Julien Schell, #29 Pegasus Racing Morgan-Nissan
On why Pegasus Racing is a German-flagged team:
“We are based in Strasbourg, which is just 5km from the border, but the truth is that a competition license from Germany is about a seventh of the cost of one at home. Sometimes it costs a lot to be French!”
Leo Roussel, #29 Pegasus Racing Morgan-Nissan
“To race here, in France, and at Le Mans is of course a dream, but as somebody that comes from Le Mans (Roussel and Julien Canal are both local drivers) it is very special.
“There are people writing off the Pegasus effort, they’re wrong to do that. The Morgan chassis is well proven here and the Nissan is fast and reliable too.”
Ho Pin Tung, #29 Pegasus Racing Morgan-Nissan
“Most of the attention here is on the coupes of course and that’s fair enough, they are fast and very capable as I found out last year (in the Oak Racing Team Total Ligier-HPD).
“We’re very happy to be a little under the radar. The Morgan Nissan is a very good car and if the weather plays a part then that could be even better for us.
“As for the drivers, we all have experience here. David and I have raced a lot together and I did 12 hours in the car in 2014.
“We’re also set to race at the WEC race in Shanghai with Pegasus and are talking about perhaps some other races too, but nothing is done yet.
Mikhail Aleshin, #37 SMP Racing BR01-Nissan
“My first impressions of the event are very good indeed but the track is amazing, very special. I have raced all over the world and there is nothing even remotely like it.
“For my enjoyment of any event of course the fans are an important part, but without an amazing track it can take something away. There’s no chance of that here!”
On the BR01: “The car has amazing potential, it’s impossible to compare it to the old Oreca, but we still need more time to test and develop it. The basic package is very good but we need to unlock some more pace.”
Nicolas Minassian, #27 SMP Racing BR01-Nissan
“Winning here is never easy and it’s even less easy with a very new car in a race where most of the grid is made up of cars with a lot of racing and development time already behind them. In truth we could have done with three or four more days testing to be really happy about where we are coming here.”
“The car though (the new BR01 Nissan) has been very reliable in testing. If we can stay out of trouble then who knows where we can end up?”
On his role as ‘elder statesman’: “I try not to say too much, my guidance is to help with some of the little things, being comfortable in the car, preparing for long stints and, of course, track knowledge. We’re getting to the stage where a lot of the guys are getting pretty experienced now and that has real advantages too.”
David Heinemeier Hansson, #30 Tequila Patron ESM Ligier-HPD
“We didn’t do a lot of running at the Test Day, but we’re happy after Spa. The car feels good and we’re not walking in here blind – we know that the package works and we’ve all been here before, albeit for Scott (Sharp) it was 19 years ago! This place gets sort of imprinted on your brain.”
“We saw at the test day that it can be super-fast too, Laurens Vanthoor in the #34 Oak car was super-quick.”
Ryan Dalziel, #30 Tequila Patron ESM Ligier HPD
“The package looks good here and I think we’re all looking forward to the race. There’s no getting away from the fact that the plan this year didn’t come together so instead we’re going to use it as a competitive development year to prepare for 2016.”
On Effort Racing in Pirelli World Challenge: “Well at the moment the car is badly damaged and we’re looking into whether or not the team will repair it before Road America.”
“It’s fair to say too that the team isn’t very happy at all with the Balance of Performance at present. There’s a decision to be made about whether more investment in the Series is possible when they have made it unfair.”
Mark Patterson, #48 Murphy Prototypes Oreca-Nissan
“We just need to keep it clean. The car is plenty fast enough to stay with the pack and the team is well drilled. Perhaps this is the year where we catch a bit of good luck!”
Karun Chandhok, #48 Murphy Prototypes Oreca-Nissan
“Test day was pretty pointless for tyre info but that was much the same for everyone. And in truth it was pretty pointless too for strategy. It was though good for getting me some real seat time, though. It’s the first time for a year that I’ve been in the car, apart from a 20-lap shakedown at a freezing-cold Paul Ricard in February. I’ve had plenty of racing time with Formula E, but no racing in P2 this year.”
“Of course it was nice to have the car at the top of the times in the afternoon session. It’s a great boost for the lads with the times as close as they are from P1 in class down to P10.
“Yes, we have an older car, but the upgrade last year was a good one and we have good data here where some of the newer cars won’t have that yet. We still have pretty good straight-line speed here: 296km/h against most of the new cars in the 298-299 bracket.”
Tracy Krohn, #40 Krohn Racing Ligier-Judd
You’ve been coming for quite a while now Tracy – does the passion you have for the event still burn as much as it did when you made your first trip to the race?
“No, because the fire is much more intense! Every year I come here it’s better and this year I’m extremely happy to be here with the new car.”
How are you finding P2? Some people say it’s easier than driving in GTE…
“P2 cars have better brakes and aerodynamics. They’re not that much quicker than GTE cars, you’d think they are, but when you come out of corners you aren’t really much quicker.”
The LMP2 class is so competitive now – was that the main draw of stepping up?
“It was, yes – we’d done GT racing for a while and thought it was time to change. I’d seen several horrific accidents in the prototype classes with the monocoque cockpits and they all just walked away. Nobody has been gravely injured or seriously injured. Look at last year, with Löic Duval, he had a huge shunt, it was dreadful, I thought he was dead and he just walked away. So when they started doing closed cockpits in LMP2 across the board I thought ‘now is the time’.”
How’s the ELMS going? It’s got a great calendar…
“Absolutely, it’s awesome. We’d done Imola before, but we haven’t done Estoril or the Red Bull Ring before this season. Even Paul Ricard is a place I’d only tested at so I’m really looking forward to going to all those places. I think the biggest draw of the ELMS was being able to see new tracks, try out a new car on a competitive grid and spend some more time in Europe – my wife and I love Europe.”
So coming back to this race, how are you feeling about it after the Test Day?
“I really don’t feel acclimatised in the Ligier, I haven’t done a dry lap in the car yet. I did a bunch of laps on the Test Day, but the conditions were so poor that there was no real consistency. It’ll be okay though I’m sure.”
Joao Barbosa, #40 Krohn Racing Ligier-Judd
It’s Krohn Racing’s first time here with a P2 car – how has the team adapted?
“I wasn’t here at the test, but from what I hear from the engineers they’ve done very well so far. Coming to Le Mans in a prototype is very hard, so adapting quickly is key. I think the weather will play a key part for us, it’ll help us a little bit if it’s wet. Right now the forecast isn’t very good, but we’re hoping for a clean race.”
You’ve been here in a prototype quite a few times now haven’t you?
“Yeah, it’s great. I’ve done years with Level 5, Pescarolo and Rollcentre – this one is my eighth time. I really enjoy driving a prototype around this track, it’s a great track, one of the best in the world. It’s so different driving a prototype around here than a GT car.”
You’re having a very good season this year out in America. How are you finding the Tudor series now it’s had a year to develop?
“It’s still great and very competitive. Unfortunately the car count, especially in the Prototype class this year, is low and that’s disappointing. It’s a transition period, though, and there’s always five or six cars that can win every race. I’m tied in first place right now with six races to go, there’s a lot that has to be done before I can really focus on winning.”
How do you find driving a DP car? Is it as nice as a P2 car?
“It’s a very different challenge driving both. I really enjoy DPs, they’re so physical, they’re real drivers’ cars, because you really have to work and give 100% all the time to go fast.”
I notice that you have funky racing boots this year. What’s the story behind that?
“The story started about five years ago with my kids. I decided originally to put my kids’ names on my shoes, one on each. But after that it developed and I let them have one each to design themselves. They went a little crazy for this year’s race but I love it, it’s good to keep them close to my heart while I’m away.”
GG & SK
