Full-scale dress rehearsal for Peugeot Sport
With six weeks to go before the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours, Team Peugeot Total is putting the finishing touches to its preparations which started the moment the flag came down on last year’s race. The final phase of this build-up process is the second round of the Le Mans Series at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, where the three Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs and their complete driver line-ups will get in their last full-scale dress rehearsal ahead of June’s clash.
Preparations for Le Mans will have included eleven tests and two races.
Since winning last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, everyone at Team Peugeot Total has been working flat out in the bid to secure repeat success on June 13th. The programme has included no fewer than eleven test sessions which have enabled the squad to work on the car’s set-up and endurance, as well as on tyre development. The schedule also featured a visit to the USA for the 12 Hours of Sebring in March where the team’s grand slam weekend (pole position, one-two finish and fastest race lap) saw it collect a great deal of valuable data during what is widely seen as one of the calendar’s toughest races. Peugeot’s emphatic result in Florida – which brought the carmaker a third consecutive one-two finish – provided the team with a big boost. The programme has continued unabated, however, with a view to achieving the highest possible level of excellence, since the opposition Peugeot Sport faces at Le Mans in 2010 promises to be fiercer than ever. Indeed, the signs are that this year’s Le Mans is going to be an unrelenting 24-hour long sprint.
The second and last competitive outing for Team Peugeot Total as the big weekend approaches takes it to Spa-Francorchamps which has attracted a very similar entry to the one we shall see in La Sarthe the following month.
Simulation work in race conditions
For the very first time, the three factory Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs will be racing with numbers one, two and three, while a fourth, privately-run car will be in the hands of Oreca.
The driver line-ups for the three factory Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs competing at Spa-Francorchamps are:
No1 908 HDi FAP (Blue Mirrors)
Anthony DAVIDSON (GBR) / Marc GENE (ESP) / Alex WURZ (AUT)
No2 908 HDi FAP (White Mirrors)
Nicolas MINASSIAN (FRA) / Franck MONTAGNY (FRA) / Stéphane SARRAZIN (FRA)
No3 908 HDi FAP (Red Mirrors)
Sébastien BOURDAIS (FRA) / Pedro LAMY (POR) / Simon PAGENAUD (FRA)
It has already been decided that Alexander Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Sébastien Bourdais will be entrusted with targeting pole position on Saturday, while Marc Gené, Franck Montagny and Pedro Lamy have been nominated to start the 1,000 km race.
No-risk preparations
“Our overriding objective is Le Mans,” states Peugeot Sport Director Olivier Quesnal. “The danger we face at Spa is that all the teams will be there, theoretically in Le Mans trim… and consequently ready. The message for everyone at Team Peugeot Total is clear: we have no intention of taking any risks on the track in Belgium. We do not want to jeopardize our build-up, and winning at all costs is not part of that programme. Obviously, if we do win, we will be delighted, but victory is not a major concern. With four weeks to go before Le Mans, we mustn’t damage any of the cars. Our technical team needs to arrive in Le Mans in tip-top condition and they can do without the added fatigues of having to make repairs. Our aim at Spa-Francorchamps is to fine-tune everybody’s respective roles, which include our pit-stop routine, refuelling, tyre changes and driver changes, which collectively promise to be decisive. We also need to work on our strategy, while our drivers will need to familiarise themselves with the 2010 field, especially with regard to the traffic and the sometimes perilous task of overtaking.”
“The three cars will run the same sprint-spec aerodynamic set-up we used at Sebring,” continues Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport’s Technical Director. “They consequently won’t be full-Le Mans specification, the principal differences being at the front, which was also the case in 2009. We will, however, be running the latest 2010 tyres which we developed in association with Michelin over the winter break. Our aim in Belgium will be to fine-tune one or two technical details. As is usually the case for short races, the cars will not be completely new, and each car will be running parts that have a sufficient life expectancy to cover practice and the race. The 1,000 km de Spa-Francorchamps is above all a chance for the mechanics, engineers and ourselves to work in a race situation.”
Peugeot Sport’s Schedule at Spa-Francorchamps
Thursday, May 6
Scrutineering
Team Peugeot Total team photo on the track
Friday, May 7
Free practise
Team Peugeot Total Press gathering
Saturday, May 8
Free Practise
Qualifying
Sunday, May 9
Warm-up
1,000 km de Spa-Francorchamps
