Larbre Competition maintained its 100% record of Le Mans 24 Hour finishes with Corvette after its pair of C6.Rs came home fifth and 11th in the GTE Am category last Sunday.
Balance of Performance restrictions imposed prior to the race always looked likely to prevent the French team from making it four consecutive GT class victories at the Circuit de la Sarthe, and so it proved. However, the team was still delighted to see its #50 machine finish third in the battle between full-time FIA World Endurance Championship entries, particularly as Le Mans is a double points-paying round.
Patrick Bornhauser and Julien Canal, who were joined at Le Mans by Corvette works pilot Ricky Taylor, have therefore moved up to second place in the Drivers points while Larbre are just a point off the lead in the Teams classification.
Worryingly though the #50 crew finished some four laps down on the class winners despite enjoying an incident-free run throughout the race, highlighting the discrepancy in straight-line speed that is so important at Le Mans.
The #70 car meanwhile came home 11th in class with Philippe Dumas, Manu Rodrigues and Cooper MacNeil aboard after it lost over an hour in the pits while its clutch was replaced following a spin.
Sadly this years race was overshadowed by the death of fellow GTE Am driver Allan Simonsen who was involved in a fatal accident just 10 minutes into the race on Saturday. Team Manager Jack Leconte, Larbre Competitions six drivers and the entire team wish to send their sincere condolences to Allans family and Aston Martin Racing at this difficult time.
Patrick Bornhauser, #50 Corvette C6.R: We are disappointed as the three of us did a great job. We didnt make any mistakes, despite there being plenty of opportunities for them, and always seemed to be unlucky with the conditions after changing tyres. We only ever pitted for fuel and tyres but have ended up fifth, four laps behind the winners. The problem wasnt the 11 safety car periods: its been our top-end speed along the straights. When youre 20km/h slower in a straight line and cannot get a tow its impossible to fight on a level playing field. Unfortunately we were no match for the others at this event.
Julien Canal, #50 Corvette C6.R: The race wasnt easy due to the weather conditions, which were more complicated than I have ever experienced at Le Mans. I did four double stints, three of which were interrupted by safety car periods, so I lost tyre temperature. After that, and with the cold, wet conditions, its really difficult to get back into a rhythm, as was demonstrated by Pro drivers having accidents behind the safety car. I think that I did a good job as I didnt crash or make mistakes. I just hope that the Balance of Performance is adjusted a little in our favour. This is the first time in five Le Mans appearances that I have not won my class. It was such a great run but it had to end at some stage. My favourite moment of the race was the four laps I was able to complete in quite decent track conditions. That was part of my penultimate stint and I had a great time, setting the cars fastest lap despite having cold tyres.
Ricky Taylor, #50 Corvette C6.R: My first appearance at Le Mans was an amazing experience. We might not have had the pace to win due to the rules but we made the most of what we had. Everybody did a flawless job and we achieved the best possible result in the circumstances. Its a great experience for me and Ive learnt so much, from Jack Leconte and the mechanics to my team-mates Julien and Patrick. It was fantastic. Ive watched this race my entire life but everything that I imagined - the changing conditions, early morning, competitionits all been better than I ever expected. What surprised me the most is the difficulty of the challenge. Its a long week and so many things happen in the race that it is easy to make a mistake and very difficult to win. I would gladly come back if Larbre will have me!
Manu Rodrigues, #70 Corvette C6.R: It was a very difficult race. This was my fifth appearance at Le Mans and certainly the trickiest I have ever participated in due to the conditions, so Im happy to have seen the chequered flag. Thats now four finishes from five appearances: you cant ask for much more. There were many difficult moments but when you manage to come through them they become good memories. Larbre is a brilliant team but I am yet to fully master the car, which is a shame. However, we made it to the finish and that is what matters.
Philippe Dumas, #70 Corvette C6.R: We knew that it was going to be difficult, but not as much as it proved to be. Its not easy for me to only do one race a year and be a great driver, but I think I did a good job. Unfortunately I made two small mistakes and they are difficult to accept. This is a race that you need to prepare for and I think that I have shown well, but you cannot create miracles when you have other distractions like work and so on. But I did enjoy myself. Im a normal human being, father and family man so the accident that claimed Allans life was in the back of my mind throughout. For me the best moment of the week was finishing the race. I had a great time in the car but it was terrible to be dropped so easily down the straights. It wasnt ideal but the car worked well in the rain and I had a great time.
Cooper MacNeil, #70 Corvette C6.R: I did two good stints during the day but by the time the sun came up we were several laps down, so I focused on producing good lap times and getting the car to the finish. Le Mans was an amazing experience and I cant wait to compete there again now that I know what to expect. Larbre Competition is very professional and I can see exactly why they have had so much success there in the past.
Jack Leconte, Team Manager: We arrived at Le Mans in a strange situation this year as we have become accustomed to being in a dominant position. Last year we played our part in an entertaining battle right up until the finish, but on this occasion there was nothing we could do. That leaves you with a difficult feeling. We had anticipated the situation on Wednesday, when it became clear that the revised regulations would favour others following our recent domination here. But we fought hard with the #50 car until the chequered flag without the team or drivers making any mistakes. I can have no complaints about their performance. Lady luck also went against us with the safety car periods as on seven occasions we stopped for fuel just moments before they were deployed. It was incredible as it is impossible to anticipate racing incidents. And to cap it all the pit-lane was also closed! But even without all of that we would not have won. Lets hope our effort does not prove to be in vain this year and that the cards will be shuffled again in order for us to continue our WEC challenge on equal terms. On a positive note we have discovered new players this week, be it on the driver side or engineers and mechanics. There were new members of the team who I helped integrate and organise to create a cohesive working environment in pursuit of our goal. Its just a shame that we could not add the final touch with a podium finish, but I still think that everyone appreciates they have been part of a great adventure.
The FIA World Endurance Championship continues with the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo in Brazil on September 1. Le Mans 24 Hours: GTE Am Classification1. #76 IMSA Performance Matmut/Porsche Narac/Bourret/Vernay 306 laps2. #55 AF Corse/Ferrari Perazzini/Case/OYoung 305 laps3. #61 AF Corse/Ferrari Gerber/Griffin/Cioci 305 laps4. #77 DempseyDelPiero Proton/Porsche Dempsey/Foster/Long 305 laps5. #50 Larbre Competition/Corvette Bornhauser/Canal/Taylor 302 laps6. #96 Aston Martin Racing/Aston Martin Campbell-Walter/Goethe/Hall 301 laps7. #67 IMSA Performance Matmut/Porsche Gibon/Milesi/Henzler 300 laps8. #88 Proton Competition/Porsche Ried/Roda/Ruberti 300 laps9. #75 Prospeed Racing/Porsche Collard/Perrodo/Crubile 298 laps10. #81 8Star Motorsports/Ferrari Potolicchio/Aguas/Bright 294 laps11. #70 Larbre Competition/Corvette Rodrigues/Dumas/MacNeil 268 laps
FIA WEC GTE Am Points (after three rounds)1. IMSA Performance Matmut 64 points2. Larbre Competition 633. 8Star Motorsports 564. Aston Martin Racing (#96) 495. Aston Martin Racing (#95) 45 6. AF Corse 447. Proton Competition 408. Krohn Racing 14
