The starting grid line-up for the 90th anniversary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend was determined in the very final minutes of the last qualifying session.
The Signatech Alpine-prepared Alpine A450 will begin the classic French endurance race from the eighth row of the grid, after setting the eighth-quickest time in the LMP2 class at 3m41.654s.
The highlight of Friday will be the Drivers Parade through the centre of Le Mans. Track action resumes at 9.00am on Saturday with a 45-minute warm-up session ahead of the race which starts at 3.00pm.
The dreaded rain was largely conspicuous by its absence yesterday evening, but the few short showers that did materialise were sufficient to leave the track wet for quite some timeto the extent that right up until the final hour of qualifying, Wednesdays benchmarks remained unbeaten.
The closing minutes, however, provided all crews with the opportunity to chase a quicker lap time as the clock ticked down towards midnight. At the wheel of the N36 Alpine A450, Nelson Panciatici achieved a best effort of 3m41.654s to place the car eighth amongst the LMP2 runners.
We have made a lot of progress in terms of the cars performance, explains Signatech Alpine team principal Philippe Sinault. That is a great source of satisfaction. Nelson Panciatici did an excellent job, even if a combination of traffic and yellow flags prevented him from featuring amongst the classs front-runners. Were not going to look at the lap times anymore, though; now is the moment to shift our attentions to the big clock!
After setting off on a last-ditch effort in the dying moments of the session, Nelson Panciatici ultimately wound up eighth in class: I was hampered by traffic. Ok, perhaps we werent going to be battling for pole position, but a place inside the top four at least was well within reach. The Alpine A450 is performing well. That is promising for the race.
A little earlier, Tristan Gommendy had been able to complete a number of laps: Away from the racing line, certain parts of the track were still dampwith sections ready to catch you out right the way from the Mulsanne Straight to Indianapolis. We made good progress with the set-up of our Alpine A450, and now I cant wait for the race to get going!
Having taken to the circuit right at the beginning of the session, Pierre Ragues found himself needing to contend with a track surface that was still rather wet: Two thirds of the lap were dry, the rest of it soaking wet. The team asked me to do five laps in order to ensure I completed my necessary night-time quota. That brief has been fulfilled.
The cars will not run today, but will return to the track on Saturday morning for a 45-minute warm-up session. The start of this 90th anniversary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours will follow at 3.00pm, with the N36 Alpine A450 going off the eighth row in the hands of Nelson Panciatici.
35 YEARS AGO...
The final qualifying sessions enabled the Renault Alpine drivers to select their aerodynamic options for the race. Having set the second-fastest time (3m28.4s), Patrick Depailler and Jean-Pierre Jabouille elected to forego the famous bubble cockpit. Fifth on a 3m35.8s, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi adapted theirs in order to facilitate the clearance of hot air. The two other Renault Alpines wound up respectively seventh and eighth in the hands of Derek Bell and Jean-Pierre Jarier (3m37.9s) and Jos Dolhem, Guy Frquelin and Jean Ragnotti (3m42.7s).
TIMETABLE
Friday, June 21
3:00pm-3:30pm: Press gathering (Signatech Alpine Motorhome)
5:30pm-7:30pm: Drivers parade
Saturday, June 22
9:00am-9:45am: Warm-up
10:00am-11:00am: Press gathering, with Renaults COO Carlos Tavares, and Grard Larrousse, Alpines Sporting Director in 1978 (Signatech Alpine Motorhome)
15.00: Start of the Le Mans 24 Hours
