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Early incident costs Larbre strong finish at Le Mans 24 Hours |
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Monday, 16 June 2008 |
The loss of a left rear wheel in the third hour of the Le Mans 24 Hours
ultimately cost Larbre Competition the chance of a strong result at the
76th edition of the world’s most famous motor race.
Christophe Bouchut was driving when the hub carrier broke on his Saleen S7R as
he entered Tertre Rouge and the loss of the wheel pitched him into a gravel
trap. After crawling back to the pits for repairs, the team had to replace the
transmission, brakes and suspension, as well as remove a huge amount of gravel
from the car, in just 45 minutes, but the combined loss of time dropped them to
the back of the field.
Throughout the remainder of the race the car ran
without major incident, but the loss of such a significant amount of time
coupled with the changeable conditions after the heavens opened at 4am on Sunday
morning, meant the team were unable to make up significant ground on their
rivals, ultimately finishing 7th in the GT1 class at the chequered
flag.
However, despite their frustrations at being denied a strong
result, the team were pleased to have reached the finish and proved that the
American built Saleen is capable of competing in a twice around the clock
endurance event.
Team Principal Jack Leconte said: “Many people
said a 24 hour race was impossible for the Saleen, but we’ve succeeded in making
it reliable thanks to our work with Oreca. After the problem on Saturday, we had
no other target other than to finish the race and that was very important for
the team and our partners. We are proud to have achieved that and we feel we are
in good shape for the Spa 24 Hours where we hope to get our
revenge.”
David Hallyday: “Despite the misfortune we suffered
early in the race, everything ran quite smoothly afterwards. We did have a
slight issue during Patrick’s last stint when a screw came loose in the floor
and we had to replace it, but otherwise the car was perfect. It’s a shame about
the issue with the hub carrier because I think we could have finished much
higher up the field, but I’m afraid that’s motor racing!”
Patrick
Bornhauser: “Unfortunately all the problems we suffered, including the issue
with the floor this morning, came as a result of the loss of the wheel
yesterday. It’s a pity because we certainly could have been in a position to
fight nearer the front. It’s very frustrating because nobody made any mistakes,
but the positive is the way we’ve proved that this car could complete a 24 hour
race.”
Christophe Bouchut: “Obviously it’s a little disappointing
because I missed pole position by a very small margin and I also think I could
have challenged for fastest lap if I’d been on track at the right time. However,
it was impossible to fight for the victory regardless of the problem we had
because we couldn’t match the race performance of the works Astons and
Corvettes. The performance level of the Saleen is very good over one lap, but
they had the edge in race trim.”
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