Porsche 919 Hybrid, Qualifying, Le Mans, WEC, 2016, Porsche AG |
Due to mostly wet track
conditions in both qualifying sessions on Thursday, held from 7 pm to 9 pm and
from 10 pm until midnight, there were no improvements in lap times for the top
cars compared to the first qualifying session from Wednesday night. The unbeaten
best time for the field of 60 cars was achieved by Neel Jani on Wednesday. The
Swiss had lapped the 13.629 kilometre long circuit in 3:19.733 minutes. In
difficult track conditions he stayed above his qualifying record of 3:16.887
minutes that he achieved in 2015 and that now remains for the current track
layout of the Circuit des 24 Heures. Timo Bernhard (DE) managed the second
fastest lap on Wednesday. The reigning World Champion had managed a lap in
3:20.203 minutes. This means a front row lock out for the same Porsche works
drivers as in Le Mans 2015. In the history of the race, that is being run in
2016 for the 84th time, it is the 15th time that Porsche has achieved a one-two
result in qualifying.
Jani shares the 662 kW (900
PS) number 2 hybrid prototype with Romain Dumas (FR) and Marc Lieb (DE).
Bernhard takes on what is known as the world’s hardest car race with partners
Brendon Hartley (NZ) and Mark Webber (AU) in the number 1 sister car.
The anticipated hunt for
pole position for the 24 Hours of Le Mans was a washout: Heavy rain during the
second and third qualifying sessions prevented faster lap times, compared to
the previous day with a dry first qualifying session on the 13.629-kilometre
Circuit des 24 Heures. Like most of the 60 cars, the two GT-class Porsche
Motorsport works-entry 911 RSR racers were unable to improve on their grid
positions for the 84th running of the long distance classic in France. In the
911 RSR with the starting number 92, overall Le Mans winner Earl Bamber (New Zealand)
and his teammates Frédéric Makowiecki (France) and Jörg Bergmeister (Germany)
take up the prestigious race on Saturday at 15.00 hrs from the fourth GT grid
row. Lining up on the row behind them is the #91 sister car, driven by outright
Le Mans winner Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Frenchmen Patrick Pilet and Kévin
Estre.
One of the few drivers who
went out on this rainy night at exactly the right time was Patrick Long (USA).
The Porsche factory pilot, who contests the GTE-Am class in the 911 RSR of the
Abu Dhabi Proton Racing customer team with Khaled Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi) and
David Heinemeier Hansson (Denmark), turned a perfect qualifying lap despite the
difficult conditions. This catapulted his team from seventh to third.
The anticipated hunt for pole
position for the 24 Hours of Le Mans was a washout: Heavy rain during the
second and third qualifying sessions prevented faster lap times, compared to
the previous day with a dry first qualifying session on the 13.629-kilometre
Circuit des 24 Heures. Like most of the 60 cars, the two GT-class Porsche
Motorsport works-entry 911 RSR racers were unable to improve on their grid
positions for the 84th running of the long distance classic in France. In the
911 RSR with the starting number 92, overall Le Mans winner Earl Bamber (New
Zealand) and his teammates Frédéric Makowiecki (France) and Jörg Bergmeister
(Germany) take up the prestigious race on Saturday at 15.00 hrs from the fourth
GT grid row. Lining up on the row behind them is the #91 sister car, driven by
outright Le Mans winner Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Frenchmen Patrick Pilet
and Kévin Estre.
One of the few drivers who
went out on this rainy night at exactly the right time was Patrick Long (USA).
The Porsche factory pilot, who contests the GTE-Am class in the 911 RSR of the
Abu Dhabi Proton Racing customer team with Khaled Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi) and
David Heinemeier Hansson (Denmark), turned a perfect qualifying lap despite the
difficult conditions. This catapulted his team from seventh to third.
Quotes after second
and third qualifying
Fritz
Enzinger, Vice President LMP1: “It is
great to start in Le Mans with both cars from the front row. This achievement
is the result of painstaking work by the team to prepare the two 919 Hybrids,
and this gives us the best possible basis to reach our goal and defend last
year’s Le Mans win.”
Andreas
Seidl, Team Principal: “The result
proves that we as a team went in the right direction when developing the 919
Hybrid for 2016. Both car crews did a sensational job. Despite difficult
conditions, we have managed to bring both cars so far through the race week
without any technical issues, and on track we had no incidents either. We know
we’ve got a fast car – but we are well aware that pole position, especially in
Le Mans, doesn’t mean a lot in paving the way to a Sunday success. Now we will
go and do final preparations for the race. We’ve got huge respect for the task
ahead. The competition will be strong, but we feel ready and confident.”
Dr
Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “The weather conditions today didn’t allow us
faster lap times. We were able to fine-tune the setup on our 911 RSR for rainy
conditions, but our drivers didn’t get much track time. The result is sobering,
of course. The gap to the leaders is very large. Let’s see whether the rule
makers come to a final decision, after the promised analysis, concerning the
BoP of the GT cars for tomorrow’s race. Apart from this, we’re totally focused
and we’ll tackle this fascinating classic with great enthusiasm. The race runs
over 24 hours, it shouldn’t make a difference what our grid positions are.”
First qualifying,
LMP1
The best lap time for the
field of 60 cars was achieved by Neel Jani on Wednesday night. Early into the
session, the Swiss lapped the 13.629 kilometre long circuit in 3:19.733
minutes. He shares the (662 kW) 900 HP number 2 prototype with Romain Dumas
(FR) and Marc Lieb (GER). Timo Bernhard (GER) achieved the second fastest time
today in 3:20.203 minutes, he partners Brendon Hartley (NZ) and Mark Webber
(AUS) in the number 1 sister car.
In Le Mans three
qualifying sessions are held with each of them lasting for two hours. The best
lap time achieved in these six hours is the one that decides each car’s grid
position. Because the weather conditions are currently tending to be
changeable, it is not clear what Wednesday’s time sheets from the dry session
may be worth in terms of grid positions. The session was red flagged for about
13 minutes, but not extended. It also saw frequent incidents and yellow flags,
which made it difficult to find a clear lap.
First qualifying,
GT-classes
The best-placed Porsche 911
RSR with the starting number 92 posted the eighth quickest time in the GTE-Pro
class. Sharing the cockpit of the winning racer from Weissach, which is based
on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, are overall Le Mans
winner Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) and Frédéric
Makowiecki (France). The sister works-run 911 RSR (#91), with outright winner
Nick Tandy (Great Britain) as well as Frenchmen Patrick Pilet and Kévin Estre
at the wheel, clocked the tenth fastest time at the first show of strength on
the 13.629-kilometre Circuit des 24 Heures.
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