Provisional pole for Andre Lotterer in Audi R18 e-tron quattro at Le Mans |  |
| Provisional pole for Andre Lotterer in Audi R18 e-tron quattro at Le Mans Posted: 14 Jun 2012 06:00 AM PDT No disrespect to Toyota but it was somewhat of a given that Audi would be at the top in most sessions leading up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Wednesday’s qualifying session was quite eventful and we did see the two petrol powered Toyota TS030 Hybrid on pace but it was the new Audi R18 e-tron quattro on provisional pole. The 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Andre Lotterer, set a time of 3:25.453s late into the first qualifying session last night. This time was slower than his 3:25.163 earlier in the practice session but was .285s faster than last years pole. Lotterer will share the no1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro with Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer. “On the whole, we had a very productive day,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Finding a good set-up for the unusually cool temperatures in the night session wasn’t easy because the grip level on the track was pretty low. In the end, we managed that quite well on new tires. I do think, though, that even faster times will be driven tomorrow. But we’re fully concentrating on the race anyway because the pole position is not of decisive importance for the outcome of the race at Le Mans.” Tom Kristensen had the fastest time for a while but was demoted to second after Lotterer’s time. Kristensen nailed a 3:26.536 in the no2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro. Dindo Capello and Allan McNish will share driving duties with Kristensen. Qualifying third was Loic Duval in the no3 Audi R18 ultra with a time of 3:26.694. The no7 Toyota TS030 Hybrid was fourth (3:27.191) with Nicolas Lapierre at the wheel. Mike “Rocky” Rockefeller pulled up in fifth with a 3:27.554. “It was incredibly difficult to find a free lap,” said Mike Rockenfeller, who drove at Le Mans for the first time again after his serious accident a year ago and lost more than a second behind a slower GT car on his fastest lap. “Of course that was a shame – but it’s a lot more important that our car felt very good in the end and was comfortable to drive. That’s what counts at Le Mans.” All twelve Audi racers completed the mandatory laps at night which are prescribed for qualifying. The four Audi R18 cars were running without any technical problems and reeled off a total of 330 laps. Before the final qualifying session on Thursday night, the cars will be completely prepared again from scratch and fitted with the engines and components intended for the race. The ultimate decision of the grid positions will be made on Thursday night from 1900 to 2100 hrs and from 2200 to 2400 hrs.                                                                                                                                                Related posts: You're reading Provisional pole for Andre Lotterer in Audi R18 e-tron quattro at Le Mans originally posted on oneighturbo.com. If you've enjoyed this article, be sure and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube.
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| Solid qualifying session from Porsche teams at Le Mans 24 Hour Posted: 14 Jun 2012 05:25 AM PDT Earlier this week, Flying Lizard Motorsports announced that Patrick Pilet would fill in for Darren Law. With Law out due to scheduling conflicts, Pilet would share the no79 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with Seth Neiman and Atlanta’s Spencer Pumpelly. Pilet rose to the occasion and during todays first qualifying session, put the Porsche on top of the GTE-Am charts with a very fast 3:57.694. The time also put him into 6th in the complete GTE field. “I didn’t really have to push that hard to secure this time,” Patrick Pilet said. “The car was fast right from the start and easy to handle. The grid position is not that important in a 24 hour race, but of course it’s still an advantage to head off into the race from the front.” Prospeed Competition with Sean Edwards, Abdulaziz Al Faisal and USA’s Bret Curtis slid into second .0341 down and 8th overall in GTE. Prospeed is running one 911 GT3 RSR car this weekend. Team Felbermayr-Proton will be running two Porsche 911 GT3 RSR’s, one in each GTE class. Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz and Wolf Henzler landed sixth in GTE-Pro with the sister GTE-Am car of Christian Ried, Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti secured the fifth quickest time in GTE-Am. The Flying Lizard Motorsports no80 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with Joerg Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Marco Holzer at the wheel pulled up in seventh in GTE-Pro. “The key to a good qualifying result in Le Mans is to get a clear run. I didn’t manage this,” said Marc Lieb. “That’s why our time isn’t that great. Tomorrow we want to be up closer to the front runners. I’m certain we could find a couple of tenths if we can get a free lap.” Joerg Bergmeister stated, “We’ve found a good set-up for the race so that’s great. Today we checked some things out with our tires, but unfortunately it didn’t yield the results we’d hoped for. Still, there are another two qualifying sessions tomorrow for us to go out and secure the best possible grid spot.” IMSA Performance Matmut wound up eighth in GTE-Am with a 4:00.332 The JWA-Avila team was off pace and last with a 4:08.170 Results: | Complete results GTE Pro class GTE Am class                Related posts: You're reading Solid qualifying session from Porsche teams at Le Mans 24 Hour originally posted on oneighturbo.com. If you've enjoyed this article, be sure and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube.
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