News Archive » Singin' in the Rain!
June 14, 2007
The Scuderia Ecosse boys and girls are singing in the rain tonight after securing
pole position for the 75th Le Mans 24 Hours. Andrew Kirkaldy’s banker
lap of 4:04.185 last night remains the fastest GT2 lap as both of tonight’s
sessions were wet.
The first of tonight’s sessions was delayed by 30 minutes as an earlier
outing for historic cars had left a lot of oil through the Porsche Curves.
Once the track was clean the session started but so did the rain. Within ten
minutes the rain was torrential and only a few lonely cars ventured out for
a soggy lap or two. Once the rain eased Tim Mullen took to the track in the
Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430. During the day the team had worked hard to prepare
the car for the race, changing the engine and fitting all the race parts. The
plan for qualifying was to finalise the car’s preparations for the race
rather than go for another fast lap time.
Andrew Kirkaldy and Chris Niarchos took their turns during the second part
of the session before the team called it a day at the end of session one at
2130hrs. With the wet conditions continuing, the team chose not to risk the
car for the sake of a few more laps in the rain.
Andrew Kirkaldy:
“I’m really happy to be on pole here at Le Mans. It was disappointing
to miss out on pole last year after being quickest in the test so it’s
good to get the job done this time. The weather was kind to us today by keeping
the track good and wet. The team did a great job; the engineers made a good
decision yesterday to get in a banker lap before the conditions changed so
we’re pleased it all paid off.”
Chris Niarchos:
“The conditions were pretty terrifying tonight: dark, raining and 180mph
is always an interesting experience! The only issue I have is a limited amount
of time in the car but it feels good now and the tyres are good too; I feel
comfortable. We’ve done our preparation and we’re as ready as we’ll
ever be. I’m nervous of course, but nervous with anticipation, this is
the Le Mans 24 Hours after all. It’s going to be a tough race, especially
with these changeable weather conditions, but we’re ready for it.”
Tim Mullen:
“I think we’re all ready for this now. There are a couple of bits
of dry testing we could have done but we’re looking good. If we get a
clean run we have a god chance of success. No-one really showed their true
pace in qualifying but we think we’re up there. We were quick in the
rain too so that is a great benefit considering the changing weather.”
Stewart Roden, Team Principal:
“We did what we needed to do tonight with regard to setting the car up
for the race, then we parked up so as not to take any unnecessary risks. We
also managed some good work on emergency pit-stop rehearsals which will help
us during the race. The guys have worked hard and we’re all ready to
go now so we’re looking forward to a good race.”
There will be no on-track activity tomorrow. Chris, Andrew and Tim, along
with all the other Le Mans drivers, will be in the town centre tomorrow for
the traditional driver’s parade through the streets of Le Mans.
The 75th Le Mans 24 Hours will begin on Saturday at 1500hrs.
ENDS
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