2014 sees the return of Pegasus Racing to the European endurance elite. Since the end of April and the announcement of its selection for the 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours the team from Alsace has not had a moment’s rest. It went to Imola for the second round of the ELMS which ended in sixth place. Soon afterwards, Pegasus Racing took part in the test day for the Le Mans 24 Hours. The no. 29 Morgan-Nissan LM P2 and its drivers Julien Schell, Niki Leutwiler and Léo Roussel had a good session, and they are feeling pretty optimistic with just a few days till the greatest endurance race in the world.
At Imola Schell-Leutwiler-Jonathan Coleman had no room for mistakes; they had to score points to make up for their Silverstone disappointment and not damage the car, which had to be in the Sarthe for the test day. “We’re satisfied with our sixth place,” smiled Schell. “We picked up more experience; the car worked perfectly and our trio of ELMS drivers is getting used to it. The circuit was great even if the fact of having to overtake a horde of GTs every lap made driving pretty tricky. We were also under pressure not to break the car, but Imola helped us to prepare for the Le Mans 24 Hours and for the test day during which we achieved our objectives.”
The Morgan-Nissan LM P2 covered a total of 57 laps of the 13,629-km Le Mans circuit without problems. “In the morning our two rookies Niki and Léo did their obligatory ten laps and we dialled in the base setup given to us by the constructor of the car, Onroak Automotive,” says Schell. “Then in the afternoon we upped the pace but we kept a safety margin. On Wednesday and Thursday we’ll work to improve our qualifying pace.” The no. 29 entry ended the test day with the 22nd-quickest time overall and 13th in the LM P2 category in 3m 43.156sec.
One of the main events of 1st June was the arrival of a new driver in the team. Aged 18 years, 9 months and 14 days Léo Roussel will be the youngest Frenchman to take part in the Le Mans 24 Hours since its creation. Schell talks about the incidents surrounding the recruitment of the third driver. “We knew that Jonathan Coleman wouldn’t do the Le Mans 24 Hours so I stared looking for a driver when our selection was announced. We reached agreement with Stéphane Raffin who unfortunately had health problems two weeks before the test day so it was better to put off our collaboration till later. We’ll run Stéphane in the second part of the season in order to prepare for 2015 in a professional manner. We had to find a replacement – and quickly! The possibility of bringing in Léo arose. He’s been very fast in the VdeV Proto Challenge, which is significant when you know the level of this championship. In addition to being quick he gives good feedback on the car. He’s also a modest kind of bloke who’s very easy to get on with.”
Léo Roussel gives us his impressions after discovering the circuit and the driving of an LM P2 car. “I covered a total of seventeen laps. It all went off well and the team did a great job. The way it welcomed me made me feel at home. First of all I did the ten obligatory laps progressing step by step. I’d like to say the simulator test imposed by the ACO for the rookies is a help, in particular to get used to the new slow zone procedure and to identify the marshals’ posts. It feels almost real except for the wind on the helmet! I’m happy with the time I set at the end of the day. The most important thing was to get used to everything, and I feel that we’ve got what it takes to score a good result.”
Finally, the team also has a 53-year-old Swiss rookie in its ranks. Niki Leutwiler also did a good job on his first outing on the Sarthe circuit, which really sorts the men from the boys. “I have enormous respect for this track, which is as impressive as it is demanding. The challenge comes from the grip which varies from one corner to another. I’ve raced in Europe, the United States, Japan, Australia and South Africa and I have the impression that it’s a mixture of the best and the most difficult. I’m going to fulfill an old dream!”
The Le Mans week begins on Sunday 8th June for the no. 29 Pegasus Racing Morgan-Nissan LM P2 with scrutineering at 17h40.