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Friday Snippets From Le Mans - June 12, 2009


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Chris Dyson: Race setup and strategy is more important at a race like the Le Mans 24 Hours. Up and down the paddock at Le Mans on Thursday, the universal thought was that the evening’s qualifying session was less about going for class pole positions but rather getting sorted for the 24 Hours. Even the pole-winning teams and drivers admitted their quick times were on race setups, albeit on softer tires for the night running.

A glance at last year’s race shows that Risi Competizione’s GT2-winning Ferrari started sixth in class but worked its way up to second by the end of the second lap and took the lead in the second hour. So a good-handling car can solve all sorts of problems.

“We are pleased with our car,” said Chris Dyson, part of the RML lineup in a Mazda-powered Lola coupe that will start fourth in LMP2. “We started the week taking a very measured approach and keeping the big picture in mind - which is the race this weekend. Ultimately for this race, you have take what the car gives you and not be caught up in running too hard a pace. The LMP2 class has proven the past few years that if you are around at the finish, you can get a very good result. RML knows how to win here (with class wins in 2005 and 2006), and we’re confident in our strategy.”

Teams like Risi Competizione are eager for an early night tonight before raceday at Le Mans. Photo: Regis Lefebure REST WHILE YOU CAN: Risi Competizione crew chief Chris Riggs says the Houston-based team is getting its race tonight…while it can.

“Saturday will be a very long day as it finishes on Sunday,” he said on his americanlemans.com blog. “We’ll wake up tomorrow at 6 a.m. and probably won’t come back to the hotel till Sunday at 9 p.m. so it’s early nights for everyone tonight.

“There’s extra stress because of the prestige of the event and because Ferrari’s president Luca di Montezemolo is coming to officially start the race,” he added. “The boss (Giuseppe Risi) naturally wants it all to be extra special so we’re working hard toward that.”