The Paul Ricard track hosted the first collective Formula Le Mans Cup test session with the presence of a motorsport legend: Nigel Mansell, who by the way had already distinguished himself on this very track a few years before. Alongside his two sons, Leo and Greg, the 1992 Formula 1 World Champion has had the opportunity to out the Formula Le Mans and to form his own opinion of the new category which is launched this year by Oreca and the ACO.
His younger son Greg took the first round of 15 laps before leaving the wheel to his older brother who took nearly as many laps without encountering the smallest problem.
And towards noon, finally, it was upon Nigel Mansell to get on board the prototype which has been developed by ORECA’s technical team. The former driver with William, Ferrari and McLaren has driven the most prestigious Formula 1 cars and his enthusiasm after about 20 laps illustrates this test’s quality: “I am thrilled and surprised and the same time. This car is excellent: ORECA did a great job and Leo, Greg and I thank the team for inviting us to the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit. It is a great experience and I enjoyed coming back here. The FLM09 is a genuine race car which can be driven accordingly. To beat the clock you have to push it! The Formula Le Mans has many qualities: In fact, it is a real LMP1, just a little smaller!” Nigel Mansell stated.
For their part, Leo and Greg were very pleased with their test, too.
“The chassis itself and the Formula Le Mans’ grip are really close to an LMP1. It only has slightly less power. I think it is an excellent and well-developed car to start prototype racing or to run support races to the Le Mans Series. The ACO can congratulate itself to have launched such a great championship allowing getting to know the tracks and having fun while racing” Leo Mansell declared.
“One of the positive aspects about this car is that it suits drivers coming from single-seater or GT racing. You have to push hard to be really quick, though. The aerodynamic grip which allows you to reach top speed is really thrilling” Greg Mansell commented for his part.
When asked whether Nigel Mansell and his sons will be entering the Formula Le Mans Cup in Spa in early May, the British F1 World Champion answers: “we have been pleased to test the car and we are still openly discussing this matter. We keep our fingers crossed. If things turn out fine, all the three of us will be racing, since we have other racing programmes at the same time. You have to be in excellent condition to drive this car, so I will be the spare driver!”
During these tests, ORECA has also invited a dozen other drivers to discover the car on the 5.8 km-long track. Several teams have seized this opportunity to run in their equipment while the deliveries keep on being processed. About half the ordered cars have been delivered so far.
The next meeting on the track will be April 30, for a last dry run on the Bugatti circuit, before getting down to business on May 8 and 9 in Spa.
Source : Formula Le Mans Cup