Vérifications administratives et techniques

Release No 1

Wednesday 3^rd June - 12h00

While 48 cars turned out for scrutineering, only 47 will compete in the qualifying practices. Withdrawing from the race, the fourth Oreca Viper and the Ford Saleen Mustang made room for a second Roock Racing Porsche and a V6 Helem from RJ Racing. The French automaker's car was, however, rejected by technical inspection staff due to structural differences between the series model and the competition one entered in the 24 Hours: The engine in the race car acted as a semi-load bearing component.

Despite inclement weather, a record crowd turned out over the holiday weekend for the first day of scrutineering. Moreover, the number of accredited journalists has reached record-breaking numbers: Circuit authorities have reported over 2,000; a first in the history of the race. The 66th 24 Heures du Mans is on track to fulfill its promise as the race of the century !.

PROTOTYPES

BMW : This year marks the official return of the Bavarian automotive maker whose engines have powered McLarens since 1995. Williams and BMW have joined this year to design the car, and the chassis are the same as those seen in the prequalifying sessions. Gabriele Rafanelli's team has used the month since the Prequalifying trials to tune up the cars. The cars ran high speed tests on the tarmac of Le Mans Airport. The V12 engine is the same as the one in the F1 GTR McLarens but has about 50 bhp less power due to smaller air restrictors.

PORSCHE-JOEST : In the #7 LMP1 `98 Yannick Dalmas, still feeling the effects of his injured ankle (fall), will team up with Michele Alborteo and Stefan Johansson. Pierre-Henri Raphanel, James Weaver and J. Murry will drive the second Joest car. Air-flow has been modified on these cars to overcome the instability encountered during the Prequalifying Sessions.

RILEY & SCOTT : During the Prequalifying Sessions in May, the car was snow white ; however, the Solution F company teamed up with the Italian designer Fabrizio Guigaro (Italdesign) to paint the Riley & Scott blue and grey for this weekend's race. New rear hub carriers have been designed to solve brake problems, and the team has overcome initial engine and steering bugs. Philippe Gache will be relayed by two former motorcycle champions, Wayne Gardner and Didier de Radigués.

FERRARI : Three 333 SP are 1998 models fitted with carbon brakes and a six speed gearbox, and the fourth is the Pilot Racing entry, a 1994 model with steel brakes and a five speed gearbox. All Ferraris have a different aerodynamic solution and tires. Jean-Pierre Jabouilte's JB Giesse Team Ferrari car uses Michelin; the Moretti Racing team, winner of the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours, is fitted with Yokohamas while Michel Ferté's entry, sponsored by the city of Le Mans and driving for the Doyle-Risi Racing, is using Pirellis. The American team has two 333 SPs, one in the USA and the other in Europe. The car running in the 24 Hours competed at Monza earlier this year. After prequalifying, it was fitted with the six speed gearbox and brakes supplied by Carbon Industrie designed to eliminate a disk change during the race.

COURAGE-PORSCHE : The C41 Courage decorated by the Japanese artist, Hiro Yamagata, at the request of the sponsor AM-PM (an American Foodstore chain), finished fourth in 1997 and won the GT Prototype race last September. To enter the car, Courage Competition took advantage of its automatic qualified status, but Daniel Vergnes in Le Mans has prepared the car. The drivers are Olivier Thévenion, Franck Fréon and Japanese veteran, Yojiro Terada (19th Le Mans).
The C36, number 13, entered by La Filière is running its fourth 24 Hour race! The present leader of the French F3 championship, Franck Montagny, is making his Endurance debut alongside Pescarolo and Grouillard. He seems pleasantly surprised by the way the car handles: "it's not bad but requires a lot of experience to get the most out of it."
The C51 powered by Nissan had the air intakes modified after prequalifying sessions as well as the loading on the rear wing. Working with Michelin has enabled the team to find rubber better suited to the French prototype.

DEBORA : No changes have been made to the only C2 entered. The Debora, powered by a 6 cylinder 3.2 liter Randingler BMW engine will be driven by Robert Sezonale-Bruneau.

GT1

TOYOTA : Toyota Team Europe has not modified the cars since prequalifying sessions but did perform last minute endurance tests at Paul Ricard to perfect reliability. The engine and gearbox have shown no sign of wear in the 7,500 kilometers that the car has covered but the latter has sustained some electrical problems. André de Cortanze, the engineer, does not seem worried: "The electric harness of a car is made up of 3,600 connections and according to the laws of probability, there are always problems. At Le Mans, you can win your very first time out or never! In the design phase, you try to foresee all possibilities, but at the race, you deal with reality as it comes at you!"The GT1 had a final test run on the "Le Vigeant" Circuit on Monday. Like the GT1 Porsches, Toyota have put their faith in Michelin tires this year.

PORSCHE : Two weeks ago, the two GT1 underwent final long-distance testing and met with no problems, apart from a false alert with the clutch and gearbox. Bob Wollek, convinced that the GT1 is superior to the Prototypes, will share number 25 with Jorg Muller and Uwe Alzen. "If it rains the GT will fare much better due to their superior comfort and visibility and, of course, the ABS. And it's going to rain!".
Unlike Toyota, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz, the Porsches are not fitted with traction control. Laurent Aiello, the 1997 Super Touring champion, is making his Le Mans premier and will team up with Alan McNish and Stéphane Ortelli in number 26.

AMG-MERCEDES : After long-distance testing at Paul Ricard, Mercedes confirmed their return to Le Mans and reported that no major changes had been made since the prequalifying sessions. The CLK-LM is powered by a regular 6 liter V8 engine as opposed to the CLK-GTR in the FIA GT Championship that use a V8 turbo. The cars are fitted with an electro-hydraulic gearbox. They have ABS and traction control which, to avoid overtaxing the engine, may not be used in the race. After ten years, Klaus Ludwig is making a comeback in Le Mans and will be looking for a fourth victory after those of 1979, 1984 and 1985.

PANOZ : Opting to carry out development work with Michelin, the American car maker has performed no long-distance testing. A triple damper suspension has increased the car's competitiveness. In nice weather the V8 Panozes could spring a surprise, but in the rain, without ABS and traction control, the drivers will have a tough time controlling the 100 mkg torque of the V8 Ford and competing with their rivals.

McLAREN : Although both cars have entered under the Gulf Team Davidoff banner, Michael Cane and GTC Competition have prepared the F1 GTR. Number 40 belongs to Steve O'Rorke whose company, EMKA, manages Pink Floyd. In 1983 and 1985, O'Rorke was the sponsor/driver of the EMKA Aston-Martins built by Michael Cane. O'Rorke is racing this car in the British GT Championship with Tim Sugden, and for Le Mans, they have been joined by American Bill Auberlin. Number 41 with Goodyear tires is Thomas Bscher's F1 GTR, which caught fire during practices last year. Two Audi drivers are competing in this McLaren Team: Rinaldo Capello and Emmanuelle Pirro (replacing Biela).Few changes have been made to the cars since 1997.

NISSAN : The three new R390S (numbers 30, 31, 32) share little in common with last year's entrants. The team carried out 5 endurance tests to solve reliability problems. The changes include a new X-Trac gearbox (sequential) and new aerodynamics. The team ran a final test on the Donington Circuit before coming to Le Mans. Number 33 incorporates a `97 chassis with a `98 gearbox and the aerodynamic changes.

GT2

CHRYSLER : The Vipers entered by Oreca have been modified to overcome the transmission and electrical problems encountered in 1997. The team has added 50 kilos to the total weight of the car and fitted it with 19 inch tires. They are the favorites to win in this category.
Marc Duez, whose height has sometimes caused seating problems, is running with two other tall men, Wendlinger and Huisman. As opposed to the Oreca cars, the older Vipers run by Chamberlain Engineering are fitted with steel brakes and Dunlop tires. Number 55 is driven by a Portuguese team as Manuel Mello Bryner has joined forces with Gomes and Amorin.

PORSCHE : With 12 cars entered, the GT2 Porsche can claim to be the best represented model on the starting grid. Its best hopes of beating Chrysler have been placed in Larbre Competition. Number 60 driven by Jarier-Donovan-Rosenblad has been entered by Chereau and benefited from automatic prequalifications. Number 72, entered by Larbre Competition is, in fact, Jean-Luc Chereau's car, and he is joined by teammate Pierre Yver (21st entry) and the French GT Champion, Patrice Goueslard. The Larbre engines are factory-prepared, the transmissions are new, and they are the only GT2s fitted with Michelin tires.