Release n°4 - Saturday 14h00 - 16h00

Toyota - Mercedes : The Duel fizzles out !

The overcast sky, threatening rain (French Weather services forecasted rain for the Sarthe Region), began clearing up just as the 47 starting cars of the 66th Le Mans 24 Hours were revving up behind the Bentley pace car (an impressive symbol, given the prestigious past of the British car manufacturer!) to complete the warm-up lap...
Under a reluctant sun, the drivers zoomed under the official French flag marking the start of the race at exactly 2:00 pm CET. While the Number 35 Mercedes driven by Bernd Schneider was the fastest off the start, the first lap was won by the Toyota (No.28), driven by Martin Brundle. Further down the starting line-up , Pierluigi Martini shot off the starting line like a canon, and his No.2 BMW swung into 3rd position ahead of a turbulent firing line made up of the Toyotas - No.29 (Boutsent) and No.27 (Tsuchiya), Mercedes (No.26) driven by Gounon, two Porsche (911 GT1 (Mc Nish and Muller), and the second BMW with Kristensen at the wheel.
Early problems for two competitors : the Porsche GT No.56 was the first car in the pits at 2:10 pm and , more importantly, the Konrad Motorsport 911 GT2 (No.73, Seiler-Kitchak-Zadra), that dropped out offically at 2:25 pm CET due to a broken piston.

Festival Brundle !

At 2:15 pm, Brundle broke a previous lap record by clocking in at 3'42"817, but the all powerful Toyota domination was heatedly contested by Schneider. While the No.35 Mercedes was in 3rd place at 2:30 pm behind No.29 Boutsen, it was right on the Belgian's heels! As expected, the race was off to a flying start at a high clip, and no one was prepared to let a "hare" to take the lead. And while the LMP may always be the first to make a pit stop, pit reports show that the German carmakers challenging Toyota -notably Mercedes- guzzle much less. The Germans stopped to gas up two laps later : will the race be won on the number of pit stops ?.

A little surprise in the GT2 class : The No.60 Porsche (Jarier-Donovan-Rosenblad), and No. 70 (Konrad-Ham-Schumacher) pulled ahead of the Chrysler Viper - the stars during the trials. Hugues de Chauna, the manager of the Viper-Oreca Team, showed no signs of concern . According to de Chauna, " we have charted our course and are headed in the right direction. You don't break or make the race or win it now! We still have 23 more hours to go !".
After the 13th lap, the Toyota, still driven by Brundle, took back the lead, previously held by the Schneider Mercedes that stopped in the pits later than the former. Schneider is warding off heavy attacks from another, Boutsen's No.29 Toyota, which is followed by the Muller GT1 Porsche, the third Toyota, the GT1 Porsche driven by Mc Nish, the second Mercedes (Gounon), and the Martinin BMW leading the LMP1 category ahead of the outstanding Ferrari 333 SP from JB Racing, driven by Bouillon. A little before 3:00 pm, the No.2 BMW lost its 1st place in the LMP category when it bumped into the AMPM Courage Nissan in the hands, then, of Thévenin. Both cars lost a lot of time in the pits ; 10 minutes later BMW required an official and cumbersome hood change, and Courage required a much more intricate and longer radiator repair ...

Mercedes Out !

While the No. 51 and No 52 Vipers set the record straight in the GT 1 Class, ahead of the Konrad Porsche (which took little time stopping in the pits, wheel shaft broken), all eyes were on Mercedes at 3:12 pm CET! The No.35 Mercedes stopped in the pit straight away. Schneider got out of the car and took of his cloves and helmet. It was over for the German car in which the oil pump and the private lubricating engine were broken ...
At 3:30 pm, the No.25 Porsche GT1 took over the lead for a moment due to pit stops , but the quicker cars on the track are Toyota, the No.2 BMW, which left the pits in 33rd place but came quickly from behind, and the No.36 Mercedes. The latter captured the lead at 3:35 pm, taking advantage of its superior autonomy, before returning the number 1 position to the Japanese cars during its routine pit stop. At 4:10 pm, the silver car stopped, well before the limit, and mechanics removed its hood : Does No. 36 suffer from the same problem as No.35 ?