PR-Le Mans/Downing 3

Subj:  PR-Le Mans/Downing 3	Section: F-1/Internat'l News
  To:  All				Friday, June 14, 1996 10:29:12 AM
From:  Connie Downing, 104670,3321	#819095

           KANAGAWA CLINIC MAZDA QUALIFIES FOR LE MANS

     The Kanagawa Clinic Mazda of Mazdaspeed, Japan, and
Downing/Atlanta ran in all four qualifying sessions Wednesday and
Thursday at Le Mans.  All sessions were held at night although the
days are long in France right now and much of each evening's
session was in daylight.  The Mazdaspeed team completed all of its
requirements for drivers seat time, speed, and night driving,
during the first two sessions.
      After an engine change on Thursday afternoon, the team
experimented with set up during the Thursday evening sessions. 
Ironically, just before midnight, during the last lap of the final
qualifying session, driver Franck Freon knocked a second off the
previous best time for an official qualifying time of 3:57.336 over
the eight and a half-mile course.  This places the Mazda 26th or
25th overall since one of the cars higher on the grid is a
provisional starter and will start the race only if another car
withdraws.
     Although the traditional Le Mans start has long been
abandoned, officials are trying another unique approach to getting
its 48 cars rolling.  All of the cars in the Le Mans Prototype
classes will line up single file, flanked by a single file of all
the cars in the GT class.  With this procedure, the Kanagawa Clinic
Mazda will start in row 12 or 13.
     This year's time is an improvement of almost three seconds
over last year's qualifying time although the car has qualified
farther back on the grid.  The higher speed is probably
attributable to lighter weight and a six-speed gearbox, although
this year's car runs with an air restrictor and much narrower
tires.  Driver Jim Downing reports that "Those narrow Goodyears are
still excellent.  Maybe we'll try those on the WSC car when we get
home."
     Codriver Yojiro Terada expresses a view shared by most of the
team.  " I'm confident that we can have a top-10 finish and I'm
hoping for a better finish than last year's seventh place.  I also
want a class (LMP2) win."