Scars from night practice

The Lancia LC2 in the Martini Racing colours failed to emerge unscathed from the final qualifying session for the Group C cars on Friday evening. Tim Summers lost control due to an issue with his brakes on approaching Mulsanne. His excursion off the track caused some slight damage to the front left-hand side of the Italian prototype, but fortunately with no serious consequences.

The Peugeot 905 Evo1 bis without its little sister

Two Peugeot 905 Evo 1s were initially listed in the Group C grid, but the engine preparation for the second one did not go quite as planned. The necessary precautions have therefore prevented Yvan Mahé from lining up in the Evo 1.6 chassis. These cars were originally equipped with a highly sophisticated, naturally aspirated 3.5-litre engine, and it is therefore important to know exactly with which parts they were last built to avoid engine failure when they are raced once again. At the time, Magnetti Marelli took care of the electronic control of these prototypes but has since pulled out. Thanks to French company FH Electronics who have rebuilt all the electronic components, fans will once again have the pleasure of hearing the Peugeot V10 roar once again without compromising its integrity.

Engine change for the #3 Jaguar D-Type

Like in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the mechanics do not think twice about changing an engine when necessary before a race. This is the case of the #3 Jaguar D-Type entered in Grid 2. “We had a slight overheating problem and we preferred to change the engine before it fails,” said a member of the crew in the tent where the new engine was waiting.

Thousands of beautiful specimens

Even in the outside car parks, the dry weather has brought out some fine pieces of machinery, giving curious spectators a foretaste of what to expect out on the track, on the grass around the Bugatti circuit, and in the pre-grid line-ups and paddocks. These superb vehicles offer a treat for the senses with their stunning looks, the odour of the hot engines, and the distinctive sounds of the different cylinder arrangements.

The stars of the qualifying sessions

If the vast majority of those present are here for the pure pleasure of watching these fine pieces of machinery run around the track, let’s not forget that a number of the entries on each grid are also there for the racing and, therefore, have their eyes set on winning. After Friday’s qualifiers, here are the cars that have chalked up the best times in each grid.

Grid 1: The 1939 Talbot Lago Monoplace driven by Christian Traber in 5:52.974

Grid 2: The 1955 #6 Jaguar D-Type driven by Andy Wallace in 5:02.061

Grid 3: The 1959 #55 Lister Costin driven by Chris Ward in 4:46.937

Grid 4: The 1965 #28 Ford GT 40 driven by Andrew Smith in 4:31.485

Grid 5: The 1969 #44 Lola T70 MKIIIB driven by Roald Goethe in 4:26.886

Grid 6: The 1976 #25 TOJ SC 304 driven by Yves Scemama

In the Jaguar Classic Challenge and Group C Racing support events, the best times were respectively achieved by Martin Streton in the 1961 #12 Jaguar E-Type in 4:51.444 and by Katsu Kubota in the 1990 Nissan RC90CK in 3:50.612.

This fantastic time achieved by Kubota would have positioned the Group C Nissan in the middle of the starting grid at the latest 24 Hours of Le Mans ahead of the GTE Pro field and in touch with today’s LM P2s.