It was mission accomplished for Status Grand Prix as the team completed the Test Day for the 80th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, completing 52 laps (more than 700 kilometres) and qualifying all three drivers for the big race. Britain’s Alexander Sims, a Le Mans and sportscar rookie, set the team’s fastest time of the day to finish 12th in the ultra-competitive LMP2 class with a lap of 3m44.110s. A bid by Dutch team-mate Yelmer Buurman – another Le Mans and sports-prototype newcomer – to go quicker still at the end of the day was scuppered by a red flag. Frenchman Romain Iannetta played himself back into Le Mans, a race he has not contested since 2009, to complete a satisfactory day for the team.
The day was mainly dry, with sporadic light rain showers at different points on the circuit. Buurman ran first in the Status GP Lola-Judd B12/80 Coupe, and in the middle of the morning session he held the fastest time in LMP2. Sims, who like fellow Le Mans debutant Buurman had to complete 10 laps to qualify to participate in the 24 Hours, went next. Iannetta completed the final laps before the lunch break.
The team lost the first 90 minutes of the afternoon session replacing a fuel pump. After having a slow puncture caused by debris replaced, Sims then recorded the car’s fastest time of the day on a new set of Dunlop tyres. After Iannetta drove the following stint, Buurman finished off the day – on new tyres he was on a quick lap when the red flag came out to end the session a few minutes early.
Status GP technical director Rob Arnott said: “Everything went fine today. We did a lot of laps and the car functioned fine. We had to change a fuel pump but apart from that we had very few technical issues.
“The drivers were very pleased with the balance, such that in the afternoon we did not attempt any quick times at all. We just worked on strategy – our day’s programme was to evaluate tyre compounds and fuel mileage. We are pretty happy with our direction.” Qualifying for the Le Mans 24 Hours takes place on Wednesday and Thursday, 13th and 14th June, with the race starting on the afternoon of Saturday 16th June.
Driver quotes
Alexander Sims:
“Doing the 10 laps to qualify was the absolute priority. That worked pretty smoothly, and then I did another stint to get a better feel and move closer to the limit, although none of us were pushing to the max. The track is pretty cool. There are so many long straights and it’s very bumpy – although the corners themselves aren’t that unusual, you have to get used to arriving at them with cold tyres and brakes! I need a few more laps and some night driving, but I feel a lot more prepared than before.”
Yelmer Buurman:
“It was very pleasant. We had a nice run in the morning; there were a few things to sort out at first and then I had a proper run to learn the track. It was quite difficult at the beginning because the track is public roads for most of the year, so it was very green and I had to build up gradually. But I had another run at the end of the day and it was much better. Unfortunately I got a red flag so I couldn’t really show the potential of the car, but at least we know how fast we are and everything is looking good.”
Romain Iannetta:
“I’m very happy with the team and everything seems to be going very well. I need all the track time I can get because this is my first Le Mans for three years, so I need to rebuild my experience. The biggest thing for me is to learn about the downforce again, but I’m happy that the team is working well and with more track time I can get closer to the pace.”
Source : Status GP