24h Le Mans
Like in 2014 and 2015, Porsche has dominated (for now) the first day of the 2016 Prologue. During the pre-season tests which took place today at the Circuit Paul Ricard, the German manufacturer topped the timesheet with the No. 2 919 Hybrid.
Friday, March 25, 2016 allowed competitors entered in the World Endurance Championship to hit the track for a first confrontation. Though it is still too early to draw any conclusions for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the different teams took advantage of the time to maximize their preparation. One thing is certain, in each class, the lap times are very tight.
In LM P1, the wait seemed endless to finally see the three manufacturers officially entered to take each other on. The 2016 version of the Porsche 919 Hybrid, an evolution of the car that won at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, is dominating for the moment. The new Audi R18 and Toyota TS 050 are following, but Porsche clocked the absolute best time after the two tests sessions of the day (and before the night session between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. local time). Durinig the morning session, under a beautiful sky, the No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid clocked 1:38:264. Toyota and Audi followed with respective times in 1:40:517 and 1:40:612. During the second session of the day, the times improved. 1:37:960 for the No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid, against 1:39:393 for the No. 7 Audi R18 and 1:39:559 for the No. 5 Toyota TS 050 Hybrid. The three factory cars are the only ones to go below the bar of 1:40 per lap. The best time of these first two sessions is very close to the best time clocked at the 2015 Prologue by Porsche in 1:37:220. A time that will be beaten? Probably.
For now, the three drivers entered for the No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid clocked the top three times of the day. French driver Romain Dumas dominated Swiss driver Neel Jani ahead of German driver Marc Lieb. The three drivers are within slightly more than half a second. Best times but not best speeds. That goes to the No. 5 Toyota TS 050 Hybrid. 340.7 km/h for Anthony Davidson. Nicolas Prost and Dominik Kraihamer follow with 335.4 km/h and 334.4 km/h.
In LM P2, the time clocked by Nelson Panciatici in the No. 35 Alpine A460 Nissan in the morning (1:47:340) was beaten. Surprise, it was the British team Strakka Racing that finished the first two sessions in the lead, with a time of 1:46:976. Surprise because it was with an open Gibson 015S Nissan that Jonny Kane, Nick Leventis and Danny Watts clocked the time, on a track that tends to favour closed cars like the Oreca 05s or Ligier JS P2s. The 10 competitors in the class are all within 2.5 seconds! All the drivers admit it, the LM P2s play on a dime as in terms of pure performance, all the cars are similar.
In the LM GTE Pro class, the new Ferrari 488 GTEs entered by AF Corse are already the fastest! 1:57:808 in the morning for James Calado and Gianmaria Bruni in the No. 51 car. 1:58:479 in the afternoon for Sam Bird and Davide Rigon. The two Ford GTs are under the two-minute mark, which has not yet been crossed byAston Martin.
MOTORSPORT : PROLOGUE FIA WEC - LE CASTELLET (FRA) 2016/03/25-26PHOTO : Alexis GOURE / ACO
Posted by 24 Hours of Le Mans on Friday, March 25, 2016
In LM GTE Am, the one to watch of the day is the No. 50 Corvette C7-Z06. 1:58:268 for Paolo Ruberti, and Pierre Ragues, joining Larbre Compétition this year, clocked the second best time of the day in 1:58:957.
End of the day with a final session done at night, between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. local time, before a new day of tests tomorrow starting at 9:00 a.m.
Geoffroy Barre - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
Photo: Porsche is currently in control of the first day of the 2016 Prologue. The three drivers of the No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid are the fastest on the track after the first days of testing.
