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Monday – Scrutineering

It has been “all change” at the start of the Le Mans week this year. Not only have the two days of scrutineering moved “forwards” to Sunday and Monday, but the location has moved as well.

The old Places des Jacobins, Le Mans town centre. Photo: David Lord, DailysportscarA few years back the ACO tried relocating scrutineering to the circuit, but it lacked the atmosphere that has been a customary warm-up act for the Vingt Quatre Heures. Recognising their error, they moved the circus back to the centre of town the following year, and the Place des Jacobins was reinstated as the characteristic venue for this very traditional occasion. However, the town council has grand plans for the site, and anyone who remembers the old theatre and its leafy car park will be amazed to see what’s happening there now. The theatre has gone completely, to be replaced by a vast hole in the ground, and the car park is only partly accessible via narrow back streets and unpaved tracks.

Instead, scrutineering was staged this year in the main car park right in the heart of the town and in the shadow of historic Le Mans cathedral. The area available is smaller than the old Place des Jacobins, and less manageable perhaps. The resulting scrum made manhandling the car a challenge for the team, as they moved it from the transporter to the start of the scrutineering sequence, and it also made negotiating their way to the central signing-on cabins a challenge for the drivers. However, it ensured that the public were guaranteed the closest possible look at the cars, and the chance to gather autographs and souvenirs. With the building of the new cultural and arts centre expected to take anything up to three years, we can expect several more days like today in the years ahead.

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

The scheduled slot for RML to begin the scrutineering process was 10:50, but it was almost another hour before the car could move through to the start of the technical examination. The drivers, meanwhile, signed on, had their helmets and race suits checked for compliance, and spoke (at length) to the assembled journalists and photographers.

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus PottsIn an interview on Sunday, the team principal at Highcroft had suggested that RML was one of his team’s main rivals for the LMP2 title here this year. The Highcroft HPD ARX-01c has been a dominant force in the American Le Mans Series this season, and arrives at La Sarthe relatively fresh from an emphatic win in the recent Laguna Seca round. How did Tommy react to this suggestion? “It’s certainly nice to be recognised, as a team,” he said. “We have a good track record here, and the crew is very experienced in endurance racing, especially over 24 hours, and experience counts for a lot here at Le Mans. There’s so much more to winning here than just going out there and driving fast. Strategy plays a huge part in every successful run at Le Mans, and we’re very fortunate that we have excellent tacticians in the team, and I don’t think there’s anyone better than Phil [Barker].”

“I don’t think there’s much debate about the fact that the HPD is probably the best LMP2 package in the world at the moment,” he continued. They’ve proven that the car is very, very quick, and it’s also reliable. Highcroft is evidently very well funded and well run and has one of the strongest driver line-ups in the race, so naturally they’re going to be among the favourites to win the class. But this is their first time here at Le Mans, and they haven’t got the same depth of experience that RML has in this race. Yes, they have some members of the team who’ve been to Le Mans before and they’ll help to steer the rest along the way, so there’s absolutely no doubt that they’ll be extremely competitive, but the real test will come when things don’t go exactly to plan. How they cope with crises, large or small, will be the real test.

Jaguar XJR-14In the realms of “experience”, few rank higher than Andy Wallace. Winner of the 24 Hours on his debut in 1988, and subsequently the only driver (so far) to have won all the endurance classics, Andy knows how to improve the odds for any car at Le Mans. “It’s so nice to be back here with RML again, and have another chance to add to my tally of 20 Le Mans starts,” said Andy. “The ACO used to credit me with 21, but that included two entries for 1991, when I tested for the 24 Hours with Jaguar and the XJR-14, but ended up racing the XJR-12 when the 14 failed to qualify.” It was a complicated year, when the ACO was trying to bring in new regulations to a revised 3.5 litre formula. Only ten cars were entered to these new standards, so the previous generation of Group C cars were invited back again. They proved to be faster and more reliable, and knowing that the XJR-14 would be unlikely to complete the race, Jaguar placed its eggs (and drivers like Andy) into the older Group C XJR-12s. Mazda won with the screaming Mazda 787B, but Jaguar finished second, third and, in Andy’s case, fourth. Since then Andy has missed just two years at Le Mans; 1994 and 2009.

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus PottsIn the list of the great and the good, Andy still has a few more to go before he ranks amongst those who’ve raced at Le Mans more than any other. Henri Pescarolo stands head and shoulders above the rest, with 33 participations, with the late, great Bob Wollek on 30, and Yojiro Terada on 27. Andy’s race with RML this year clocks 21 for the Englishman and places him on a par with his great friend and erstwhile team-mate Jan Lammers.

Andy doesn’t seem to rate his chances too highly of every matching the likes of Derek Bell, who has raced 26 times at Le Mans. The last time was in 1996, when Bell finished 6th overall, co-driving a McLaren F1 with Andy. Derek Bell was then aged 55. “In the past many of the cars had an issue with just completing the distance, and drivers really had to look after the cars to make them last,” suggests Andy. “The gearbox was always the weakest link, but these days the gearboxes are so much stronger and it’s almost impossible for the drivers to select the wrong gear. For a gearbox to fail now, it has to be a catastrophic malfunction of both electronics and mechanicals. That means that there’s a lot more pressure on the driver today to race flat-out all the time, which makes racing a much more physical and demanding exercise. Fitness is paramount, and it’s a young man’s game.”

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

With the paperwork complete, the drivers rejoined the team and the RML Lola HPD as they neared the end of the scrutineering sequence. With all the boxes ticked, a clean sheet and no issues, the car was pushed out in front of the assembled photographers and spectators for the official team photographs.

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus PottsBy now it was ten to two, and time for Mike, Tommy and Andy to make their way to the stage where Bruno Venderstick, the “Voice of Le Mans”, was carrying out interviews with the help of David Waldron, the ACO’s official translator. Anne Morel, RML’s own French Liaison Officer, joined them all on stage, and introduced herself, and the drivers to the crowd.

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

Bruno, aided by David Waldron, then questioned Mike about the team’s preparedness for Le Mans. “By our calculations, the three of us must have about 120 years of racing experience between us!” joked Mike. Actually, although Andy seems to have age on his mind a fair bit at the moment, the total isn’t quite that much, but it’s still an impressive 83 years. Andy started racing in 1976, while both Mike and Tommy both made their track debuts in 1985.

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus PottsMike declared himself to be “delighted with the reliability and consistency” of the new HPD engine, and pointed out that “previously, as long as the car has run smoothly we’ve always ended up on the podium. This engine gives every indication of being strong and hugely reliable, so it’s now down to us to keep out of trouble and be there at the finish.”

David Waldron then asked about the relationship with HPD, and how this compared with a team like Highcroft, which was viewed by many as a factory squad. “The engines are leased from HPD,” explained Mike, “but we have a very close relationship, and there are two support engineers with us at every race. In essence, however, we’re very much a privateer team.”

It was ten Tommy’s turn to be quizzed, but rather than respond to a rather predictable question about whether or not the new car was better than last year’s Mazda-powered Lola, the Brazilian headed off at a complete tangent. Pointing into the crowd, he wanted to know where the man had bought his pain au chocolate. “That’s the largest pain au chocolate I’ve ever seen!” he said. Unfazed, the man indicated a nearby boulangerie, but with the tone irreparably changed, the rest of the interview took on a more light-hearted flavour.

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus PottsThe car is simply beautiful,” said Tommy, getting back to the subject in hand, “and it’s great for us to be performing so much better again this year. The combination of the HPD engine, Lola chassis and the Dunlop tyres have created a very competitive package, and we’re now leading the championship. I guess we’re happy boys again now!”

Bruno pointed out, as others have done, that the team finished third in the first race at Paul Ricard; took second in round two at Spa, and have now arrived for their third race at Le Mans. “Is this three, two, one?” he asked. Tommy shrugged, but wouldn’t commit. Bruno changed tack. After wins in 2005 and 2006, the team had not enjoyed much success since, and was this all down to the engine? No, insisted Tommy, reminding Bruno that he, Mike and RML had taken the Le Mans Series title in 2007, and had enjoyed a very fruitful relationship with AER, the company behind last year’s Mazda 2.0 litre turbo. “The Mazda engine last year made for a very difficult season,” conceded Tommy, “but AER also gave us some of our best results, and they were excellent to work with. However, after last year, we were ready for a change, and we’re very happy with the HPD deal, and ready to move on.”

Le Mans 1988Turning to Andy, Bruno wanted to know whether a giant pain au chocolate would be his choice of snack before warm-up. “If that’s what you like, why not!” was Andy’s response. Moving on, Bruno and David Waldron then teased Andy with an excellent Le Mans trivia question. “Andy, you are one of three drivers here this year that have something unique in common. Can you guess what that is?” Andy tried a couple of suggestions, but got nowhere near the correct answer. It transpires that Andy, together with Jean Alesi and Emanuele Pirro, are the only drivers racing this year who experienced the Mulsanne before the chicanes were added in 1990. Pirro made his Le Mans debut in 1981, aged nineteen, with Beppe Gabiani in the Martini Racing Lancia Beta Monte Carlo. Andy won on his debut with Jaguar in 1988, co-driving with Jan Lammers and Johnny Dumfries, while Jean Alesi first appeared here in the Team Schuppan Porsche 962 with Will Hoy and Dominic Dobson in 1989.

Jaguar XJR-9“So, what you’re saying is, I’m very old!” said Andy. “Actually, it was an amazing thing to do. To drive along the Mulsanne at nearly 400 kilometres an hour was an astonishing experienced, but I still like the track the way it is now. Perhaps, with the chicanes, it is even more of a challenge?”

Bruno, with his head cocked slightly to one side, then looked at Andy directly. “Tell us, Andy, what is your secret?” Tapping a book in front of him, he then added; “I was reading the Le Mans annual for 1988, and you look exactly the same today. How do you do it?” With a gesture back towards the man in the crowd with the pain au chocolate, Andy’s reply was simple. “Good food!” he said.

How did Andy see this year’s race? “The ACO has assembled a very impressive grid, and LMP2 in particular has no weak entries. It’s going to be very tough. The HPD is extremely fast, but here at Le Mans you must run your own race, and first and foremost, you have to finish. Obviously we would very much like to win, but we’ll see.”

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus PottsAs well as a new engine, the car was also on new tyres for 2010. “They’re all fantastic tyres,” suggested Andy, “but you have to set up the car to suit the tyres and the circuit. If we can find a setting that works well here at Le Mans, I think we’ll be fine.” Testing recently, and the results from the opening two rounds of the Le Mans series suggest that RML is well on the way to finding the measure of the new Dunlop rubber.

Returning to Tommy – did he prefer an open or closed race car? Between 2004 and 2008 the RML Lolas were all open topped, but last year, and this, the team is running a coupé. “There are pros and cons to both,” said the Brazilian. The coupé is very slippery and should be quick here at Le Mans, but an open car gives you a better connection with what’s going on. You can sense the speed, and you get a clearer view of the track. As a driver, I probably prefer to be out in the open.”

This is the last year of the current LMP regulations, and from 2011 the LMP1 cars will be more like today’s LMP2. Did Mike see the team moving “up” to LMP1? “We’ve made no decision yet,” replied the CEO of AD Group, the team’s principal sponsor. “The regulations have yet to be finalised, and we won’t make any decisions until we’ve seen those, so it’s still an open question, but LMP1 is not impossible.

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus PottsThere was then a short exchange about Andy’s wife Catherine, who was hiding behind some pot plants at the back of the stage, her nose buried in a book. “She loves reading,” grinned Andy, but as Bruno pressed the point, Andy acknowledged that Catherine is a fully qualified aerospace engineer and an accomplished aerodynamicist, as well as an assistant team manager in the States.
The interview was wrapped up my Bruno’s suggestion that Andy liked cars – anything that had “an engine in the back and goes fast”, agreed Andy; Tommy had a fondness for motorbikes, but Mike was known to be a qualified pilot. Did he prefer cars, or aircraft? With a reference to the RML Lola’s untimely departure from the Le Mans 24 Hours two years ago, Mike suggested he preferred cars . . . provided they didn’t try to take off and become aeroplanes.

With the car loaded back onto the transporter, and the team heading back to the circuit, the three drivers picked up their kit and headed for the car park. Tuesday will be a chance to relax after an exhausting day – and scrutineering truly is a test of driver and machine – before the compulsory autograph session in the later afternoon, and then the serious business of practice on Wednesday.

Le Mans 24 Hours 2010

Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France
June 7th 2010
Scrutineering

 

 

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

 

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

 

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

 

 

 

 

 

 

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

 

 

 

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

 

 

 

 

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

 

 

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: David Lord, Dailysportscar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RML at Le Mans 2010, Scrutineering, Monday June 7th. Photo: Marcus Potts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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