LMS Tests: Rebellion Racing sets the fastest times

End of the Official tests at the Paul Ricard

After the first test session yesterday under grey skies in the Var, the weather did not improve today. The ambient temperature did not exceed 10°C, and violent gusts of wind plus intermittent rain did not make things easy for the Le Mans Series drivers and teams. However, they all continued to fettle in their cars during the eight-hour official test session.

Rebellion Racing continues to dominate

In view of the weather conditions, the teams sent their cars out early in the morning. The Quifel-ASM Team quickly went to the top of the time sheets in LM P1 with a lap in 1m48.433s. Then it started to rain and once the track dried out the no. 12 Lola-Toyota entered by Rebellion Racing set the fastest time in the morning in 1m47.928s. In the afternoon, Quifel-ASM Team ended up quickest in the 4-hour session with a lap in 1m 49.189s before it started to rain again. So the best time on Saturday was that of the no. 12 Lola-Toyota, which did not beat Friday’s quickest set by Jean-Christophe Boullion in the no.13 Lola-Toyota in 1m 46.573s.

The Orecas in front

In LM P2, the teams that opted for the Oreca 03 chassis were happy with their choice. TDS Racing was again fastest in 1m51.133s in front of the Race Performance Oreca-Judd. Pecom Racing, a new team in LM P2 linked to AF Corse, set the thirdbest time. After the midday break, Race Performance got back in front with a time of 1m52.282s., and continued to rack up the laps despite the rain covering a total of 48.

Hope Racing spends the most time on the track

Neil Garner Motorsport continued to set the pace in Formula Le Mans. The British team posted the fastest time in 1m56.506s, while Hope Racing spent the most time on the track covering 74, the highest number of any of the 26 cars car in the field. In the afternoon, the Swiss team was quickest in 1m 57.184s before the rain began to fall.

Pro-Am duel in LM GTE

Hankook Team Farnbacher carried on where it left off yesterday in LM GTE Pro, and the no. 89 Ferrari again dialed in the fastest time in the morning session in 2m 00.492s. Kessel Racing (LM GTE Am) caused an upset by putting its Ferrari F460 GT in second place under three-tenths of a second behind with a lap in 2m 00.771s beating the cars in GTE Pro. In uncertain weather in the afternoon, the no. 76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 997 RSR was fastest in GTE Pro in 2m 00.987s. It finished the session in front of the Hankook Farnbacher Ferrari and the no. 67 IMSA Performance entered in LM GTE Am.

Guy Smith (LM P1, Rebellion Racing, no. 13 Lola-Toyota) : “I’m delighted to be taking part in this test! Everybody was impatient to get back on the track after the long winter. It was our first real test with the Toyota engine and it’s working really well. The potential’s there but we’ve still got a lot of work to do. With the new regulations it’s difficult to know where we stand in relation to the others. But the competition’s there, no doubt about that.”

Matias Russo (LM P2, Pecom Racing, Lola B11/40-Judd) : “I’ve a lot of experience in GT but I find this Lola’s really quick. It’s a new challenge for me and for the whole team. It’s a lovely racing car. Like me, all the drivers want to win. I think it’ll be
possible but for sure it won’t be easy.”

Wolf Henzler (LM GTE Pro, IMSA Performance Matmut, no. 76 Porsche 997 RSR) : “It wasn’t easy out there today as the rain and the wind changed the track conditions a lot. Because of the wind the car’s balance varied in the corners, and that was tricky to cope with. But we’re still determined to win the championship. I’m new and I’ve already seen how well the team works. Patrick Pilet is a really good team-mate.”

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