Part 3 – LM GTE Pro
Gianmaria Bruni (#51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia)
Monday
“An additional 20 kilos for the Astons is a joke, but I am not surprised. We need to be the most consistent car out there in the class and we need to be fast in the pits too.
“Most of all we need it to be either dry, or completely wet because the compromises we would need to make in changeable conditions would leave us nowhere. We would be left with a wet set-up and not enough downforce which would hurt us badly.
Matteo Mallucelli (#51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia)
Monday
“This is my fourth Le Mans 24 Hours but I have not been back since 2009.
“It is good though to be here in a year where we have such strong competition from so many factory teams. Absolutely we are looking to win but it will be tough with five litres less fuel we have no advantage there this time and with a little less power too it will be a very close battle.
“I am delighted though to be with such a strong team, and with two fantastic co-drivers. This race will certainly be a 24 hour sprint and we will be pushing hard to be in the middle of this. If we have a strong and reliable run and are on the lead lap after 20 hour we’ll see!
Dominic Farnbacher (#53 SRT Viper GTS-R)
Sunday
“The Viper has a very different feel to anything I’ve raced before. The last front engined car I raced was the Panoz back in 2009. Compared to that the Viper has way more torque and more downforce too. It only revs to 4600!”
“This is the very first time I have been involved with a programme at this level from the very beginning. I have great engineers and team-mates around me and I am really enjoying the whole atmosphere too.”
Khaled Al Qabasi (#66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari F458 Italia)
Sunday
“It is fantastic to be here at one of the world’s top races. I love racing at home and at the Dubai 24 Hours in particular where I know the track and we have one of the fastest cars.”
“Here though everything is different. It is a race and a track, but it is a very different track, with 90 years of history and an entirely different ambiance. Our Ferrari is fast but we have to deal with much faster LMP traffic.”
“I am enjoying the challenge, and I really enjoyed the wet conditions too, I used to hate it but got used to enjoying the challenge in Supercup. We do though need to work hard to keep the temperature in the tyres.”
Abdulaziz Al Faisal (#66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari F458 Italia)
Sunday
“It is very good to be back here. It’s a totally unique experience in the sport, in terms of the size, the complexity and particularly the intensity of the event.”
When do you think we might see a team from the Gulf to compete in the WEC? “I hope very soon. The difficulty is that it is still a very young sport in the region and whilst there are people that love and understand the sport very well, they are few and far between just yet. We don’t have car manufacturers in the region either, so that is another barrier.”
Andrea Bertolini (#66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari F458 Italia)
Sunday
“I am very pleased to be with JMW this year. When Ferrari asked me whether I would race for them and Dunlop I had no hesitation. I had heard that the team were not only very good but also very friendly and that’s exactly what I have found.”
“The team really is a family affair and we have all been made very welcome. I really appreciate that and want to give Jim (McWhirter) and the whole team the maximum possible effort.”
“My team-mates this year are both very nice guys with a lot of racing experience. It’s a shame really that the entry is in GTE Pro, because the crew we have would be a very strong contender in GTE Am.”
Tommy Milner (#74 Corvette Racing Corvette C6 ZR1)
Monday
“This is going to be a huge fight. We’ve seen it in the past couple of years with the Ferrari and last year with the Aston and I expect a lot more of the same.
“The C6 is at the end of its development cycle and should be as fast and reliable as it gets. I can tell you this – We’ll be flat out fast but we won’t quite be the fastest, but I think that concentrates the mind on squeezing the very best out of what you have.
“The Aston and Porsche have room for development left but the Vantage is already very quick and the Porsche seems to have taken another big step.
“GTE over the years has been fantastic and it has been awesome to be a part of it.
“Our main disadvantage could be with the weather. We were right there in the dry but we haven’t had very much testing in the wet.
Oliver Gavin (#74 Corvette Racing Corvette C6 ZR1)
Monday
“This is my 13th consecutive year – I hope that’s a good omen, particularly as the C6 is now at the peak of its powers.
“Certainly of all the years that I have been here this is the most competitive field of the lot. Viper, Aston, Porsche and Ferrari, all with factory teams and fantastic driver line ups. Credit too to the ACO when all the cynics are saying GTE is on the way out and they put this sort of field together.
“One thing is for sure. If you win this one, against all of that opposition, you’ll have had to earn it!
“With the future a little undecided I hope people are taking notice here, the sport should be about challenges and progress and the level in GTE just keeps rising with spectacular progress in performance and efficiency. I hope more of the same is the way forward.
Patrick Pilet (#91 Porsche AG Team Manthey 911 RSR)
Monday
“The car is good but perhaps not good enough quite yet though there has been very steady improvement so far.
“I can tell you that we have not been playing the game of trying to affect the Balance of Performance . We want to find our level through development and for sure we are not at the 100% of potential of the car yet.
“I don’t think anyone really knows yet where everyone is on fuel, tyres and race pace and I don’t think we all will until the second hour of the race.
“Aside from the overall speed though we have no weak points, the car looks quick in the rain, and like every 911 the traction is very good.”
Timo Bernhard (#91 Porsche AG Team Manthey 911 RSR)
Monday
“There’s a lot of work to do on the new car but it feels good, and it still feels like a 911, plenty of traction and with a front end that feels a little lighter on turn in. It has been a very good job from the engineers to get the feel and performance so good this early but it is still a very new car.”
Richard Lietz (#92 Porsche AG Team Manthey 911 RSR)
Monday
“We are not quick enough. Our best hope is to try to double stint tyres and stay with the pace that way.
“We know it will be a big fight so our best option is to run a super clean race and hope that the others aren’t playing games, though it seemed at the Test that some of them were stopping accelerating pretty early!”
Jonathan Bomarito (#93 SRT Viper GTS-R)
Sunday
“This is a big deal for me and it is a real buzz to be here, and a different mindset coming into this than anything I’ve done before. I just want to soak all of this up. It’s a very important race for SRT too, back to their racing heritage.”
Tommy Kendall (#93 SRT Viper GTSR)
Sunday
“Look at it this way – Corvette’s legend has been built over 60 years. For us even to be on the same page with a car that hasn’t been racing for even 20 years yet is a real tribute to the Viper and the people that build them, and buy them!”
“It was pretty clear from Day One that this race is very important to the programme, all the history of those early days and in particular the three wins here with the old GTSRs.”
“Everything here is so different from what we are used to. You get more people coming here to watch scrutineering than go to most races back home! It’s great fun but it can get under your skin if you let it.”
“It is very exciting though to be back racing here for the first time since 2000 (when Kendall shared a Konrad Porsche finishing 14th overall). A lot has changed but there’s plenty that’s still familiar. It helps to give you a real appreciation for what this race means.”
“As for the race – I think we have a chance, but then with a field like this so does everyone else! It is going to be about who makes the fewest mistakes. If we can be high up on that list then we might well get close to or inside the top three.”
Darren Turner (#97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8)
Monday
“I think our prospects, and by that I mean both the team in general and the #97 car in particular, are very good indeed. There are plenty of unknowns, including the weather, which might throw an advantage at times to the Dunlops, but across the race, on pace, and on the quality of our whole effort, I think we look very strong.
Stefan Mucke (#97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8)
Monday
“It’s going to be very tough. Particularly tough with the new weight penalty after the Test Day.
“It is though really good, as always, to be here and really good too to be in with a chance of a win, particularly in a class with so much quality. The competition will be very close and one thing is for sure, nobody can possibly be sure of a good result.
“Our biggest advantage is having the three Pro cars. That gives us a lot of data, and a lot of insight into alternative strategies with limited track time available.”
Paul Dalla Lana (#98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8)
Monday
“You talk to other drivers and they tell you how great this place is, how big the event is and how amazing the race is and you genuinely have no idea until you get here and see it for yourself.
“My job is simple – Keep it clean and give Bill (Auberlen) and Pedro (Lamy) a chance to stay with the leading group.”
Rob Bell (#99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8)
Monday
“We have a good shot and with a good slice of racing luck and if we can stay out of trouble we should be right there.
“Yes we have more ballast than we think we should have, and, because that has come so late (post Test Day) we aren’t sure where that has put us on tyre degradation, we still think there’s every chance of being in the mix.
“Can we bring it home 1,2,3? Why not!”
Bruno Senna (#99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8)
Monday
“Together with Lucas (di Grassi) and racing with a real chance of success I think we can make a real difference in raising the profile of sportscar racing at home in Brazil.
“So far I have managed a win and a second place this year, a great result for the team, and a real buzz for me to be leading a World Championship.
“So we are coming in to this race with the potential for real success but with a lot still to learn. Driving a GT car in the wet is still a real challenge and I’ll have to do my best in support of the guys.”
Fred Makowiecki (#99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8)
Monday
“This race is always special and it is great to be here with a top team in a good car, and in a year that is so important to Aston Martin.
“As a crew we are gelling very well, my team-mates are both very fast and are both easy to work with too. I think we have a very good chance.
