After hours and hours of on-track running at Aragon, Monza, Silverstone, Spa, Paul Ricard, Magny Cours, Daytona and various other circuits, during race meetings, official and private tests, the time has come, and the teams and drivers are ready to take on Le Mans.
The Le Mans Test Day, whilst rarely a true reflection of the on-track pace for the race proper, is valuable for many reasons.
For the teams and drivers it’s their one chance a each year to get some laps in on the full Circuit de la Sarthe outside of race-week, and for rookies, a good way to get acclimatised before the hustle and bustle of the official running.
All of the crews will look to use the Test to get in valuable fuel and tyre runs, as well as practice certain procedures like pit-stops and driver changes.
It’s particularly important this year, in which the entire LMP1 and LMP2 field, plus the new Porsche 911 RSRs have never raced at La Sarthe before, and 45 of the drivers on the entry have yet to race there either.
DSC has already posted a closer look at the Test Day entry list, and its changes, HERE >>>
The format, is, as usual, two lengthy four-hour open sessions (9am-1pm and 2pm-6pm), which at home (or trackside) you can follow exclusively live on the Radio courtesy of DSC’s friends at Radio Le Mans.
Here’s a look at the storylines to follow in the top prototype division:
Bamber & Tandy’s first LMP1 run on Circuit de la Sarthe since their 2015 win
Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber are back racing up front in LMP1 with Porsche after an unhappy 2016 race for both in a factory GT effort that was over very early in the race. This year’s Le Mans will be a welcome return for the 2015-winning pair, who were unable to defend their overall crown last year when Porsche scaled back its P1 effort to two cars in the wake of the ‘Dieselgate’ crisis that ultimately cost the sport the Audi Sport Team Joest outfit.
Bamber and Tandy are more eager than ever, and frankly, just as capable of winning this time around. It hasn’t taken them any time at all to get back up to speed racing in the increasingly alien hybrid division. And with the Porsche’s finally reaching the circuit which it believes will suit its low-downforce kit the most, a chance of Tandy or Bamber scoring their second win, is rightly high.
It’s also Lotterer’s first experience of Le Mans with Porsche. The Audi stalwart will likely feel a little bit of a culture shock, turning up at Le Mans with his new team, as the Le Mans race-week, and the Test Day for that matter, is a very different experience than a WEC round, and for a man that has had so much success with his previous Audi outfit there are likely to be moments of reflection.
Bonanomi back in LMP1
With James Rossiter signed up to a Super GT test, he’s set to be replaced at ByKolles by another ex-Audi LMP1 driver, Marco Bonanomi, the Italian set to make his fourth Le Mans start with the Austrian LMP1 privateer outfit.
Recently, Bonanomi tested with the team at Spa-Francorchamps in light of Rossiter’s call-up. So he will be acclimatised to the ENSO CLM prior to turning laps this Sunday.
Elsewhere in the ByKolles team, it will be key for it to try out its new Le Mans package in situ this Sunday, as well as turn more laps with its Nissan engine. Whether or not the car will be able to lap faster than the new LMP2s, and consistently, at La Sarthe, will be an interesting development by Sunday afternoon. Their excellent run at Spa will be a fillip ahead of what is set to be their penultimate planned race of the season.
The third Toyota
With a re-jigged lineup, and no experience racing with three Hybrid LMP1 cars at La Sarthe, the Test Day will be valuable to Toyota Gazoo Racing.
How will the 2017 TS050 fare matched up against the Porsche 919s on the full circuit, with the #7 and #8 using low-drag aero for the first time? And more importantly, how much running time will Le Mans rookies Yuji Kunimoto and Jose-Maria Lopez get, and will they be able to match the pace of their more experienced colleagues?
Time will tell, but keeping an eye on their approach will be an interesting storyline to follow throughout the day.
LMP1 laptimes?
Porsche and Toyota have admitted that for the first time they haven’t been able to gain back all of the time lost as part of the 2017 efficiency rules, much to the delight of the rule-makers. So far this season, no lap-records have been broken despite the pace of the LMP1 Hybrids continuing to impress.
Back in 2015 Neel Jani set a record 3:16.887. Will the 2017 cars be able to get anywhere close? It would seem unlikely, though it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the LMP1 factory teams set extremely fast sector times on occasion before letting off or pitting. As well as that, whether they will show their hand at this stage anyway, also remains to be seen.
