Le Mans scrutineering day 1 notebook
Sunday, 11 June 2017
By Stephen Kilbey / Images by Rainier Ehrhardt/LAT
ABOVE: Fans watch as the Vaillante Rebellion Racing ORECA 07 Gibson of Mathias Beche, David Heinemeier Hansson and Nelson Piquet Jr. arrives at scrutineering.
News and notes from the first day of Le Mans Scrutineering at the Place de Republique:
Nicolet confirms no changes to Ligier JS P217 for the race
The seven Ligier JS P217s which will compete at Le Mans this year in the LMP2 class, will race in the same trim as at the Test Day, when they were significantly slower than the ORECA 07 Gibsons, which finished the day locking out the top 13 positions.
Onroak Automotive has attempted to find a way to close the gap since the test in a number of different ways. In LMP2, only one performance upgrade is allowed during the four-year homologation period for each chassis.
Jacques Nicolet, boss of Onroak Automotive, told
RACER today that a proposal to the ACO and FIA to make an early change outside the current regulations to the current JS P217 has been refused by the other three LMP2 chassis manufacturers.
"The other manufacturers have decided that we cannot make this change," he said.
When asked if he would change the JS P217 with its one permitted performance upgrade before the race, he continued: "It is too early to do that, we will race with what we have."
Still no word on Honorary Starter
ACO President Pierre Fillon continued to tease the personality who will wave the French Tricolour at the start of the race next weekend on the interview stage in front of the fans.
"You will discover who waves the French flag on Friday only, at the press conference," said Fillon. "It's a surprise. We will announce on Friday as well, what is at the heart of the 2020 regulations."
In the past, French President Francois Hollande, actor Brad Pitt, Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Fernando Alonso, NASCAR's Jim France and Ford's executive chairman Bill Ford have been honored at the start of the race.
Among the potential names to take the flag is A.J. Foyt, who is in attendance at the circuit this week to celebrate his win with Ford back in 1967.
Porsche LMP drivers confident
Porsche LMP Team drivers Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber expressed their confidence about taking the fight to Toyota during the race, despite not matching the pace of their rivals during the Test Day.
"We weren't shaken up by the performance of Toyota at the Test Day," Hartley said. "The folks in Weissach have been working flat out ever since. We know how to win this race while none of the nine Toyota drivers have ever done that."
"We will be much closer to Toyota then during the Test Day," added Bamber. "It was a surprise to see LMP2 cars being faster than us [on the straights]. I don't think it should be that way. We have to learn how to manage this new element during the free practice sessions."