Strakka Racing will be racing for Britain as it aims to give the 70,000 British fans who are expected to travel to watch this year’s Le Mans 24 hours (11-12 June) something to cheer about as it attempts to retain the LMP2 Le Mans 24 hour title it won in spectacular style in 2010 – and bring the trophy back to the UK once again.The proudest and most emotionally patriotic moment for team drivers Nick Leventis, Danny Watts and Jonny Kane last year was standing on the top step of the Le Mans podium, listening to the British National Anthem and watching a sea of Union Jacks being waved amongst the 250,000 strong crowd. It’s the undiluted passion and challenge for endurance sports car racing that is at the heart of the Silverstone-based team, as it returns to Le Mans in its attempt to score back-to-back success in the world’s greatest motor race in its Relentless Energy Drink and The Sun backed HPD ARX-01d.Last year, preparation, self-belief, reliability, strategy, faultless driving, bravery, fun and good fortune fused together to give Strakka Racing LMP2 victory in only the team’s third attempt at the Le Mans 24 hours. Having qualified on pole, it went on to set a new LMP2 lap record (3:33.079), finish 5th overall (the highest position ever achieved by LMP2 car), finish 1st in the Michelin Green X Challenge, cover the greatest race distance ever achieved by a LMP2 car and spend the shortest ever amount of time in the pits.Strakka Racing returns to the 8.468 miles (13.629kms) Circuit La Sarthe with a brand new package for 2011. Its normally aspirated V8 engine, which powered it to five Le Mans records last year, has been replaced by a new Honda Performance Development HR28TT 2.8-litre twin-turbo V6 unit. It’s a production-based engine, as found globally in the Accord, Odyssey and other Honda/Acura road-going models, yet the race engine is capable of running at speeds of up to 190mph.New technical regulations for 2011 from the organising Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) mean that this year’s HPD ARX-01d race car is 95kgs heavier and 75bhp less powerful than the ARX-01c it replaces. An air restrictor will also reduce the straight line speed of the car, ensuring lap times will be slower than in 2010. The air restrictor was significant at the opening two rounds of the Le Mans Series, where Strakka Racing’s race strategy and car reliability, rather than outright speed, enabled it to finish on 3rd in both six-hour races to lead the LMS.The team is, however, allowed to use the same Le Mans aero kit that proved so successful last year, and it’s hoped that this configuration will assist straight line speed – a crucial element at Le Mans, where drivers use full throttle for 85% of the lap.It’s hoped that the aero package, together with the Wirth Research fine-tuned chassis and Michelin tyres, will give it the edge over its faster rivals over the full 24 hours, and allow Strakka Racing to challenge for the top step of the Le Mans podium once again.Nick Leventis: “We’re going to Le Mans this year to try and win it again. It would be great to score a back-to-back victory, although we think we’ll be slightly down on performance because of our engine’s air restrictor, but we’ll go there and try to do what we do at every race – and that’s to race hard, try to stay out of trouble and make sure we’re there at the end. We know that Le Mans will be a lot more difficult to win this year. In some ways the pressure is off, because we won’t run away from the rest of the field at the beginning of the race, and we may have to wait for the reliability of our package to come to the fore. We have our own strategy, and part of that is not making any mistakes and waiting for the race to come back to us after the mid to late stages of the twenty-four hours. It’s going to be a very challenging race. Le Mans is always a race of attrition and a twenty-four hour race is all about who is there at the end.”Danny Watts: “I definitely believe we can win Le Mans again. It will be a lot harder because the rules have changed from last year. We’ve got an air restrictor, we’re a lot slower down the straights compared to other cars in LMP2 and we’ve got less speed – and Le Mans is a track where you need top speed – so pace-wise it will be very difficult. I still think we can win. We learnt a lot last year about how to win Le Mans, because it’s not all about being the quickest car – it’s about having reliability, having an easy car to drive, an easy car on the tyres, a good strategy, fast pit stops and no mishaps from the drivers. There are so many variables, it’s very difficult, but yes, I think we can win. We won’t be the quickest car over one lap, because of our speed deficit down the straights, but you don’t need to be the quickest car over one lap to win a twenty-four hour race.”Jonny Kane: “Le Mans last year has a lot of fond memories for me. It was such an amazing event for us, and the team is in an even stronger position than we were this time last year. We’re better prepared, just from running the car for all of last season and the start of this, so I’m expecting us to definitely be in the mix. We might not be the quickest car out there this year, but reliability will be a strong point for us and so too will be the Michelin tyres, plus the Le Mans configuration of aerodynamics is hopefully going to help us with straight line speed and fuel efficiency. We’re taking a lot of positives into Le Mans and hopefully we can try to emulate what we did last year.”Piers Phillips, Team Principal and Technical Director: “Last year was fantastic for us and we’re returning to Le Mans with the same optimism and the same belief. We’ve got the team, the drivers, engine, chassis, tyres and strategy to do well and we are all looking forward to it. Our aim is to repeat last year’s result and finish on the top step of the podium again. I think this year’s race will be a different animal from last year, as the new rules for the 2011 season will make the event a far greater race of attrition. The key to success at Le Mans is to keep the car out of the pits and on the race track for as long as possible. In terms of strategy, you have to play to your own strengths to survive. Last year it was a flat-out race from the word ‘go’, because we were up against Highcroft with an identical car. With the varied competition in LMP2 this year, we will just focus and concentrate on our own game plan.”After many months of preparation, the team transporters will leave Strakka Racing headquarters today (Thursday 2 June), en route to Portsmouth and the cross Channel ferry. The drivers will arrive at Le Mans on Saturday 4 June, while scrutineering for the team’s HPD ARX-01d takes place on Sunday afternoon.Team briefings, strategy planning, car set up and plenty of rest for the drivers follow, before the track opens with free practice on Wednesday 8 June (16.00-20.00). This will be primarily a driver familiarisation and technical data capture session, as the circuit includes sections of normal roads as well as race track, with grooves carved by weighty trucks on the Route Nationale 138, which heads towards the village of Mulsanne and beyond – a major consideration for race cars travelling at almost 200mph!After a two hour break, cars will return to the circuit later that night for the first official qualifying session (22.00-00.00). All drivers have to complete a minimum of three laps in the dark before they are allowed to start the race, so Strakka Racing will complete this task first, before focusing on lap times. Another two hour qualifying session takes place on Thursday 9 June (22.00-00.00), and the fastest lap time recorded in either qualifying session will determine the starting grid.Friday 10 June hosts the famous driver parade through the streets of Le Mans. A 45 minute warm-up session begins at 09.00 on Saturday 11 June, before the 79th running of the Le Mans 24 hours starts at precisely 15.00.Eurosport will televise the Le Mans 24 hour race in full, beginning with the build up from Monday 6 June onwards, with its ‘Le Mans 24 Minutes’ programme, broadcast live from La Sarthe each night at 19.30. Eurosport will then broadcast live coverage of both qualifying sessions, followed by the race on Eurosport, Eurosport 2 and Eurosport Asia-Pacific.All times listed above are CET.