 [05-06-2011]
PIERRE RAGUES LOOKING TO MAKE HIS MARK ON LMP1 IN LE MANS 24 HOURS
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 [01-06-2011]
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 [27-05-2011]
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 [18-05-2011]
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[05-06-2011]
PIERRE RAGUES LOOKING TO MAKE HIS MARK ON LMP1 IN LE MANS 24 HOURS
 Pierre Ragues is determined to put his accumulated experience of endurance racing to good use as the 79th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans gets underway this week.
This year’s event will be the fifth participation for Pierre, who has contested both LMP2 and LMP1 categories in recent years. He already has one class podium to his name back in 2008 with the very team that he has returned to for this season’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC), OAK Racing. OAK Racing has a factory situated in the Le Mans Technoparc, so the 24 Hours race is the ultimate home race for the team and awards double points for the ILMC championship, giving added motivation for Pierre to get a good result this weekend.
Pierre will take to the cockpit of the #15 OAK–Pescarolo alongside racers Guillaume Moreau and Tiago Monteiro, who replaces the injured Matthieu Lahaye after the Frenchman was involved in a qualifying crash at the Spa 1000kms last month. The team has shown promise in LMP1 so far this season although it has also experienced misfortune in equal measure. The team was forced to retire from fourth place just three hours from the end of the Sebring 12 Hours race with a technical problem, while the team withdrew from the Spa 1000kms after that terrible qualifying incident. The competitiveness of the OAK-Pescarolo, Dunlop tyres and encouraging signs of performance in testing have left Pierre optimistic about the long week ahead.
The Le Mans 24 Hours race is not only the pinnacle of endurance racing; it is one of the widely acknowledged top three races in international motorsport. Teams and drivers have to navigate the demanding 13.4km La Sarthe circuit and an eclectic mix of track and ambient conditions over a 24 hour period, keeping focussed, flexible and alert at all times. Drivers have to prepare meticulously for the event, both physically and mentally, working in harmony with their team-mates and technical partners. Teams have to find the perfect balance between reliability and speed over an excruciating 24 hour timescale. Pierre’s enviable experience will be a huge asset to OAK Racing as they compete against strong competition in LMP1.
The team has already carried out important preparatory work for Le Mans having taken part in the official test session back in April. Work was centred on aerodynamic and tyre testing with Dunlop, with the team making full use of the opportunity to evaluate its technical package against its direct opposition for the first time. A two-day test was also carried out at Magny-Cours at the end of May where the team evaluated the OAK-Pescarolo in Le Mans configuration, completing some 60 laps with day and night running.
Pierre and the team are now ready to get down to business with the legendary scrutineering session at Place des Jacobins on Monday and the driver autograph session at the track on Tuesday kick-starting an action-packed week.
Pierre Ragues said: “I am really looking forward to this week. Although it will be my fifth participation in the Le Mans 24 Hours race, I always get the same sense of anticipation and expectation each time. The atmosphere at Le Mans is electric for the entire week and as drivers we really feel that passionate backing from the fans. On the technical side, we had a good test at Le Mans in April and had two productive days of testing at Magny-Cours a few weeks back just to get everything ready for this big event. I am really pleased to be joining OAK Racing for this year’s event; we have good memories from our LMP2 podium back in 2008, so it would be good to aim for a result like that in LMP1 this year. We know the competition is strong, but we also know that anything can happen around La Sarthe, especially over a 24 hour period. I am sorry that Matthieu won’t be with us this weekend, but we all welcome Tiago Monteiro to the team and we will do all we can to get a good result for ourselves and for Matthieu. The first two races of the ILMC season have not exactly gone our way but we have shown ourselves to be quick and capable of getting a good result. Sebring, in particular, was a good indication of our potential, and it was frustrating to have to retire from fourth place just a few hours from the end of the race. The entire OAK Racing team has worked professionally to prepare the OAK-Pescarolo for this week, and Dunlop have also worked hard to produce competitive tyres for this event, the landmark event on the endurance racing calendar. My personal backers Group Auto Union will also be supporting me again this week, so I’ll be fighting hard for a strong result also for them.”
24 HEURES DU MANS – SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK
Sunday 5 June
14:30 – 19.00 Administrative Checks and Scrutineering (Place Centrale des Jacobins)
Monday 6 June
09:30 - 17:30 Administrative Checks and Scrutineering (Place Centrale des Jacobins)
Tuesday 7 June
17:00 Drivers’ Autograph Session
Wednesday 8 June
16:00 – 20:00 24 Heures du Mans Free practice sessions
22:00 – 24:00 24 Heures du Mans Qualifying practice sessions
Thursday 9 June
19:00 – 21:00 24 Heures du Mans Qualifying practice sessions
22:00 – 24:00 24 Heures du Mans Qualifying practice sessions
Friday 10 June
10:00 – 20:00 Pit Walk
18:00 – 20:00 Drivers' parade (City centre)
Saturday 11 June
09.00 - 09:45 Warm-Up 24 Heures du Mans
14:22 Beginning of starting procedure 24 Heures du Mans
15:00 Start of the 79th race of the 24 Heures du Mans
Sunday 12 June
15:00 Finish of the 79th of the 24 Heures du Mans
For more information about Pierre Ragues, please visit www.pierreragues.com, or visit the Quadra Sports website www.quadrasports.com
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