Krohn Racing with White Lightning in good shape for the race

15 June 2006

Krohn Racing with White Lightning in good shape for the race Krohn Racing with White Lightning took to the track for four hours of dry practice and qualifying today at Le Mans, France. The team made their last on-track tests and gathered data from all three drivers before making final race preparations tomorrow.

In the first of the sessions today Jörg Bergmeister put in the bulk of the laps. Given the ideal dry conditions that were absent yesterday it was the first chance to test properly in the dry and the team focussed on making minor changes to the car to improve handling.

At the start of the two-hour second session, with the temperature dropping and before darkness had really set in, Jörg was charged with two attempts at setting fastest GT2 times on soft compound sets of Michelin tyres. The first attempt was enough to make fourth on the GT2 grid despite a small mistake, but he knew that he could do better. His second chance was going to plan until Piccini, in a GT1 Aston Martin, came up from behind, took a while to pass and then held up Jörg's progress, taking away any chance of setting a faster time.

Although disappointed with fifth on the GT2 grid, the team is focussed on the race and the all-important preparations to ensure smooth running on race day that are essential to a good result.

Jörg Bergmeister: "I went out on the first set of qualifiers and made a mistake at the second chicane but other than that it was an OK lap. Then on the second set I pushed a little harder and until Indianapolis the lap was pretty good. Piccini tried to pass me but then didn't. He passed me at Porsche Curves and from there he was in my way and destroyed my lap time. When you go racing you want to be the fastest at whatever you do - for a 24 hour race or for qualifying. The car was good and as always I wanted to be on top.

Really disappointing."

Tracy Krohn: "Today was much better than last night in the rain! I got a lot out of it. I had one mishap but my times are getting better. It really helped driving the track at night - it's much more about feel than seeing where the bumps are and where the grip is. Every time I go out I get quicker so I'm pleased."

Dale White, Team Manager: "I'm pleased we got all drivers through qualifying for the race and we're going to be well prepared for the 24 Hours. Good preparation and pit stops are key to winning so tomorrow we'll be finishing race preparations and practicing driver changes."