RACE REPORT // EIGHT HOURS OF LE CASTELLET

Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello won the inaugural Eight Hours of Le Castellet to mark a comfortable debut victory for the Audi R15+. The updated German car was at the event in part as a test, and throughout the weekend it seemed an impressive vehicle, though the handling was said to still be an issue. Aston Martin Racing were second, Adrian Fernandez sharing with Stefan Mücke and Harold Primat, with the previously Aston engined Lola of Rebellion Racing third. Jean-Christophe Boullion was impressive again, as he shared with Guy Smith (also very impressive) and Andrea Bellichi for the Swiss team... [read more]

Oreca had a day to forget, their Peugeot suffering hydraulic trouble early on and losing half an hour. The team would recover to finish fourth with second best lap, the position coming at the expense of the French team’s own chassis. The AIM powered car had a handful of late problems that ultimately restricted it to fifth overall.

Strakka Racing can be proud of a job well done, storming back after losing time early on to win LMP2 and finish sixth overall. Danny Watts drove the wheels off their new Honda Performance Development chassis and overhauled Richard Hein’s OAK Pescarolo after the French gentleman driver took over from team mate Guillaume Moreau. Moreau had turned on the style to drive from the back of the grid to the class lead, in a car undoubtedly slower than that of Strakka and was unlucky not to win. Third were RML, their HPD engined Lola coming good at the end on a slightly different strategy, driving more efficiently to save fuel and cut through at the final stops- with a bit of help from magical Tommy Erdos, who helped earn Mike Newton and Andy Wallace a spot on the podium with him. 2009 champions Quifel ASM, with Miguel Amaral, Olivier Pla and Warren Hughes were let down by mechanical problems, a curse of their Zytek chassis they thought had been eradicated.

In LMPC, a late change of lead saw Applewood Seven (answers on a postcard about that name) sweep past to win ahead of Hope Polevision Racing. Damien Toulemonde, Ross Zampatti and David Zollinger (the late hero) earned the win from Mathias Beche (the unfortunate half of the late pass), Vincent Capillaire and Christophe Pillon. DAMS were third, the famous French outfit’s Oreca chassis crewed by Andrea Balesi, Gary Chalandon and Alessandro Cicognani.

GT1 was, as lamented by Radio Le Mans’ John Hindaugh, “An entry, not a class.” The Larbre Saleen, driven by ex FIA GT champion Gabrielle Gardel, alongside Julien Canal and Patrice Goueslard, had a catalogue of problems and ended 24th overall and deep in GT2.

The second GT tier belonged to Porsche, with the main Ferrari challenge wilting with various problems, the sole Aston suffering fuel pump maladies and Spyker suffering at the hands of several poorly driven prototypes. Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz romped home two laps clear of team mates Patrick Long, Christian Ried and Martin Ragginger. Celebrity AF Corse Ferrari entry, number 95, was third in the hands of Jean Alesi, Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander. The Finn had commented upon the determination of his ex F1 team mates, saying he was surprised by their drive to excel in the GT class.

The next round is at Spa, where the 1000kms will see six works diesels go head to head in the historic Ardennes circuit.

Full results are available here

Editorial: Jake Yorath
Photo: The Racing Line