As expected, the diesels set the pace for the final event of the 2010 American Le Mans Series season, the 10-hour, 1000-mile Petit Le Mans from Road Atlanta in Georgia.
Pedro Lamy and Anthony Davidson powered their Peugeot 908 HDI FAP diesels around the Road Atlanta track in 1:07.187 at 136.098 mph, and 1:07.409 at 135.650 mph respectively.
The Peugeots were puffing black smoke, a sign that the boost was turned up high, and the cars slid a few times, but the Peugeots seemed to be very forgiving. The drivers were able to catch the tail when it slid out, and keep on going.
Anthony Davidson enjoyed qualifying, and he was grateful that his team got his car repaired after he crashed in night practice.
“It’s a great track to drive here in the Peugeot 908.” Davidson told Americanlemans.com. “It was the first time I’ve got to just drive it by the scruff of the neck.
“It was great to be fast today, especially after last night, it was the first time I crashed the car like that before too. I got a bit too far out trying to drive around a GT car, I got too far into the grass and drove at speed straight off into the barrier.
“The guys were up all night last night putting it back together so my hat’s off, and big thanks to them for getting the car sorted out.”
The Audis, on the other hand, seemed to be very twitchy; when the Audi R15/TDIs would start to skitter, the drivers had to let up.
Despite the twitchy car, Benoit Treluyer lapped at 1:07.610 and 135.246 mph, only 0.423 off the leader’s pace. Rinaldo Capello couldn’t break 1:08, turning in a time and speed of 1:08.112 at 134.249 mph.
Ben Devlin put the Intersport Lola-AER into fifth, fastest of the E85 cars, with a lap of 1:10.128, nearly three seconds of the pace.
The Drayson Racing Lola-Judd didn’t qualify. An accident in practice put it in the garage. It will be ready to start the race, but from the back of the grid.
P2: Dyson Has the Speed
After the race Guy Smith said, “The race tomorrow will be typical, a 10 hour endurance race but a battle the entire way. We’re not in running for the championship but we'll be looking for our first win this season and end it on a high note.”
Perhaps in his excitement Smith forgot that the team got its first victory earlier this season at Mid-Ohio.
The cars competing for the P2 title, the Team Cyctosport Porsche RS Spyder and the Patrón Highcroft HPD-ARX-01c, qualified second and third in class, the Porsche 1.1 seconds faster than the Highcroft HPD.
The Highcroft car was back to running high-downforce bodywork, after having not succeeded in many races with its low-downforce le Mans setup. The Highcroft HPD was the fastest car on the track through Road Atlanta’s high-speed Turn One
LMPC: Diaz Takes Pole, Tucker Well Off the Pace
Luis Diaz of PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports won the LMPC pole with a new class record lap of 1:15.296 at 121.441.
“Thanks to the team, they gave us a great car again,” Diaz said after qualifying.
“We had a difficult start to the week, we had some problems with all the rain. I was concerned about what to expect for qualifying, but it seems the car is really fast and set-up great for the race.
“This car is really good here with all the fast sectors. The car handles really well, so from turn 1 to turn 5 we are very, very quick.”
The PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca was only .23 seconds ahead of second-place qualifier Gunnar Jeannette. Jeannette, locked in a championship points tie with Level 5’s Scott Tucker, pushed hard, and finally too hard, trying to take the pole. He ended up spinning the Team Gunnar/Green Earth car and had to abandon qualifying.
Scott Tucker is again entering two Level 5 Orecas, hoping to win the LMPC championship in one or the other. Unfortunately for him, both cars were well off the pace, and last in class.
Tucker and Jeannete are tied not just in pints but also in wins, and second- and third-place finishes, which are usually used to break a tie. Tucker remarked that for him, Saturday’s race would be a whole new season, a single-event, 1000-mile contest for the season championship.
The 13th annual running of the American Le Mans Series Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta starts at 11:20 a.m. EDT on Saturday, October 2. Tickets are available through the Road Atlanta tickets web page.
The race will be televised in the U.S. on SPEED-TV starting at 11 a.m.
