2016 Le Mans Test Day

Le Mans 2016 line up. [Photo by Porsche Motorsport]

by Jack Webster & Eddie LePine

And so it begins. The 2016 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is just around the corner and this past weekend all the teams showed up for a day of testing.

Audi ended up clocking the fastest time of the two sessions with their all new R18 with a lap of 3:21.375, set by Lucas di Grassi, closely followed by Mark Webber in the Porsche 919 Hybrid at a 3:22.270, just .0895 back.

The Toyotas were slightly off pace at the Le Mans test, but in the hunt. [Photo by Toyota Gazoo Racing]

Spa winning Audi R18 set the fastest lap in Le Mans testing. [Photo by Audi Motorsport]

Porsche 919 Hybrid. [Photo by Porsche Motorsport]

Le Mans 2016 line up. [Photo by Porsche Motorsport]

So, the order of the LMP1 hybrid cars ended up being: Audi-Porsche-Porsche-Audi-Toyota-Toyota. All the hybrid cars were separated by only 2.346 seconds, with the two Toyotas slightly off the pace and bringing up the rear. Now everyone has a couple of weeks to find a bit more speed before the running of the race on June 18-19.

In LMP 1 (non-hybrid), Rebellion Racing set the pace, with their cars first and second.

In the P2 class, Eurasia Motorsport with their Oreca 05-Nissan topped the time charts.

In the much watched LMGTE-Pro class, which this year will see four of the Ford GT cars making an historic return to Le Mans, it was the Corvette C7.R of Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Ricky Taylor setting fast time over a pair of factory Porsche 911 RSRs followed by the other Corvette C7.R of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor. The Taylor brothers had made a quick trip to France after winning the IMSA WeatherTech race at Belle Isle in Detroit on Saturday.

The four factory Ford GT cars were 6th, 8th, 12th and 13th in class, but the slowest was still only about a second and a half off the pace of the leading Corvette. Look for this class to be a flat out battle all during the 24 hours; as in addition to the Corvettes, Porsches and Fords, there are strong cars from both Ferrari and Aston Martin as well.

In the LMGTE Am class, a Corvette C7-Z06 from Larbre Competition topped the charts, closely followed by four Ferraris. Fan favorite Johnny O’Connell, in the Team AAI Corvette C7-Z06 managed 12th fastest in the class, but we are sure that Johnny and his co-drivers will find some extra speed by the time the race rolls around.

American IMSA teams and drivers are well represented at Le Mans this year, with 30+ drivers and over 10 cars from the IMSA WeatherTech series running at Le Mans, including the Daytona and Sebring overall winning ESM Ligier JS-P2 team with two cars. Michael Shank Racing is also represented with their Ligier-Honda and IMSA regulars Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen (Viper GT3-R), who won at Detroit in the GTD class, also made the quick trip to Le Mans to test their Oreca 03R-Nissan with teammate Marc Goossens.

Le Mans this year is shaping up to be a classic, and we can’t wait.

Eddie LePine & Jack Webster

Jack Webster has been shooting motorsports since the early 1970’s, covering Formula One, CanAm, F5000, TransAm, GrandAm and American Le Mans races, among others. In addition to his photography, he has also worked on racing teams, both in IMSA and IndyCar, so has a complete knowledge of the inner workings of motorsport. Both his photography and writing can be seen here on racingnation.com. Eddie LePine has been involved in motorsports for over 30 years as photographer, columnist, and driver. Eddie also is now a retired racer (well, retired unless a good ride pops up). You can usually find Eddie in the paddock area, deep in conversation with a driver.

racingnation.com

Related Posts

• 
  Sebring 2024
• 
  Giuseppe Victorious
• 
  Car or Driver