Stefan Mücke – Aston Martin Racing (1st LMP1) : “I did not think about the victory when I started my last stint because the gap was big with the first car, but the safety-car helped me to close up. The car was well-balanced after a few changes and my tires were good. I am very happy and it was a great race, even if traffic is a challenge every time. We have been lucky, but if you have a good car, you can attack and traffic is not a problem anymore.”

Tomáš Enge – Aston Martin Racing (1st LMP1) : “This is the perfect way for us to start our season, and the car has been very good from the beginning. The only problem I’ve experienced is a lack of rear-end grip sometimes, which is what caused my spin. But luckily no harm was done and we did not lose much time. During my stint I tried to keep up with the leading Pescarolo but it was very tricky. In the end though it was a great result for everyone.”

Jan Charouz – Aston Martin Racing (1st LMP1) : “It’s been a really impressive debut, and I’ve had a very good feeling with the car throughout the weekend. I’d like to thank everybody for doing a fantastic job: I think this sets us up really well for a successful continuation to the season. I had no problems at all during my stints, and most importantly we have learnt a lot for the future.”

David Richards – Chairman of Aston Martin : “This momentous victory is a fantastic reward for the many weeks and months of hard work put in by every member of the team. Endurance racing is above all a team sport, and I think that we have proved this once again today.”

Jean-Christophe Boullion – Pescarolo Sport (2nd LMP1) : “I would like to congratulate the whole team because they made such a competitive car, which has been on a track for the first time on Friday. I am not disappointed but a little frustrated. We tried a different set of tires, but my last 20 laps have been awful and I was losing too much time.”

Bruno Senna – Team Oreca Matmut-AIM (3rd LMP1) : “I’m happy with my first race. I didn’t make any mistakes; I racked up the kilometers and I had a few scraps. I’ve learned a lot, that’s obvious. The traffic is the most difficult thing to cope with: even if you don’t make mistakes other cars do. The tires were consistent and I was able to push all the time. The car proved very reliable; it’s quick and we can improve it even more. Our aims will be even higher for the next race.”

Stéphane Ortelli – Team Oreca Matmut-AIM (3rd LMP1) : “We didn’t have an easy time in practice. We weren’t satisfied with the balance. But the team put in a lot of work and we had a much better car for the race. Once the circuit had rubbered in we felt it was handling well. I had just got up to second when I heard a loud bang. It’s frustrating to retire when you’re so well placed. We had what we needed to win: a good car, an excellent strategy, and a mechanical problem robbed us of a good result. That’s racing as people say, but it’s very frustrating all the same.”

Hugues de Chaunac – ORECA Group CEO : “Finishing on the rostrum in the opening round is a good boost for the whole team, especially for Bruno and Stéphane who made a great comeback. But our satisfaction is slightly mitigated by the retirement of no.11. Olivier and Nicolas had what it took to win; they made a great fight back to second place. They showed our potential but at this level you have to have a trouble-free drive, and unfortunately, we had this mechanical problem that was not our responsibility. I’m very happy with our drivers: I said they were talented and they showed it by their quick and irreproachable performance.”

Peter Hardman – Strakka Racing (5th LMP1) : “Sometimes you get the luck of the draw, but we finished, and we finished well. The car is reliable, the Michelin tyres were exceptional, and we made no mistakes. This has been a great beginning for us in prototypes.”

Nick Leventis – Strakka Racing (5th LMP1) : “I completed two solid stints, kept out of trouble, and stayed with them. I took over in eighth and handed back in ninth, and set Danny up for the finish. I’m pleased with that.”

Marcel Fässler – Speedy Racing Team Sebah (7th LMP1) : “When we had the alarm with the water temperature, I thought the race was over when the car was pushed back into the garage and my engineer asked me to get out, but the team did not want to give up so easily. We lost a lot of time, they fixed the problem and we went back on to the track to take the chequered flag and score two points.”

Nicolas Prost – Speedy Racing Team Sebah (7th LMP1) : “The traffic is sometimes not easy to handle, but I became more and more confident. Without the technical problem we would have finished on the podium, we passed Bruno Senna and just after that we had the water temp alarm. I hope that Aston Martin will find the origin of the failure we had to prevent any other water cooling system problem.”

Andrea Belicchi – Speedy Racing Team Sebah (7th LMP1) : “I had a really good start and then I was able to fight in front of the race, the car was good and consistent during the stints. We have the right car to lead race, so now we want to win them!”

Andrea Piccini – Racing Box (1st LMP2) : “We did a great job today. We tested the whole winter with only one car and now, there are two cars on the podium. We only had very small problems and I did not need to push too much. Michelin also did a good job with tires since we could double stint from the beginning of the race.”

Olivier Pla – Quifel ASM Team (2nd LMP2) : “I am very happy. We had a good strategy for the race with hard tires. I started to lose the left wheel nut during my second stint, but we could fix it.”

Giacomo Piccini – Racing Box (3rd LMP2) : “I had brakes problems in the middle of the race; this is why I lost one or two laps and a small problem with tires at the end. My team-mates and my team did a good job, although the car was delivered very late. This is my first race and I am on pole and on the podium.”

Matthieu Lahaye – OAK Racing (5th LMP2) : “The work of the past few weeks has been worthwhile because today we had a car which performed well and was reliable. This result is encouraging and is a solid base to build from for the rest of the season. We hope to be fighting at the front in the upcoming races.”

Karim Ajlani – OAK Racing (5th LMP2) : “I am delighted for the team and that we were able to finish despite my spin at the beginning of my first stint. I am still learning a lot and I need to spend more time in the car. I still lack some experience and I stupidly got caught out. It will not happen again!”

Richard Hein – OAK Racing (6th LMP2) : “This result is extraordinary because we were forced to start from the back of the grid following the electrical problems which prevented me from setting a time in qualifying. It is important to note that we were using the 2008 bodywork, which proves the potential of the car. When you see the performance of the #16 LMP1 Pescarolo with the 2009 aero package, I am very confident for the remainder of the season.”

Jacques Nicolet – OAK Racing (6th LMP2) : “The team gave me a great birthday present today and I am very proud to score one of my best career finish in the Le Mans Series. All the team is now focused on the next race in Spa where we are expecting to run the 2009 aero package on both cars.”

Jonny Kane – Speedy Racing Team Sebah (7th LMP2) : “We showed a very good pace during the race, we had all we needed to win the race but a little luck. That’s the way motorsport goes and it’s not always fair. We salvaged two points, they could make the difference at the end of the season.”

Xavier Pompidou – Speedy Racing Team Sebah (7th LMP2) : “A very frustrating race, all started well then this problem came without any notice. After the electrical fault was fixed we were the fastest LMP2 on the track, which is good for the next races. Nothing is final for the championship, we are ready to fight for a full recovery in the classification.”

Tristan Gommendy – WR Salini (9th LMP2) : “I have had a good pace from the beginning and I could follow Team RML Lola which is a reference in the class. I hardly thought that we improved so much!”

From teams press-release and Cécile Bonardel