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5 June 2023, 9:54 AM

JOTA encouraged by P2 pace and first 963 run at La Sarthe

DSC caught up with JOTA boss Sam Hignett after the two test sessions to get some feedback on what was an incredibly encouraging day for the British team.

Its Hypercar class Porsche 963 completed 55 laps and set a best time of 3:31.290, 1.7 seconds off the #51 Ferrari that set the pace on Test Day.

"The Porsche was good," Hignett said. "The Morning session we were the fastest Porsche, and this afternoon we ran out of time to do a Quali run with Will, which he couldn't complete, so it was a shame. In the end, our time was set by Yifei after two stints on the hard tyre.

"This afternoon we were just focusing on long runs, trying to get two sets of tyres up to temperature for two to three stints."

In LMP2 meanwhile, JOTA topped the times, with a 3:35.472 from Pietro Fittipaldi.

"I think we are ok with our ORECA," he added. "But it's not fast enough across the board, we are a long way off and have a lot to find. There's a lot in the track to come. I am surprised how far off the times are to be honest, usually the test day is reasonably close."

Doonan hugely impressed by the NASCAR's fast start

Arguably the biggest and best surprise of Test Day was the pace of the NASCAR Garage 56 Camaro.

The #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro's best time of 3’53.761 – recorded by 2010 Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller – was 2.327 seconds quicker than the fastest time of any LMGTE Am car.

As for top speeds, the big number from Sunday was 305.6 km/h, reached by Jimmie Johnson in the afternoon session. It was a faster top speed than all of the GTE Ams, but perhaps not as big a gap as some fans had expected.

IMSA President John Doonan, who is running the Garage 56 NASCAR effort here in France, was over the moon with how the team's event has gone to this point.

"We wanted to focus on the fans and what their impressions would be," he told DSC."We definitely hit a home run there, from scrutineering, to the parade and hearing it run today. It's been so fun. We leave the Test Day pleased, surprised with how we stack up. We have put in enough laps that we know where we stand.

"In the first session, we were up there in terms of laps completed. When you do all the testing before like we did, you’re confident you can get through the day but you never know."

Nakajima's run

Kazuki Nakajima turned laps yesterday in a Toyota GR010 HYBRID as part of his reserve driver role. The three-time Le Mans winner didn't set any timed laps, but instead just completed a series of in-and-out laps.

MP's Garage 56 videos

Marshall Pruett is embedded with the Garage 56 effort this year at Le Mans, and will be posting content throughout the event.

Of his content so far, it's well worth looking at his video showing the garage set up.

Take a look at the unique pit lane and garage setup for the @nascarg56 Chevy Camaro ZL1 being run by @TeamHendrick at the @24hoursoflemans. #LM24 #24LM #NextGenG56 pic.twitter.com/gtiA6cD1GF

— Marshall Pruett (@marshallpruett) June 3, 2023

His interview with Jenson Button after its first run on the circuit is also well worth a watch!

A year in the making, the @nascarg56 project turned its first official laps at the @24hoursoflemans Test Day on Sunday and it was FAST. @JensonButton tells us about the @TeamChevy Camaro ZL1 run by @TeamHendrick on the big 8.5-mile road course in France. #NextGenG56 #LM24… pic.twitter.com/GxJi0u2RpQ

— Marshall Pruett (@marshallpruett) June 4, 2023

Keep an eye on his twitter page for more coverage of the NASCAR throughout the event.

Vasselon on Toyota's progress

Toyota Gazoo Racing technical director Pascal Vasselon wasn't best pleased with Toyota's Test Day. Speaking with the media last night after the afternoon session, he admitted that the team's pace wasn't where it needed to be.

"It was not our best test day. Just look at the lap times for an idea," he said. "It's not a surprise. We just have to get on with it. We have a full truck of engineers looking for pace."

Ahead of the event, Toyota's GR010 HYBRID was hit the hardest by the BoP changes, with a minimum weight increase of 37kg. A paddock source suggested to DSC that the impact the change will have on the race lap times for the GR010s is expected to be just over a second per lap, according to simulations.

During the day the best time from the team came from the #7 in the afternoon, a 3:29.827, the third fastest time of the day, three-tenths off the pace-setting Ferrari.

It wasn't a fault-free day though for the #7 crew, its plan was disrupted by an off for Mike Conway at Tetre Rouge in the first session. Thankfully, Vasselon revealed that the car only sustained bodywork damage.

"There are no big issues with the car, the damage was just bodywork on the front and rear end. We had more issues with car #8 which was slower than car #7, and we are not sure why. Of course, the #7's accident is always an issue, but it didn't really penalise the day."

Despite Vasselon's mood regarding the pace, he does feel that the 2023-spec GR010 did show promise in its first run at the circuit.

"The tyre consistency was decent. According to last year's reference, it seems to be faster. Comparing our own data, we confirm that our 2023 evolution is faster, taking into account the same weight and power conditions."

Peugeot completes the most laps in Hypercar

You may be surprised to see which Hypercar completed the most laps in Test Day.

The Peugeot 9X8s have struggled to stay reliable throughout the 2023 WEC season and yet after six hours of testing yesterday the #94 logged 70 laps, the best of the 16 Hypercars.

The fewest laps were completed by the #75 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963, with 29. This car had to undergo a brake system component change and missed significant time in both sessions.

Most laps of any car in any class was completed by Prema Racing's #9 Oreca 07, which did 74 laps. Of course it was also the Test Day mileage leader in LMP2. Meanwhile, a troubled session left the #32 Inter Europol Competition Oreca with just 44 laps completed.

Kessel Racing's #74 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO was the LMGTE Am leader in test day mileage with 66 laps, while the #88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19 had its set backs and did only 38 laps.

LMP2 penalties

Five LMP2 teams were given penalties for running with ride height laser sensors during Test Day.

Tower Motorsports (#13), Nielsen Racing (#14), Team Duquiene (#30), AF Corse (#80), and Racing Team Turkey (#923) will each have to serve a 20 minute stop-and-hold penalty at the start of FP1 on Wednesday (or the first Free Practice session that each car takes part in.

"Using these sensors during the Test day is in non-conformity with the homologation form of the car and the data obtained gives a sporting advantage to the Competitor in the competition," remarked the panel of stewards.

Tagged with: RJ O'Connell, Stephen Kilbey

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