Tuesday 13 July 2010

Pierre Ragues is hoping to vanquish memories of Le Mans 24 Hour disappointment as the Le Mans Series returns to track action at the Algarve Motor Park this weekend for round three of this season’s five race series.

Together with his Signature Plus team, Pierre will be looking to translate a competitive performance around the demanding La Sarthe circuit last month into his best race result of the season as the team hopes to capitalise on the clear potential of the Dunlop-shod Aston Martin package around the 4.652km Algarve circuit.

It was a heartbreaking end to the prestigious Le Mans 24 hour race for Signature after team driver Vanina Ickx crashed the car heading into the 19th hour of the race, causing irreparable damage to the chassis. The team has spent the last few weeks working tirelessly on the car to prepare it for next week’s race, with a shakedown scheduled to take place today at Magny-Cours. Pierre and his co-drivers will use the opening practice sessions to check all the systems on the car, as well as carry out the usual set-up and tyre evaluation work in preparation for Sunday’s 1000km race.

The Algarve race made its debut on last year’s calendar, so all teams will have a good idea of what to expect this time around. The most notable characteristic of the event is that it will be held into the night, putting the dusk and night-racing experiences of last month’s Le Mans race to good use.

There will be three free practice sessions on Friday 16 July with a specific session held at night to allow teams and drivers the chance to prepare for the later stages of the 1000km race.  A short qualifying session will take place early on Saturday 17 July with the 229 lap race starting at 17.00 local time on Saturday evening.

Quick Q+A with Pierre Ragues

Just how motivated are you for the Portuguese round of the Le Mans Series?
“As a team, we are all extremely motivated for two reasons. First of all, we are hoping to put the disappointment of Le Mans behind us. It was an unfortunate way to end our race and also to bring to an end my own run of consecutive race finishes, but we showed that we have a quick pace which is the positive thing that we can take to Portugal. We had an equally competitive package at Spa at the previous round of the Le Mans Series, so I think all of these will spur us on in Portimao next weekend.”

Do you have any predictions?
“I believe we stand a good chance of a good result but we cannot take that for granted. The team has done a fantastic job to get the car ready after the crash and the fact that I am able to do today’s shakedown is a testament to the work they have carried out. We still need to make use of all the track time we can get to get the car ready for the 1000km race but if any team can bounce back, it is Signature. We just need to focus on getting to the chequered flag with a solid result and to remind everyone, including ourselves, just what we are capable of achieving.”

For more information about Pierre Ragues, please visit www.pierreragues.com, or visit the Quadra Sports website www.quadrasports.com