Tom Kimber-Smith with the Woolf Barnato Trophy

After a season in which he won the LMP2 class title in the Le Mans Series and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Tom Kimber-Smith picked up two prestigious awards at two separate awards ceremonies.

Tom’s first accolade came from the Guild of Motoring Writers annual awards held on December 1 at the RAC Club in Pall Mall, collecting the 2011 Driver of the Year award. Kimber-Smith joins a long line of motorsport greats to be given the award including Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Damon Hill, and Sebastien Loeb. Kimber-Smith collected the award from another man on the list of past winners – triple F1 champion Jackie Stewart.

The 27-year-old’s next award came from the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) a few days later (December 5) in an event hosted by Jake Humphrey.

Kimber-Smith was awarded the Woolf Barnato Trophy for his eighth place in the Greaves Motorsport run Zytek-Nissan. Named in honour of three time overall Le Mans winner Barnato – one of the fabled Bentley Boys – the prize is given to the highest finishing British or Commonwealth driver in a British car at the 24 Hours.

Kimber-Smith collected the Guild of Motoring Writers Driver of the Year award from Sir Jackie Stewart

“After working hard all year it is very nice to be recognised for my efforts,” said Kimber-Smith. “The Guild of Motoring Writers Driver of the Year Award is very special as there are many great previous winners, and I couldn’t have imagined before that I would win a trophy that was once held by so many incredible names. The BRDC Woolf Barnato Trophy is another great award and one of the oldest trophies in the Club. The BRDC is the best motorsport club in the world and to pick up the – seriously heavy! – trophy in front of all my fellow members and guests was a great feeling. I’m now looking forward to picking up my LMS championship trophy in January next year.”

Toyota enter World Endurance Championship with ORECA

Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) have confirmed a partnership with ORECA to provide operations support for their 2012 World Endurance Championship project.

The French team will bring its experience in sportscars,and specifically of the 24 Hours of Le Mans,where it has competed for several seasons.

ORECA has shown its qualities by rivaling the two official constructors, Audi and Peugeot in the enduro classic.

Most notably, Hugues de Chaunac’s men won the 12 Hours of Sebring in March 2011, and finished 2nd in the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta a few weeks ago.

The LMP1 chassis that will be entered in 2012 has been designed, developed and built at TMG’s technical centre in Cologne.

The prototype will be powered by a petrol engine equipped with hybrid technology, provided by Toyota Motor Corporation.

ORECA will support the TMG track operations team and this partnership will begin in the coming weeks.

Hugues de Chaunac, President of Groupe ORECA, said: “It’s a very big day for ORECA. To be chosen by Toyota Motorsport GmbH is a huge reward for the work we’ve done in recent years.

“ORECA has proven its worth at the highest level of endurance racing, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2011 and finishing three straight times in the top 5 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“Thanks to its know-how, ORECA now has the opportunity to work with the biggest automobile manufacturer, and on a project that’s particularly interesting.

“We are proud to support Toyota Motorsport GmbH in this challenge and we’re looking forward to an exciting future.”

Rob Leupen, Director Business Operations, Toyota Motorsport GmbH added: “This is clearly good news for TMG. ORECA’s competence and track record are well known, which is why we were very keen to develop a relationship with them.

“They will enhance our track operations team as we make progress in the world of endurance racing.”

The Sebastien Loeb Racing logo

Sebastien Loeb has established his own racing team with the aim of competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the future.

The seven-time World Rally Champion has created Sebastien Loeb Racing together with his friend Dominique Heintz, with the team due to enter the French Porsche Matmut Carrera Cup in 2012. They are also looking to enter the Le Mans Series with a Formula Le Mans Oreca-FLM09.

Loeb’s relationship with Heintz began in 1997, when the latter’s outfit ran a Peugeot 106 Volant for Loeb.

“With Dominique, we’ve often spoken about this desire to start a team together,” said Loeb. “A true friendship links us. The story began fifteen years ago: he’s the one who began the idea. We promised to each other that we would do it one day, and that day has come.”

“It’s the logical continuation of the adventure,” added Heintz. “Sebastien felt ready, he has clarified his future as a driver. It’s the right time. After these next two years in rally (2012 and 2013), he’ll have the opportunity to get even more involved in the team which will have already gone through its growing pains. It’s not an idea that we came up with yesterday. We’ve been talking about it for a while now we just had to let time do its thing.”

Rallying may be Loeb’s first love, but setting up a racing team gives him a chance to get more involved in that side of the sport.

“I’ve had a few experiences on circuits, in different disciplines, and I liked those experiences as well as the atmosphere around them,” said Loeb. “Rallying represents a large part of my life and it’s something I still enjoy, which is why I’m continuing in the sport. But in the coming years, when I’ll have more time available, I want to discover a new universe.”

Sebastien Loeb Racing will make its competition debut in the Porsche Matmut Carrera Cup, a series that Loeb himself is racing in this weekend at Paul Ricard. The team will enter two Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.

“I’ve driven in this series, and I was seduced,” said Loeb. “Each competitor has the same car, so it’s the driver who makes the difference. The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup can be entered in several championships : it’s an element that counted for us, as well as its reasonable price.

“We will be running two cars in France, but it’s also accepted in Porsche Supercup and even in the Le Mans Series, in the GTC class. Therefore, another program could come online as a compliment. This choice is the fruit of a lot of forethought. It’s a solid base.”

Having twice competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Loeb has his sights set on endurance racing.

“Our desire is to acquire the necessary experience to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans around 2014 in LMP2,” said Heintz. “Formula Le Mans is a good solution to start in prototype racing. This is why we are working to get the necessary budget.”

“Endurance racing is an attractive discipline,” added Loeb. “The World Endurance Championship will be launched in 2012, with three officially entered constructors. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a legendary race and we hope to one day be on the grid as a racing team. To accomplish this, we must put together a cohesive project and take it step by step.”

Reiterating his seriousness about the project, Loeb said: “This isn’t a one-shot deal. We want to build a serious and professional team, which will be there for the long haul. It’s a real challenge, we can’t underestimate the size of it. But that’s also what’s good about it. I’m going to discover new aspects, aspects that will represent my future, and which will allow me to stay in racing and therefore keep living my passion.”

Loeb and Heintz will now assess potential drivers for next season, and could look towards young drivers.

“It’s one of our hopes,” said Heintz. “We must not forget that this was the base of our friendship: Sebastien climbed his way to the top thanks to ladder series. Today, we’d like to help young talent work their way up the hierarchy with the same principle. We’ll use Sebastien’s path as inspiration to reproduce a great career, it’s a formidable challenge. That said, sharing his experience with a gentleman driver would be a unique adventure as well.”

The team’s definitive plans will be announced during an official presentation before the end of the year.

United Autosports LMP (Image Credit: United Autosport)

One of the most diverse teams in auto racing, United Autosports are partnering with the respected and experienced DAMS (Droit-Associes MotorSport)to build/race a Pescarolo-Judd LMP2 car in the 10-hour Petit Le Mans.

So far in 2011, United Autosports have competed in the FIA GT2 European Championship, British GT Championship, Daytona 24-Hours, and the Spa 24-Hours. In July, while at Le Mans, the team was afforded the opportunity to get the feel of the car that co-owner/driver Zak Brown, Mark Patterson, and ex-F1 driver Stefan Johansson, will be piloting this week at Road Atlanta. Brown and Patterson will be making their debut in a Le Mans Prototype (LMP) car at the event.

Mark Patterson, clearly excited at the prospect said, “Our challenge is to learn enough to get the most out of the car, as a class win guarantees a Le Mans grid spot – the ultimate cherry in sports car racing. Zak told me the biggest leap of faith is learning to trust the carbon brakes, which allow you to start slowing down well after your heart has already stopped – just so much deeper into the big corners than a steel brake car permits.”

Patterson closed with, “I’ve studied coach Danny Watts’ Road Atlanta notes like an 8 year old’s multiplication tables the night before exams and hope that my maiden LMP bum-in-seat experience lasts more than a lap and ultimately quick lap times.”

Zak Brown commented on his team’s partnership with DAMS, “I’m very much looking forward to my debut in a LMP2 car. I really enjoy driving with Stefan and Mark and think the United Autosports partnerships with DAMS should make for a competitive outing.”

With the addition of Stefan Johansson, United Autosports gains a wealth of experience from across the racing spectrum. Johansson has won the Le Mans 24-Hour, made the podium in the American Le Mans Series in both LMP1 and LMP2 classes, with a second place at Petit Le Mans in 2006 and possesses a career in the FIA Formula One World Championship.

Speaking towards his strengths, the Swede said, “Petit Le Mans has developed into one of the premier events in North American racing, together with Sebring for the sports car arena and it’s great to be back there in a prototype. LMP is the type of racing I’ve been enjoying the most for the past ten years so I’m delighted to be back out in one. Zak and I tested the car at Le Mans earlier in the year and it felt very good. It’s a pretty good car so we’re looking forward to the weekend and hopefully we’ll have a good run.”

Audi R18 TDI (Photo Credit: Audi Motorsport)

After third place at Imola and second place at Silverstone there is just one goal for Audi at the U.S. classic on October 1: Victory.

Audi Sport engineers have left nothing to chance in the development of the new car. The Audi R18 TDI is packed with innovative technology – from the compact 3.7-liter V6 TDI engine with a mono-VTG charger, the full LED headlights through to ultra-lightweight design that is becoming increasingly important in production cars too.

At Le Mans Audi triumphed in June after 24 hours with an advantage of merely 13.854 seconds. At the 6-hour race at Silverstone the fastest lap times of the top four vehicles were within 202 thousandths of a second. And with 56 teams having submitted entries, the track at Road Atlanta will be pretty packed, with numerous overtaking maneuvers posing a permanent risk of body contact.

Audi Sport Team Joest is fielding two vehicles at the first overseas event for the R18 TDI. Each will car will have three drivers due to the length of the race. Timo Bernhard and Marcel Fässler, who have been forming a driver team in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) since the round at Imola and have been on the podium twice, will be supported by Romain Dumas. Joining Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish will be Dindo Capello – the most successful driver of the American classic with a track record of five overall victories (2000, 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008).

Last year Capello became the victim of a strange incident. While he was leading the race an insert in his helmet that is prescribed by the regulations came loose and caused the fireproof balaclava to slip over his eyes. The unscheduled pit stop cost Audi a possible victory.

Never one to be braggadocios, Capello said, “For Road Atlanta I’m returning to the cockpit of the R18 TDI. I tested the car just a few weeks ago. That was very nice because I last drove the car on a warm-up lap for Le Mans. ‘Petit Le Mans’ is one of the races I enjoy most. I’m holding a victory record there. And it would be nice if I could add another success to my track record. We’re at least on a par with our competitor Peugeot but have to cover the distance without any problems to achieve a good result.”

Nine times Audi has won the event which alongside the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours is the most important endurance race in North America. From 2000 to 2005 the Audi R8 was unbeatable at the race that is run over 1000 miles or for a maximum of ten hours. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 the Audi R10 TDI triumphed three times in a row. After unfortunate defeats in the past two years with the R15 TDI, Audi is set on returning to victory lane with the new R18 TDI at Road Atlanta.

Tens of thousands of spectators lining the track at Road Atlanta will be watching the two R18 TDI cars with their whispering V6 TDI engines. Since its inaugural round in 1998, “Petit Le Mans” has evolved into one of North America’s biggest racing events that is meanwhile attracting more than 100,000 fans.

“You reach an incredible speed on this track. Except for turn seven all the corners are very fast,” Timo Bernhard assesses the Road Atlanta. ”The many directional changes within a lap also stand out. Particularly the ‘Esses’ are very challenging. It’s difficult to find a good set-up for them. After you’ve been at the wheel for a long time you can really tell what you’ve accomplished because of the high ’g’ forces. In addition, there are many differences in elevation. You often can’t see the track behind the crests. It’s very dusty when it’s dry and it floods the circuit when it’s wet. The best places for overtaking are in turns 10 and 11. But watch out, if you overtake a car in the left-hand turn it is normally perfectly placed to counter in the next right!”

Ever enthusiastic Allan McNish commented; “It’s always nice to return to the ‘Petit Le Mans race.’ I already contested the inaugural round in 1998. I’ve enjoyed every single race so far. The atmosphere is like a carnival. The track is wonderfully fast and has seen some very thrilling races. At three or four rounds only seconds or even tenths of seconds made the difference in the end. I’m expecting an extremely tough competition. The American fans will turn the event into a huge festival again. It’ll be a cracker – guaranteed!”

Kristensen could be easily labeled as “The Face of Victory” for Audi: “We’re all looking forward to Road Atlanta. ‘Petit Le Mans’ is the grand slam of the sports car scene, along with Sebring and the Le Mans 24 Hours. The track is an extreme challenge. It’s like a roller-coaster with crests, downhill stretches, raised and dropping corners where you can’t see the apex in some cases. And the track is relatively narrow. There are also a lot of directional changes. The fans really support the race and make for a spectacular show. Almost 60 cars are jostling for a place in the field. That’ll be strenuous for us in the cockpit because we’re fighting for every centimeter, if not to say millimeter, on the track. The competition between Audi and Peugeot is extremely close. Small things make the difference. I’m hoping for us to be able to fully use our potential and to bring the big trophy home.”

“I’m personally very much looking forward to Road Atlanta,” said Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, head of Audi Motorsport. ”I like this race track and think it’s one of the nicest circuits for the sports prototypes. It’s a track on which Audi has celebrated major successes before. And after Imola, where things didn’t go so well for us, we were fully competitive again, most recently at Silverstone. But there our good work went unrewarded. I’m hoping that we’ll be showing a good performance with the R18 TDI in America and achieve victory. At the same time, I’ll be in permanent phone and email contact with Valencia where Martin Tomczyk might be able to clinch the DTM title early for Audi – it’ll be an important, exciting and busy weekend for Audi Sport.”

Ralf Jüttner the team’s technical director suggests there is just one strategy: “For Road Atlanta, there can only be one aim: all-out attack! We’ve got to finally win there again. At Silverstone, we were simply struck by misfortune. Even without that factor it would have been incredibly tight and we don’t know what the outcome would have been. Road Atlanta is a special event. We’ve run there before, in the IMSA. ‘Petit Le Mans’ was launched in 1998, and we contested it even back then. It’s a classic and the longest race after Le Mans and Sebring. The ten-hour race is held on an incredibly beautiful and challenging track. It also enjoys an extremely high level of prestige today. It’s called ‘Petit Le Mans’ and that also includes a piece of Le Mans. That’s why we’ve simply got to win there.”

Peugeot 908 (Photo Credit: Peugeot Sport)

The battle for victory intensifies with every race. The pace quickens. The cars are very close to one another in terms of performance, but the determination of the team during pit stops and the dogged determination of the drivers in their on-track battles provide ample evidence of the high standards on offer during this 2011 season, with a very tough rival. Team Peugeot Total has collected a series of race wins and points since the start of the season and hopes to go all the way.

The sixth round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta is an unusual, complex, spectacular and fast race. Team Peugeot Total will compete in this event for the fourth time with the chance of securing a second consecutive manufacturers’ title. Up against some very tough opponents and in a series which goes from strength to strength with every round, Peugeot will need to score 13 points to secure the title ahead of November’s final round in China.

Peugeot is hedging its bets and bringing in familiar powerhouse drivers. In the Peugeot 908 no.7, Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud will be looking for their first win at Road Atlanta. For Bourdais, winner this season at Imola and at Silverstone, this will be his first outing at this track in a Peugeot. Anthony Davidson (2nd in 2010), back to racing after recovering fully from his bike accident, and Simon Pagenaud, Peugeot’s “local” driver, will be looking to secure a second win of the season in the Peugeot 908.

The Peugeot 908 no.8 will be entrusted to Franck Montagny, Stéphane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurz. Returning to the series for the first time since the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Austrian teams up with the two-time winners of the race. The three drivers have never raced together before, although Wurz and Sarrazin were team-mates in 2008 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Just like at Sebring, Spa and Le Mans, Peugeot will also be represented by the No. 10 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP entered by Team Oreca-Matmut, winner at Sebring in the year’s first race. The car will as usual be driven by Nicolas Lapierre, who will be joined by two factory Peugeot Sport drivers, Marc Gené and Nicolas Minassian. After carrying the message  ”I Love U.S. Racing ” at Sebring, Team ORECA-Matmut has decided to once again honor their fans with a new slogan,  ”Thank You Fans” on the front cover of the No. 10 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP.

Road Atlanta is a very unusual track and has a truly unique atmosphere. This hilly four-kilometer track, featuring 12 corners, is covered in a little over a minute by the prototypes. With 60 cars on track during free practice and qualifying, and 53 in the race, traffic is set to play a decisive role. The safety car periods will also be key, of which there are likely to be many during the race’s 1,000 miles or 10 hours. Last year, there were no fewer than nine safety car periods!

With two one-two finishes from three entries, Team Peugeot Total knows all about the particular demands of this race. The last two editions were both very closely contested, but also very different from one another. In 2009, Peugeot achieved a one-two with Franck Montagny and Stéphane Sarrazin winning from Pedro Lamy and Nicolas Minassian, after a race that was cut short by several hours due to torrential rain. In 2010, this time after a cut-throat race with Audi, the trio of Franck Montagny, Stéphane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy took the win, ahead of Anthony Davidson, Alexander Wurz and Marc Gené.

Olivier Quesnel, Peugeot Sport Director is primed and ready to take his team to Atlanta: “We are having a great season. It is worth underlining the exemplary reliability of our cars so far, because the only mechanical repairs that have been carried out during the races were due to racing incidents. The Peugeot 908s have made it to the end of every race they have taken part in, and that is one of the keys to our success. We now lead the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ standings, with two rounds to go. We hope to keep our momentum going and demonstrate in the USA and especially in China the full potential of the Peugeot cars and the team. We have a clear goal: win the championship and win races.”

The same two Peugeot 908s head off for the USA, after being given a thorough service on their return from England. With an average speed of around 215kph, the Road Atlanta racetrack is as quick as Spa-Francorchamps whilst the cars are at full engine load for close to 75% of the race, a ratio almost identical to that at Le Mans. This is why the aerodynamic set-up will be halfway between the set-ups used at these two tracks.

The No.7 will be equipped with the chassis No. 03 (winner at Imola and Silverstone) while the No.8 will be equipped with the chassis No. 04 (winner at Spa).

In order to prepare as well as possible for this event, much loved by Team Peugeot Total for its specific features and its strategic complexity, Peugeot has scheduled two test days on Sunday 25 September and Monday 26. The team will then get into the specific context of the meeting, especially with the incredible amount of traffic to deal with during free practice, qualifying and the race itself.

“Given the incredible pace at which the races have been run at each ILMC round this season, there is every reason to expect another intense race”, predicts Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport’s Technical Director. “The standard moves up a notch at every race. We must therefore continue to work on all areas, because every little detail counts. Petit Le Mans is a very difficult race, because your race strategy has to be constantly adapted according to, amongst other things, the safety car periods. Sure, we only need to score 13 points to win the championship, but once the race is underway, it will be one ‘almighty scrap’. We’ll have to fight every step of the way if we want to win, but also to make sure the cars finish the race. Just like we did at Silverstone, where the team showed exceptional determination, during the pit stops, on the track where we saw some fantastic driving, and even off the track, with the determination of Franck Montagny. After he went off at the beginning of the race, he demonstrated incredible tenacity to move the car off the gravels, getting out of the car twice to call the stewards and attempting to move the 908 himself!”

No.7 Peugeot 908, 6 Hours of Silverstone - Photo Credit: Peugeot Sport

Peugeot kept up their winning record in the Intercontinental Le Mans Series, winning the 6 Hours of Silverstone after both Audi R18 were delayed after contact with slower traffic.

The battle for the lead of the race revolved around the polesitting no.7 Peugeot of Simon Pagenaud and Sebastien Bourdais and the no.1 Audi piloted by Marcel Fassler and Timo Bernhard. The two cars had risen to the lead after a first hour of racing during which the second cars of both teams were delayed after on track contact.

Franck Montagny, in the no.8 Peugeot was the first to fall foul, contact with a Formula Le Mans sending the Frenchman skittering across the Copse gravel and into the tyre wall. Later in the first hour, and after swapping the lead back and forth bit Bourdais, Allan McNish suffered contact with the JMW Motorsport Ferrari 458.

The resulting delay – to replace broken suspension – dropped the R18 down the order, putting the hopes of Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich and the rest of the Audi team behind a lone car. Unlike Le Mans in June this lone car was unable to beat the rival Peugeot.

Bernhard and Le Mans winner Fassler swapped the lead with the Peugeot for much of the remainder of the race, the pair of diesels separated by less a minute, the gap frequently closing to a matter of seconds. Fassler in particular shone in third hour of race chipping away at a lead of thirty second to take the lead, his advantage at the half way mark of the race less than two seconds. All the while the pair fought through the slower traffic around the 5.9km Grand Prix track.

With two of the leading cars already taken out of contention it was perhaps a disappointing inevitability that the race would be decided by the unwitting intervention of another slower car.

This time the no.1 Audi stayed on track but damage to the rear bodywork – and specifically the rear lights and legality panels – prompted a trip into the garage for the Joest team to affect repairs. Though speedy – the repairs only costing a little more than a minute – it was enough to see the Peugeot safely into the lead, holding a minute advantage to the end of the race.

The OAK Racing trio of Jacques Nicolet, Olivier Pla and Alex Premat took the third spot on the overall podium. Five laps behind the lead pair they led the three leading petrol cars on the same lap beating the no.13 Rebellion Racing entry and the second LMP1 OAK car to third place. The lone Pescarolo Team car finished sixth, the squad falling behind the Rebellion in the Le Mans Series standings with just the final round at Estoril remaining.

Also in the LMS standing Greaves Motorsport need just a single point from Estoril to clinchLMP2 honours. The team took a fourth win of 2011, taking the lead early and finishing the six hours a lap clear of the ORECA 03 of Race Performance.

Greaves, with drivers Karim Ojjeh, Olivier Lombard and Tom Kimber-Smith took the lead on the opening lap, only to lose it to Strakka Racing – the fastest team in qualifying. However, Strakka and starting driver Jonny Kane were another to lose out in contact with another car. Contact with the GTEAm Larbre Competition Corvette at Club punctured the left rear. Having just passed the entrance to the new pitlane at Silverstone Kane attempted to limp around a full lap. Unfortunately, the tyre blew on his way to the pits causing damage to the rear bodywork.

The delay and then damage cost Strakka 11 laps, a gap that remained between they and the class leaders until the checkered flag.

AF Corse and Luxury Racing gave Ferrari a 1-2 finish in GTEPro, the Italian pairing of Giancarlo Fisichella and Gimmi Bruni completing 168 laps, one more than Stephane Ortelli and Fred Makowiecki.

Andy Priaulx and Augusto Farfus, starting from the class front row that shared the front row struggled with poor handling from their BMWs. Farfus lost further ground under an early safety car after the TDS Racing LMP2 car went off. The best of the BMWs – Priaulx driving with Uwe Alzen – rallied to fourth in class, falling short of the podium, snapping the manufacturer’s streak of results in the ILMC. Defending LMS champions Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz instead took the final step of the podium for Team Felbermayr-Proton.

The team – running as no.1 and no.2 following their victory at the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans – are pitted at the very start of the new pitlane at the Northamptonshire track – and that draw prevented Timo Bernhard and Allan McNish from being among the first cars to take to the track for the qualifying session.

Their relatively late appearance on the track became even more of an issue when rain started to fall as McNish came to complete his second lap. The Scot has gone second fastest, nine tenths behind the leading Peugeot with his first flying lap and – after setting the best time in the sector timing sector of the lap – was set to go faster on his second lap. However, he ran into rain around Stowe and the final complex at Club.

“Qualifying went well with respect to the car’s performance capability and the feeling for it,” said McNish. “Naturally it was a bit frustrating that the weather didn’t cooperate. But that was the same for everyone in the field. The first fast lap was relatively free, on the second one there was heavy rain in Stowes Corner and in the last turn. Without that, more would have been possible. I’m going into the race tomorrow with a positive feeling.”

Likewise Bernhard – driving the no.1 car he will share with Marcel Fassler during the race – was unable to move up from fourth fastest, he more than McNish also having to contend with slower traffic during his flying laps.

“On both of the two timed laps when the track offered the highest grip level I had to overtake two or three cars,” he said after the session. “At the end of my third flying lap the rain was really pouring down. It wasn’t possible to improve any more. So we were a bit unfortunate. But I think we can make up for that in the race – because our performance is right.”

The team’s technical director Ralf Juttner dismissed the session as “a lottery”.

“The rain started right in time for qualifying,” he continued. “We had the option to use several sets of tires but just getting one set up to heat was difficult enough. Maybe we went out a tiny bit too late so that the track was already too moist. We went out one minute after the session had started – that was the minute that was lacking in the end. Allan McNish caught a good lap while Timo Bernhard was a bit unfortunate with traffic. He didn’t hit the narrow window in which fast laps were possible. But all in all we don’t have a bad starting base on the two front rows, particularly as the drivers are very pleased with the set-up of their cars.”
The 6 Hours of Silverstone is scheduled to start at 11:35am

“My lap wasn’t perfect, but very good,” stated Lieb, who shares the Team Felbermayr-Proton entry with Richard Lietz. “We can be satisfied with the fourth grid position. In particular, you can see from our lap times that we’re now much closer to the Ferrari, and that’s a very positive thing. But tomorrow is what’s most important – a six-hour race.”

Another man to hold the fastest time during the session was Wolf Henzler, back racing in Europe after recording two wins the the American Le Mans Series for Porsche. After competing for Team Falken Tire in America Henzler drove the IMSA Performance Matmut car to sixth, from where he and co-driver Patrick Pilet will start the race.

“It was the best lap time this weekend that went well all-in-all,” explained Henzler. “I couldn’t do any better because the car began to oversteer as soon as the tyres started to deteriorate. We’ll work on the set-up tomorrow during the warm-up so that we’re better prepared for the race.”

His lap (2:02.937) was just a fraction a second quicker than Marco Holzer’s qualifying effort for Prospeed Competition.

In the 2010-spec cars of the GTEAm category Porsche claimed the top two qualifying positions. Nicolas Armindo put the IMSA Performance Matmut car he shares with team owner Raymond Narac on pole while Porsche works man Patrick Long put the Proton Competition car second fastest. He will share with last year’s Porsche Cup winner Gianluca Roda.

Though the qualifying for the GT cars was conducted under threatening skies the the team opted to keep both cars in the pitlane until the closing moments of the session. Once on track, and with the rain mercifully holding off, Farfus took full advantage of the track conditions and rubber laid down by his rivals to lap the Grand Prix circuit in 2:01.768.

“We knew that our car would be quick in qualifying after we did a lot of work yesterday to get the balance perfectly right,” said Farfus. “We did it! The forecast said no rain for qualifying, so we waited quite a while – and the track conditions got better and better. We went out at the right moment, and this strategy was excellent. It feels great to be on pole again.”

Priaulx, like Farfus a former WTCC driver, followed the Brazilian around the track, setting a time three tenths down, though the Channel Islander suggested he lost due to traffic on his quick lap.

Despite this Priaulx was more than sixth tenths faster than Ferrari driver Toni Vilander who will line up the best man behind the two M3s.

“This has been a strong performance from Augusto and Andy,” said team principal Charly Lamm. “This qualifying was the first test of strength following the long break – and we are on P1 and P2. In Imola we were really competitive. It’s great that we seem to be able to continue this trend here. We waited several minutes before joining the action, while most of our competitors were already out on the track. Some of them might have lost some time during a yellow. Fortunately it remained dry, so our drivers could set their impressive times. The forecast says changeable weather conditions for tomorrow, so it’s likely to rain. Therefore we need to do some intensive preparations in order to have the right set-up ready for whatever happens.”

The 6 Hours of Silverstone is scheduled to begin at 11:35, Farfus sharing the no.55 with Jorg Muller, Uwe Alzen driving with Priaulx in the no.56 entry.

Pagenaud clinched pole in the no.7 car with a perfect lap, putting together his fastest times in all three sectors to complete the lap in 1:43.924. Sebastien Bourdais was initially meant to chare the car with Anthony Davidson, but an injury suffered during the summer kept Davidson out of the car with Pagenaud taking his place.

The fight for pole proved a little anti-climactic when wet weather closed in and Peugeot pulled both their cars back into the pits. In the opening minutes the two French coupes had exchanged the top time as times improved around Silverstone’s Grand Prix layout. Audi’s challenge – fronted by McNish and Timo Bernhard in the R18 carrying the no.1 plate – was more steady than spectacular.

McNish installed himself as second fastest after the early exchanges, but was unable to put together a lap thereafter, despite setting the best time though the middle sector of the lap – Pagenaud leading everyone through the first and final parts of the lap.

Stephane Sarrazin in the second Peugeot took third, Bernhard completing the top four diesels, though he was more than 1.5 seconds down on Sarrazin.

Nicolas Prost ended the session fifth fastest – the best of the petrol engine cars – for Rebellion Racing, ahead of the two LMP1 Oak Racing Pescarolos. Aston Martin Racing, bringing their Lola-Aston Martin car out of retirement after the poor showing of the new-for-2011 AMR-One only qualified 12th, Adrian Fernandez’s time slower than the leading two LMP2 runners, Strakka Racing beating Greaves Motorsport for class honours in a battle of two British teams.

In more success for British outfits Neil Garner Motorsport topped the quartet of Formula Le Mans entries, Phil Keen the man tasked with contesting the session.

In the GTEPro class BMW Motorsport secured the front row. Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx needed only a single flying lap each in the closing minutes of the session to push Toni Vilander and Marc Lieb into third and fourth for AF Corse and Felbermayr-Proton respectively.

Farfus was the final man – of five – to stand atop the class standing, Wolf Henzler and Fred Makowiecki both briefly fastest before Lieb and Vilander took their own turn.

Nicolas Armindo won the class pole in the nine entry GTEAm class for Porsche squad IMSA Performance Matmut. He will share the car in tomorrow’s race with Raymond Narac.

For personal reasons, Nicolas De Crem will not continue this season and will be replaced by Norweign Thor-Christian Ebbesvik, who will be making his debut for the team. 27 year old Ebbeswvik has experience in Formula Ford, Formula 3, GP2 and LMP2 and will be team-mates with Austrian Dominik Kraihamer.

Ebbesvik said: “I am very happy to be back in LMP2 and dive for the Boutsen Energy Racing team. I know it’s a good team, and I’m sure we can get good results with my teammate Dominik Kraihamer “.

Kraihamer commented: “I am sad that Nicolas can no longer run in our team. He is a very nice driver with a lot of talent. But at the same time, I am happy to ride with Thor-Christian who has a lot of experience. I hope it will help me and I am sure we will get along and we will make good races at Silverstone and Estoril. “

Team Manager Olivier Lainé added: “There’s a sense of unfinished business for Nicolas De Crem because we had not yet obtained a victory in the LMP2 class. But we will now focus on the rest of the season and will do everything to get there. We have two races and two very good drivers! “

After claiming a one-two in the 6 Hours of Imola in July, the Swiss team look to another good result at Silverstone as the series returns after its summer break.

“We head into the next race at Silverstone with confidence but also realism,” said Team Manager Bart Hayden. “This race could put us into a really strong position for the various Championships. We are currently well positioned in both the ILMC and LMS but we will have six hours of extremely tough racing against very strong opposition to get through first.”

The team could potentially win the Manufactures’ Championship at Silverstone as they are currently co-leading the LMS Teams’ Championship and could secure third spot in the ILMC Teams’ Championship, behind the factory Peugeot and Audi teams.

“We have confidence in the pace of our cars and our determination will be high for the best possible results to get closer to our targets. We want to win the LMS Teams’ Championship and we are close to that now with just two races to go and in the ILMC we are targeting to be the best placed private team.”

The 6 Hours of Silverstone gets underway on Sunday 11 September 2011.

It will also be the Lancashire-based teams first race since the addition of MG as a sponsor and the confirmation of former Touring Car driver and sportscar stalwart Warren Hughes as part of the driving line-up.

Hughes adds experience to the team, driving the MG Lola EX265 with co-drivers Barry Gates and Rob Garofall.

“I’m really looking forward to being back in action with Team RLR,” said Hughes. “I’m not sure what the weather will be like but I was impressed with how good the MG Lola was to drive in the wet during our recent test at Snetterton, so it shouldn’t be a problem if it does rain. With only testing to go on though I’m not sure how close to the pace of the class leaders we’ll be at Silverstone.”

“Only once we’ve been out on track in practice and qualifying will we be able to judge that and settle our strategy. As long as we can stay trouble free anything can happen and a podium is not out of the question if things go our way. It would be nice to do that on home turf and then look to finish the season on a high at the final race in Estoril.”

With Hughes added to the roster the team will be aiming to bounce back from a retirement at Imola with a strong run infront of a home crowd and with the added expectation after the summer announcements.

“Silverstone is a crucial event for us and we’ve been working very hard to prepare for it,” said team principal Nick Reynolds. “We want to bounce back from the last round at Imola by securing a really strong result in front of our home crowd. It’s a fantastic place to go racing Silverstone, even more so with the addition of the new Silverstone Wing complex, and we’re looking forward to having all of our guests and fans of the team there supporting us. We’ll be up against some of the world’s top endurance racing drivers and teams, but it’s another chance to show we mean business and prove ourselves against the very best.”

Also pushing the team on is the knowledge that last year’s event – only their second event in the LMS – was spoilt only by a late race mechanical failure that robbed them of a good result.

Gates explained; “We’re all excited about going to Silverstone and looking to achieve a good result on home soil. Last year at Silverstone we missed out on a decent finish close to the end of the race, so we want to put that right as we have moved on a long way since then as a team and should now be considered as serious competitors.”

“I worked with the physios until earlier this month and I have recently come back from the Pyrenees where I started a daily fitness regime with my trainer,” said Lahaye. “The first objective was to allow the fractures to heal, then to return to a good physical condition. I am now ready to get back into the car for the Barcelona tests and, if all goes well, for the 6 Hours of Silverstone.”

“For sure I am very happy with this and I am itching to get back into action! I cannot wait to be back with Guillaume and Pierre and to finish the season strongly.”

“We are delighted to welcome back Matthieu,” said the team’s general manager Francois Sicard. “He has remained closely involved with the team during his recovery. Having been our driver and, more importantly, a member of the OAK Racing adventure since the beginning, we welcome him back with great happiness.”

In another change to the driving line-up for the upcoming race at Silverstone – the penultimate race in the Le Mans Series and the final race on the European leg of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup – Olivier Pla joins the team following the withdrawal of the Quifel-ASM squad from the Le Mans Series.

He will join team owner Jacques Nicolet and Alex Premat in driving the team’s other LMP1 entry – no.24 – at Silverstone.

The third and final car in the French team’s stable for the race – the no.35 in the LMP2 category will be shared once more by Andrea Barlesi, Frédéric Da Rocha, and Patrice Lafargue.

The time since the team’s previous race in the 6 Hours of Imola has been spent trying to solve the problems – which Sicard describes as “vibration issues” – they encountered at the Italian track.

A test at Barcelona last week was a final check on the work to recover the lost reliability as well as a chance for both Lahaye and Pla to drive their cars before the first sessions at Silverstone.

“Kimi arrived yesterday evening in order to meet up with the team, prepare his seat and set up his driving position,” said team manager Pascal Dimitri. “He adapted very quickly to the car and gave us a valuable technical feedback. It is always interesting to get inputs from drivers such as Kimi.”

The Finn, who has concentrated on rallying since he departure from F1, joined regular Peugeot drivers Franck Montagny, Stephane Sarrazin, Simon Pagenaud and Alex Wurz at the test. Raikkonen completed 35 laps in his first drive in the Peugeot 908 on a track he had never visited before.

Though there is speculation that the test could be a precursor to Raikkonen joining the team for 2012, Peugeot Sport director Olivier Quesnel played down any future plans.

He said: “Originally, this test session was planned for a long time in order to prepare the rest of the season on top of which we have allowed Kimi to discover the 908. As of today, nothing has been scheduled or planned for the future.”

The Peugeot Sport team – almost certainly without Raikkonen in attendance – will be in action at the 6 Hours of Silverstone on September 9-11 for the nest round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

The signing of Hughes follows last month’s announcement of MG Motor UK as RLR’s newest sponsor. The Newcastle-born driver will partner team regulars Barry Gates and Rob Garofall for the races at Silverstone and Estoril.

Hughes first raced for MG back in 2001, when the manufacturer joined the British Touring Car Championship towards the end of the season. He also raced for the marque at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He scored a number of victories in the BTCC racing the ZS model as a factory MG driver. In 2005 he scored a Le Mans class win in the MG Lola EX265.

“It is a great boost for the team having Warren back in the car,” said team principal Nick Reynolds. “He competed with us back in 2010 when we did selected rounds of the Le Mans Series so we already know his capabilities behind the wheel.

“Warren has a sound knowledge of the car and a great track record of setting fastest laps and collecting wins in this championship. These factors combined with a competitive pace from both Barry and Rob should create one of the strongest driver line-ups in the LMP2 class this year.”

Hughes said: “Last year I had a chance to race with Team RLR in Hungary and I am absolutely delighted to be back with the squad again this year. As a racing driver this is one of the most prestigious championships in the world to compete in and one that many aspire to be a part of.

“Being back in an MG-backed car is a great feeling and my time with MG before was some of the fondest of my racing career. I was part of the team that won the LMP2 class at Le Mans in an MG in 2005, so I hope my experience in prototype racing will help bring something extra to the team and a give us a chance to push for the podium.”

The race not only forms the penultimate round of the Le Mans Series, but also the final race in the European leg of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC).

The prestigious series, which brings together some of the world’s most iconic races, including the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hour of Le Mans, is led by the works team representing Audi and Peugeot.

Aboard the Audi Allan McNish will lead the British contingent, the 41-year-old Scot searching for his fourth 6 Hours win at Silverstone, a feat that would tie him with Jochen Mass and Jack Ickx for the most win in the event’s 20th running.

“The battle with Peugeot is always fierce and that is the way it should be, two big teams wanting to win,” said McNish, who will share his Audi R18 TDI with Tom Kristensen. “Sometimes there have been some incidents which put our car out of contention of a win, but that is often just ‘racing’ when the difference between winning and losing big races is measured in seconds.”

While McNish’s main opposition will come in the form of the fleet of Peugeot 908s, and the other works Audi, the premier LMP1 class also features British interest in the form of manufacturers Lola and Zytek as well as the works backed Aston Martin squad, hoping to turn around a difficult season on home soil.

LMP2, too features British talent in terms of teams and drivers. With both Strakka Racing and RML running HPD ARX-01. Both teams have British drivers in their squads, Ben Collins – still better known as a the former Stig on Top Gear – for RML, while Strakka Racing remain with their tried and tested all-British line up of Nick Leventis, Jonny Kane and Danny Watts.

In the GT ranks, Porsche, Ferrari, BMW and Aston Martin line up against each other, each with their own factory supported teams. Porsche offer their fleet of centrally employed drivers, though defending Le Mans Series champions Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz have struggled this season with incident and accident.

While Porsche struggle all three Le Mas Series races this season have been won by Ferraris. The marque’s effort is led by AF Corse, twice victors in 2011 with a driver line-up that includes former F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella.

The Prancing Horse is also represented by Essex-based team JMW Motorsport. Returning to the manufacturer from Aston Martin, the began 2011 with a class win at Paul Ricard, and twelve months on from suffering at the hands of a harsh penalty at Silverstone Jim McWhirter’s team will be looking for another win on home soil.

Despite JMW’s defection, Aston Martin continue to have representation, Jota Sport the marque’s main representative this season.

On the September 9-11 weekend Silverstone will also host a celebration of the event’s history with several cars and drivers from the 6 Hours of Silverstone’s 35 year history expected to stand alongside their modern counterparts.

Also on track over the course of the weekend will be the F3 Euroseries, the Speed Series designed for fledging Le Mans racers and a classic endurance race for Le Mans cars from 1966-79 – a grid that will include Ford GTs and Ferrari Daytonas.

The small Lancashire based team have campaigned the MG Lola EX265 prototype in the LMP2 class of the championship with drivers Rob Garofall, Simon Phillips and Barry Gates in all three races so far this season. The addition of MG as a sponsor will mean the brand is visible on the car, on the team – on official clothing – and online as part of the team’s social media channels.

The link will also open a two-way technical partnership as well as presenting an opportuinity for MG customers to get a taste of the highest level of endurance racing.

“We have one of the best prepared teams in the Le Mans Series,” said Nick Reynolds, Team RLR principal, “and the support from MG will ensure that we can be even more competitive both on and off the track throughout the 2011 Le Mans Series season and beyond. The deal is a great fit for both parties and we are excited to be working closely with such a famous and much loved car manufacturer. We look forward to repaying MG for its confidence in us by providing many exciting moments for the company and its huge number of followers in the races ahead.”

MG’s increased profile in motorsport is part of the brand’s reawakening with the MG6 GT, MG6 Magnette and forthcoming MG Zero Concept bringing the marque back with a range of road cars.

“MG is delighted to be supporting Team RLR and the MG Lola EX265, which is such a famous car.” Guy Jones, MG Motor UK sales and marketing director added. “The MG brand is synonymous with motorsport and with the new MG6 GT and Magnette models now in the market place we need to raise the profile of the brand. Supporting Team RLR with the MG Lola in the exciting, high-profile, Le Mans endurance series is a perfect fit for the brand and the team.”

From the start of the race the two starting drivers for the Schnitzer Motorsport run team held their starting positions, Jorg Muller in the no.55 car leading his fellow German Dirk Werner in the sister no.56 BMW M3.

However, problems took their toll on the team. With the race being run in searing heat, outside temperatures reaching 30°C, the cooling systems in the GT cars were being worked hard in order to keep cockpit temperatures below the 32°C as demanded by the regulations.

The air conditioning in Werner’s car malfunctioned, tumbling down the order before coming into the pits for a lengthy stop to fix the troublesome unit. In total the stop cost 30 minutes before the car returned to the track, the delay meaning that Werner and co-driver Pedro Lamy could only manage eighth place in class.

“It’s always disappointing if you are running in such a good position and then drop back due to a problem,” said Werner. “The team tried everything to fix it, but repairing the air conditioning in a race car is a complicated and time-consuming affair. That’s why we are leaving Imola empty-handed.”

The repairs to the no.56 car came at almost exactly the wrong time for the Muller in the no.55 car. Even while leading the class driver and team had lost radio communication with each other, so when contact with a prototype car on track damaged the right front wheel. Scrambling to make it back to the pits, but unable to warn the team still tending to the other car the team were unable to make the preparations – specifically having the fire extinguisher in the correct place when the car reach the pits – demanded by race stewards.

The car, which Muller shared with Augusto Farfus, was assessed a one minute stop-go penalty that cost the duo the lead, falling to third in class behind the two AF Corse entered Ferrari 458.

Despite missing out on class victory team manager Charly Lamm concentrated on the good points from the weekend.

“There are two positive facts that we should take back home from Imola,” he assessed. “The performance of our two BMW M3 GT cars was excellent. In addition, I want to pay a compliment to Dunlop. We had very strong tyres in what was the first real hot race of the season. The no. 55 BMW M3 GT was in the lead for long parts of the race.”

“We proved again in this race that we can really push with the BMW M3 GT,” said Farfus. “Unfortunately this wasn’t enough today to secure victory. I think this is what you call a chain reaction. Nevertheless, we should focus on the positives. The car is great, and with temperatures as high as today, the Dunlop tyres perform even better.”

The Swiss team’s two Toyota powered Lolas were the class of the petrol fuelled field, leading the class-within-a-class for almost the complete six hours as the no.12 and no.13 car fought an internecine battle for top honours.

Two hours from the end of the race that battle was ended when Neel Jani was forced into an unscheduled pitstop to clean oil from a competitor’s blown engine the windscreen of closed coupe car. Refuelled, and with fresh tyres, Jani’s teammate Nico Prost started to mount comeback, running just 17 seconds behind the no.13 car of Andrea Belicchi and Jean-Christophe Boullion at the end of the race.

“Of course, for me, it’s a slight disappointment,” admitted Prost. “We had good pace. With a car as good as we had, it’s impossible not to be slightly disappointed. We have the fastest petrol car of the championship but that’s the third time we finished second! This time, we lost time because of race incidents. I had to go off the track to avoid a FLM leaving the pit and another car blew its engine just in front of Neel who had to stop to clean the windscreen. It’s a pity to fight so hard during 6 hours and to finish just 17 seconds behind the winner.

The result moved the team into joint first place in the Le Mans Series teams’ championship with two rounds left, the next race being at Silverstone in early September. The team lie fourth – the best petrol runner – in the teams’ standings for the ILMC.

“I am very proud of the guys,” said team manager Bart Hayden. “They have all done a fantastic job this weekend. The cars were once again well prepared and showed good reliability, the pitstops were faultless and the drivers were amazing.”

“We are now in a really good position to fight for the win in the LMS championship as we are joint leader in the teams’ classification. Once again our partners at Toyota Motorsport, Lola and Michelin have helped us to achieve this result. Since the beginning of the season we’ve had the fastest petrol LMP car, but now we have proved twice in two races to be the best petrol team.”

After two races of incident and accident at Paul Ricard and Spa-Francorchamps the reigning class champions finally enjoyed a trouble free run in the Team Felbermayr-Proton run Porsche GT3 RSR.

“We had a super race without any technical problems and a perfectly set-up car. We pulled out all stops, but this was the best we could do right now,” said Lieb. Teammate Richard Lietz added: “Due to the balance of performance regulations we are currently not in a position to keep the leaders under pressure over the race distance. Other than that, everything else is perfect, from the set-up of the car to the pit stops.”

The Porsche duo 196 laps, two less than the class winning AF Corse Ferrari, and one lap shy of the other podium places taken by the Italian team’s second car and the best of the BMW Motorsport entries.

Patrick Pilet and Wolf Henzler also enjoyed their best LMS outing of the year, reaching the checkered flag for the first time this season in fifth place, a minute behind Lieb and Lietz. “We’re mostly pleased about actually finishing a race at last,” Henzler admitted. “In the Aque Minerale we got a slow puncture and dropped one position. I’m particularly happy for our team. They didn’t let our bad luck in Le Castellet and Spa get them down and now they’ve been rewarded.”

Marc Goossens and Marco Holzer rounded out the GTE-Pro Porsche contingent in sixth place, though damage to the left rear tyre cost the pair time, their Prospeed Competition entry five laps down on the lead Porsche.

Nicolas Armindo (left) and Raymond Narac (right) won once more in the GTE-Am class

In the inaugural year of the GTE-Am class Porsche’s season continues to go to plan – in stark contrast to the professional ranks. IMSA Performance Matmut pairing Nicolas Armindo and Raymond Narac added another victory to their Spa success in May, taking the class points lead in the process. Proton Competition drivers Partick Long and Gianluca Roda finished second in class, 42 seconds behind the all-French pairing.

The next round of the Le Mans Series takes place at Silverstone on September 9-11

The weekend – the third LMS meeting of the year after Paul Ricard and Spa-Francorchamps – started well enough for the team of drivers Rob Garofall, Simon Phillips and Barry Gates with a productive test day on the storied track.

However, just two laps into the race problems struck. Garofall, travelling at over 100mph, had the steering of the MG Lola EX265 lock up. Fortunately, the problem cured itself before any accident, and to allow the driver to coax the car back to the pits, but the team lost a full hour in the pits as they replaced the entire steering rack.

Garofall explained; “I got a good start and went to change direction going into the chicane and the steering just locked, which was a bit worrying as I was carrying a fair bit of speed. Thankfully it started working again and I caught it, but it felt all wrong. We decided to bring it in and fix it rather than risk damaging the car even more if it went again at the wrong place. We had four or five hours of clean running in practice and qualifying this weekend with no problems, so it’s not easy when you then get an issue on lap two of the race.”

While the repair was completed, and the car was able to re-enter the race, any chance of keeping up their string finishing record was gone, so the decision was made to use the race to give drivers more track time in the car ahead of the second half of the season.

Phillips was the first man in the repaired car, alternating stints with Gates either side of a 20 minute delay for an alternator problem. The final problems, and the decision to officially retire from the race came with less than half an hour of the race remaining when a niggling gearbox problem appeared.

“I felt we had a great chance to secure a big result here coming into the weekend,” summed up team principal Nick Reynolds. “Unfortunately that was put beyond our reach very early in the race. On the plus side the guys did feel the benefit of the improvements we have made to the car recently. Simon and Barry both took a lot from their time on track today so it’s certainly not been a wasted journey. The more miles we do the more we all learn, and I’m very confident we can successfully work through the issues we had here today.”

“I’m incredibly happy about the result, particularly for the team,” said Bernhard who set the fastest lap of 2:01.502. “We did carry quite a big burden because every new car at Audi has immediately been successful. I think we’ve squeezed out the maximum today. That I had the good fortune of clinching the first pole position in the Audi R18 TDI fills me with pride.”

Allan McNish, who shares the no.3 car that will start third with Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello, reflected on the best possible start for Audi’s new coupe. “1-2-3 on the grid is an excellent result and a first reward for all the hard work Audi has been putting into this project over the past few months – during all the tests but also this weekend. Of course the red flag mixed up the grid a bit. But these things can happen if you don’t go out on track early. The engineers have done a pretty good job with the set-up. We’ve got a well-balanced car now. And we’re going into the first race of the Audi R18 TDI with a 1-2-3 on the grid – I don’t think there’s a better place to start.”

The team, however, were quick to point out that the result was, potentially, unrepresentative of the true pace of the contenders of overall victory.

The three Audi’s were over three seconds clear of the Team ORECA Matmut Peugeot 908 HDI FAP that will line up fourth. The three works 908 cars were caught out by a red flag that brough the session to an early close. Coming out just the three cars were starting their first flying laps of the session the end of the session locked the no.7 and no.9 cars in 13th and 18th place respectively. The no.8 car – with Stephane Sarrazin – at the wheel failed to log a flying lap, and so will start the race from 50th place, Peugeot Sport’s technical director Bruno Famin warning that the squad will have to endure a “difficult” start to the race, avoiding contact as the cars move through the pack.

Toni Vilander and Jaime Melo won the GTE Pro for AF Corse

It was the LMP1 class OAK Racing driven by Matthieu Lahaye that brought out the red flags, a massive accident damaging the crash barriers.

The incident, which put Lahaye in hospital (he suffered no serious injuries it was reported later), was just the latest in a series of major accidents around the famous Belgian track. Thursday – the first day of running – included an accident involving the RML HPD and Pedro Lamy’s no.9 works Peugeot. While the Peugeot was repaired in time for qualifying the RML squad took the decision to withdraw from the event, shifting their focus to a shakedown for Le Mans at the end of the month.

In the absence of the RML example LMP2 pole went to the Strakka Racing HPD ARX-01, the team – overall race winners at Hungary last season – narrowly beat the Oreca 03 of TDS Racing.

In GTE Pro – the leading GT class in ACO-rules racing – the top three places were taken by Ferrari 458, AF Corse’s two entries sandwiching Paul Ricard victors JMW Motorsport with reigning champions Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz fourth for Team Felbermayr-Proton.

In their first race the Lotus Jetalliance squad will line up 45th on the grid with the no.65 car shared by Jonathan Hirschi, James Rossiter and Johnny Mowlem. The sister no.64 car joined the no.8 Peugeot 908 in not setting a flying lap time. Nicolas Armindo and Raymond Narac won the GTE Am pole for IMSA Performance and Neil Garner Motorsports driver Phil Keen logged the fastest time among the spec FLM runners.

I hope you are all well and have enjoyed the Easter break.  Its been a pretty hectic month for me and now May is going to be even busier.

On April 23^rd and 24^th we had the first rounds of the Formula Renault BARC championship, I am competing in BARC series as I know it will teach me the fundamentals again before I move to Le Mans prototype racing this and next season. I would say it was an “OK” weekend for us but I was really hoping to kick the season off with a win. We didn’t have any pre-race testing due to the truck meeting at the circuit so it was straight into qualifying, I have done this before so I knew what to do and get the maximum out of the tyres, but I hadn’t been in the car for around 4 weeks so there was no time to get used to it again it was straight out there and get on it!

I had very bad traffic so couldn’t get a clean lap in for most of the session but on the last lap I banked  time which would line me up 3^rd on the grid for the first race of the season, I was a tenth off pole and really knew I should have been on pole. For qualifying two I had a clear run but we struggled a little with setup all of the Fortec cars, but we found the problem it didn’t affect me too much as I was P3 again for the second race.

In race one I got a good start but pole sitter Dino Zamparelli got a poor get away, I tried to go the inside and he turned in not seeing me on the inside. I got my front wing damaged, which meant the race was an uphill battle as the car was unbearable to drive I was catching the 3^rd placed car with the wing damaged but the wing deteriorated as the race went on and fell back to 6^th position, I was lucky in a way I managed to finished so high up with a damaged front wing.

Race two I got a great get away and got Dino Zamparelli around the outside at the Crayner curves which meant I had the inside line for the Old Hairpin. Myself and the leader James Thorp managed to break away from the pack but a safety car caused us all to bunch up. My tyres after the restart were shot to pieces due to the broken front wing in the first race, my team-mate Kieran Vernon did a great move to get passed me but Dino Zamparelli tried to go around the outside at Redgate and this resulted in contact between us both and himself coming off worse and taking to the gravel. I sat behind Kieran and settled for 3^rd position; it was good to be back on an overall podium in a highly competitive field.  I am now currently 3^rd overall in the standings.

The next round for the Formula Renault BARC series is Brands Hatch on the 14^th, 15^th May. Hopefully we can have a good weekend and get my first win of the season, but the most important thing is to collect good points for the championship, and two podium finishes from the weekend would be a good result.

Straight from Brands Hatch on the 15^th I will head straight from the circuit to Heathrow airport as I am heading to America for LMP2 testing in California with PR1 Motorsports. It will be a two-day test a private test track, I’m really looking forward to getting back into a prototype car as they really are amazing to drive. It will be great to work with the team closely and also the engineers, the plan is to do some testing in America with the team throughout the year and get race seat for two of the American Le Mans series races this season which will be fantastic.

You can follow all of my progress and daily updates on Twitter @archieracing18

I’ll updates you after the next round and America!

Best Wishes,

Archie

Using older GT2-spec cars, such as the 430, the GTE Am class opens the Le Mans Series to amateur drivers, CRS opting to promote Klaas Hummel to their LMS line-up. Hummel is a familiar face to the team, having driven for the team in the International GT Open and FIA GT3 categories – the split in the GT2 class in the LMS gives Hummel the chance to move up to the endurance series.

The Dutchman will be joined by Phil Quaife. Though only 24 Quaife has progressed through the sportscar ranks, including campaigns in the Porsche Carerra Cup GB and British GT Championship, before joining CRS Racing for 2009, a move that saw him become part of last year’s Le Mans Series team.

“It’s the best championship I’ve ever raced in,” says Quaife of the LMS. “The standard of competition is extremely high and the challenge of the six-hour races is tough for the drivers, the teams and the cars! We had a bit of bad luck last year but we’re ready to come back and fight for the title in 2011.”

Completing the line-up in the no.82 car is Adam Christodoulou, returning to Europe after two years racing in America. Since winning the Formula Renault UK title – with CRS – in 2008 Christodoulou have increasingly leaned towards GT racing, lately forming part of a Mazda GT team in the Rolex Series.

“I’m with a team that I know well,” he says. “Driving a car that they know well. I think we have a strong line-up and every chance of taking some good results this year, especially as anything can happen in those long races. To be racing in the Le Mans Series will be a great challenge too, competing against some of the world’s top drivers. I’m looking forward to getting back in the car next month to start testing.”

“I think we’re capable of mounting a challenge for the title,” assesses Quaife. “Klaas has good experience with the team and the car from the GT Open last year, while Adam is a very quick driver who has adapted brilliantly to racing GT cars.”

The team are expected to take part in the official LMS test day at Paul Ricard on March 11-12, before the season begins with a six hour event at the French track on April 3.

The combined squad will run a Porsche 911 RSR in the GTE class of the endurance championship. Between GruppeM – headed by Kenny Chen – and Parker the team will be able to rely on significant experience in preparing Porsches.

Chen’s team has championship winning campaigns under its belt on British GT and FIA GT, where they won the GT2 class in every race in 2005 and the Asian Porsche Carrera Cup. Parker’s Team Parker Racing outfit is one of the leading team in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, with Parker himself bringing further experience from both the Porsche Supercup and the Asian Carrera Cup. Park also has endurance experience, after running team in the Nordschleife based VLN series.

“This is an entirely new team, which has been set up with only this project in mind,” said Parker. “We will draw on our strengths and experience with the aim of guiding the team to success.”

“This represents a fantastic opportunity to move into the highest level of GT competition with a great partner. We have been looking for a partner to do something like this with for years, and at last it has happened. I have enjoyed great success with GruppeM in Asia and look forward to the challenge of the Le Mans Series.”

“The current LMS entry is so strong that we fully expect it to be a huge challenge,” Chen admitted, “but we will be trying our best as a team to come back and fight for the success that we have enjoyed in the past.”

The team is currently trying to sign Stephen Jelley, who competed in the UK for Team Parker Racing in 2010. The team also plans to sign a second professional driver for the season, with a third wheelman expected to complete the line-up.

The British team will use the same MG-Lola EX265 as they fielded in the final two round of the 2010 LMS season, but 2011 will see the car mated to a new Judd HK engine and bulked up from 825 to 920kg to conform with the new regulations in the LMP2 category.

The trip to Estoril comes after Garofall has completed initial testing and shakedown runs in the UK, but as Gates explains, “while we’ve been able to do certain things in England the fact is that at this time of year it is still pretty cold and wet, hence Portugal as our destination.”

“Over the last week or so we’ve had the car out doing some shakedown tests including a session at Silverstone in the hands of Rob, but that was mostly to make sure the various systems worked within the car,”

The two day test, Gates says, will continue some of the systems checking, but will also serve as the first chance to work on the handling of the new package.

“Ideally we’ll have it dry and warm,” Gates adds. “But the weather forecast says a maximum of 17 degrees and rain on at least one of the days. There again, if we are going to race in the rain and the cold we might as well test in it as well!”

Gates will have the added challenge – on top of testing the car – of getting used to the former Portuguese Grand Prix venue, never having driven the track before – in contrast to both Garofall and Simon Phillips, who will also drive for the team during the year.

Gates admits; “while I’ve been watching a lot of in-car footage from races around that circuit, I’ll be gleaning as much as I can from their experiences as well, which will be important given that the final round of the LMS will be staged around Estoril in September.”

Nicolas Lapierre and Sohiel Ayari, both regular drivers in ORECA’s LMP1 entrants, shared 1000km of testing around the French test track. The two day test saw the squad work on aerodynamic settings for the car and well as working on chassis set-up and tyre testing on both long and short runs.

“To see a new ORECA prototype take to the track is always a very special moment,” said ORECA boss Hugues De Chaunac. “This was already the case with the ORECA 01 [the team’s LMP1 car] and it is the same now with the ORECA 03, which shows our growth as a constructor. This is the first car designed specially for customers running in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Le Mans series. We were excited about it and I’m happy to say that the first tests were very conclusive.”

The two days of testing was blessed with near perfect conditions, Technical Director David Floury describing the track conditions as “ideal”.

“The data is positive and quite close to the simulations we did,” he explained. “These first indicators make us feel confident about the direction we are heading. The drivers are satisfied with the balance and with the Michelins, while the integration of the Nissan motor went very well.”

Lapierre, who was also the first man to drive the ORECA 01 when it was introduced in 2009 compared the new Nissan V8 engined car to its big brother. “On one hand,” he said, “you find the same qualities that made the ORECA 01 such a strong petrol-powered competitor. On the other, you can feel that the ORECA 03 is a brand new car. The weight balance is different and this gives a very agile car. It handles very well in tight, medium and quick corners. To find such a good balance in the car’s first laps is very good for the future.”

The team will return to Paul Ricard for further testing later this month.

The Le Mans 24 Hours will be graced with a Pescarolo Sport Judd V10 prototype piloted by Emmanuel Collard and Christophe Tinseau. Both drivers are very familiar faces with the team and the revisitation, even after a one year hiatus, “felt strangely normal” according to Mr. Pescarolo. The team will race in five rounds of the Le Mans Series this season after being offered the opportunity to keep the Judd V10 for another year by the ACO.

Collard, who gave the Pescarolo Sport team its first and second consecutive LMS championships in 2005 and 2006, has been kept busy racing for Porsche and Corvette in 2009 and 2010; however, he has done so only in the GT class. Of the return to a full season in an LMP car, Collard says: “I am really happy to race in a prototype again and especially to work with Henri’s team again, who I’ve known for so long. To take part in the development of an LMP1 with Claude Galopin is always an exciting experience.”

His teammate, Christophe Tinseau, who has been a Pescarolo regular since 2007, enjoyed his last prototype drive at the Okayama 1000 in November 2009 before the team sat out the 2010 calendar. He has since stayed sharp by competing in France’s Racecar Series – Elite series. “It is a return that I hoped for and that I waited for impatiently. I am also pleased to rejoin the team with whom I had so many successes. Sharing the Pescarolo-Judd with Manu Collard is an exciting project.”

The chassis of choice will be the Pescarolo-Judd in its 2010 version which never raced in LMP1, thus concealing its potential from the world. Henri Pescarolo is certain that his entry will be competetive. “The choice of drivers demonstrates our ambitions: to win the Le Mans Series and to get a good result in the 24 Hours.”