omen for our home event," hopes Pilet. 'The 911 GT3 RSR is cut out for the demanding Le Mans circuit. We're aiming for the podium."

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The French 911 bears the start number 76. Another well-established Porsche outfit comes from the United States: Flying Lizard Motorsports (start number 80), GT class title defender in the American Le Mans Series, brings Joerg Bergmeister as well as Americans Darren Law and Seth Neiman.

BMS Scuderia Italia's Porsche 911 GT3 RSR also features a top driver line up. Porsche Junior Marco Holzer shares the #97 cockpit with reigning FIA GT champion Richard Westbrook (Great Britain) and the double DTM champion Timo Scheider (Germany).

The sixth 911 with starting number 75 is entered by the Belgian ProSpeed Competition team, with Dutchmen Paul van Splunteren and Niek Hommerson as well as Louis Machiels (Belgium) sharing the cockpit.

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For the anticipated 250,000 spectators, the Le Mans 24 Hours is more than just a race. The fans look forward to a one-week festival, which kicks off with the technical scrutineering on Sunday and Monday (6/7 June) on the market square of Le Mans.

On Wednesday from 16.00 to 20.00 hours is the free practice, followed by the hunt for top grid positions with the first qualifying session from 22.00 hours to midnight. Qualifying sessions two and three take place on Thursday from 19.00 to 21.00 hours and from 22.00 to 24.00 hours. On Friday from 18.00 to 19.00 hours, the masses flock to the city centre of Le Mans for the traditional drivers' parade, creating the usual traffic chaos.

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The lights go off on Saturday, 12 June, signalling the start for the 55 competitors on their 24 hour chase around the 13.650 kilometre race track.

Television stations Eurosport and Eurosport 2 report at length from Le Mans. From Monday, 7 June, daily previews and interesting background stories will be broadcast. The free practice, final qualifying and the warm up will also be televised. Eurosport, as a major sports channel, broadcasts about two-thirds of the race live.

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Facts and figures

This is the Le Mans 24 hour race

The 55-strong grid line-up for the Le Mans 24 Hours is made up of two different sports car categories: Sports prototypes and modified standard sports cars. The technical regulations of the long distance classic are the basis for the European Le Mans Series (LMS) and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). All race cars take off at the same time in Le Mans. There is an overall classification and classifications for each class.

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The four classes in Le Mans:

LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 700 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms. Power to weight ratio: ca. 1.3 kg/hp.

LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with around 440 hp (with normally aspirated engines) and an 825 kilogram minimum weight. Power to weight ratio: ca. 1.8 kg/hp.

GT1 class: Heavily modified standard sports car with up to 650 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 – 1,325 kilograms.

GT2 class: Slightly modified standard sports cars with 450 to 460 hp and a minimum weight of 1,145 – 1,345 kilograms. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR competes in this class.

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Four 911 GT3 RSR qualify in top ten

Great start for Porsche customers in Le Mans: In qualifying for the 24 hour race, four of six pilots driving the 911 GT3 RSR made the top ten in the GT2 category. With 18 cars from seven different manufacturers, this class is excellently supported and offers particularly tough competition. The fastest Porsche driver in the 450 hp 911 was factory pilot Marc Lieb (Germany), who lapped the 13.650 kilometre circuit in a time of 4.01.640 minutes. This puts Lieb fifth on the grid in the GT2 class with his works driver teammates, Richard Lietz (Austria) and Wolf Henzler (Germany).

The qualifying session provided an extra portion of suspense through the constantly changing track conditions. While yesterday evening's first session was dry, the second qualifying started on a damp track before it slowly dried up. 'Fifth on the grid is okay," said Lieb, who competes with Lietz and Henzler for the German Felbermayr-Proton team. 'I could have done a better time, but I had a bit of bad luck with traffic." Lietz added: 'Despite the changing conditions we managed to find a good set-up. And that is the main thing when you're tackling a 24 hour race."

The trio manning the 911 GT3 RSR fielded by the French IMSA Performance Matmut team was satisfied with the sixth grid position. 'Our car's balance is very good," works driver Patrick Pilet (France) summed up. 'We are well prepared and believe the key to success in Le Mans is not to make mistakes and stay concentrated." Pilet takes up the race with works driver Patrick Long (USA) and Raymond Narac (France).

The drivers for the Italian BMS Scuderia Italia squad put in a remarkable performance with eights. All three contest the long distance classic for the first time. Britain's Richard Westbrook set the qualifying time. His teammates are Porsche Junior Marco Holzer (Germany) and his compatriot, DTM champion Timo Scheider. 'We're all totally impressed with the track and the overall atmosphere," said Holzer. 'I've never driven such high speed corners before, so you have to feel your way to find the limit." Scheider commented: 'It's crazy how many spectators already arrived at the beginning of the week."

America's Flying Lizard Motorsports were also not too unhappy with their tenth grid position. 'I drove the fastest lap with used tyres," explained works driver Joerg Bergmeister (Germany). The GT champion of the American Le Mans Series shares the cockpit in Le Mans with Americans Seth Neiman and Darren Law.

Porsche's factory drivers Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France), who like last year received the go-ahead to contest Le Mans for Audi, take up the race in the R15 TDI from fifth place.

Between the second and third qualifying sessions, Marc Lieb turned demonstration laps at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. The technology of the race car expressly typifies the philosophy of 'Porsche Intelligent Performance". Its 480 hp normally-aspirated rear-engine is supplemented by two 60 kilowatt electric motors at the front axle. Prior to the start of the 24 hour race, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid will again turn demo laps, with the orange-white 911 available for race fans to have a close look at in the paddock over the entire weekend.

The 24 hour race gets underway on Saturday, 12 June, at 15.00 hours. Television stations Eurosport and Eurosport 2 take turns in broadcasting the race around the clock, with Eurosport, as a major sports channel, showing about two-thirds of the race live.

Result GT2 class qualifying
1. Melo/Kaffer/Bruni (BR/D/I), Ferrari F430 GT, 3.59.233 minutes
2. Gavin/Beretta/Collard (GB/MC/F), Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, + 0.202 seconds
3. Magnussen/O'Connell/Garcia (DK/USA/E), Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, + 0.560
4. Alesi/Fisichella/Vilander (F/I/FIN), Ferrari F430 GT, + 0.604
5. Lieb/Lietz/Henzler (D/A/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.407
6. Pilet/Long/Narac (F/USA/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.522
7. J.Müller/Farfus/Alzen (D/BR/D), BMW M3 GT2, + 2.660
8. Holzer/Westbrook/Scheider (D/GB/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 2.781
9. Farnbacher/Simonsen/Keen (D/AUS/USA), Ferrari F430 GT, + 3.194
10. Bergmeister/Neiman/Law (D/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 3.452
 
Who is that bungling Bozo presenting on Eurosport? :nooo:

HD is looking v good tho' :thumb:
 
LIVE TIMING
http://www.lemans.org/en/courses/24h-chrono-en-direct-2010.html


Mansell crash hampers Audi's race

Audi's challenge to Peugeot has been hampered by the first safety car period of this year's Le Mans 24 Hours.

Nigel Mansell crashed the Beechdean Ginetta-Zytek on the run from Mulsanne corner to Indianapolis, causing a full course yellow. The three safety cars were deployed, with one of them coming out between the four leading Peugeots and the rest of the frontrunners.

The three works Audi R15s are now more than two minutes behind the Peugeots, and were lapping around 1.5 seconds per lap slower than the 908s before the caution.

Audi Motorsport boss Wolfgang Ullrich is frustrated by the situation, but concedes it is just part of racing at Le Mans.

"The safety car came out exactly in front of Allan [McNish], but this is what happens if there are three safety cars around the lap," he said. "For sure it is bad luck - it's always not so nice if the race starts with an accident. But it's part of the game and everybody has to cope with it.

"Now there will be a distance of at least one minute, but we will try to catch up."

Ullrich also admitted that the difference on pace between the Peugeots and Audis is as he expected.

"This is about what we thought it would be," he added." We will keep on pushing - I think we can go very consistently at that speed. If it gets a little warmer, maybe that will help us."
 

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Le Mans 24 Hours, interim report at 23.00 hours

Porsche within striking distance of leaders

Porsche customer teams can look back on a positive first third of the 24 hour race: The 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 RSR are running reliably without any technical problems. Just one of the six Porsche contesting the race had to drop out of contention due to an accident. All five remaining 911 demonstrate the reliability of the GT racer from Weissach.

Lying in third position, works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Wolf Henzler (Germany) are within striking distance of the GT2 class front-runners in the 911 GT3 RSR fielded by the Felbermayr squad. The French IMSA Performance Matmut outfit also experienced a trouble-free opening phase.

At dusk, the two factory pilots Patrick Pilet (France) and Patrick Long (USA) as well as Raymond Narac (France) were running a promising fifth. The trio manning the BMS Scuderia Italia 911 also kept up the pace during the first third of the race. After eight hours, the three Le Mans debutants Marco Holzer (Germany), Richard Westbrook (Great Britain) and Timo Scheider (Germany) ranked eighth.

'Our car is running without the slightest problem," stated Marc Lieb. 'And all three drivers have completed their first stints perfectly. But that's easier said than done. You have to be so careful not to get caught up in an accident with the faster prototypes. We had a minor hiccup at one pit stop with a nut-gun that wasn't working properly."

Patrick Pilet was also pleased with progress. 'We've found a very good rhythm," said the Frenchman. 'Patrick Long took up the race with a single stint to check if we could drive another 14 laps with the tyres. Afterwards, we put in double stints which worked well. The car is handling beautifully. The duels with the other GT3 rivals are great fun and we're all feeling optimistic."

The race for the American Flying Lizard Motorsport team, however, was over after just five hours. Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Americans Darren Law and Seth Neiman had to pack up after Law irreparably damaged the 911 when he took a journey into the gravel.

The four classes in Le Mans:

LMP1 class: Sports prototypes with up to 700 hp and a minimum weight of 900 kilograms. Power to weight ratio: ca. 1.3 kg/hp.
LMP2 class: Sports prototypes with around 440 hp (with normally aspirated engines) and an 825 kilogram minimum weight. Power to weight ratio: ca. 1.8 kg/hp.
GT1 class: Heavily modified standard sports car with up to 650 hp and a minimum weight of 1,125 – 1,325 kilograms.
GT2 class: Slightly modified standard sports cars with 450 to 460 hp and a minimum weight of 1,145 – 1,345 kilograms. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR competes in this class.
 

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HOUR 9: #2 Peugeot still in command

Franck Montagny's factory Peugeot completed the ninth hour of Le Mans with an advantage of nearly two minutes over Nicolas Lapierre in the ORECA-run 908 HDi FAP as the race rolled over to lap 146.

The #2 car, the only one of the works French machines not to hit trouble has ran a steady pace through the hour, though was kept honest by its privateer rival.

Audi's Timo Bernhard was third, a lap behind the leader and 56s ahead of the sister R15 TDI Plus driven by Marcel Faessler.

As the hour came to a close erstwhile leader Marc Gene, in the recovering #1 Peugeot, had set a blistering pace lapping regularly in the 3m20s bracket as he chased down Allan McNish's fifth-placed Audi.
 

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