French race ace Pierre Ragues has started his preparations for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours with a trouble-free day of running in the official pre-event test at Circuit de la Sarthe today. 

 

Pierre, who is taking part in his ninth Le Mans at this year’s event, joined TEAM SARD Morand and the rest of the 2015 Le Mans field for the only official test day at the classic track before the main event in two weeks’ time.

 

Weather conditions, which had been sunny and dry yesterday, turned cloudy and wet for the test day itself, leaving teams with complicated conditions to prepare their cars. TEAM SARD MORAND and Pierre made the most of the ever-changing track to evaluate the performance of the #43 Morgan Evo SARD and the range of Dunlop tyres. 

 

Early hopes of the track staying dry quickly disappeared as rain fell shortly into the morning session. Pierre delayed his first run to judge the conditions but it was clear that it was to be a day hampered by rain. Nonetheless, the team focused work on its Dunlop tyres in a range of track conditions, from damp to wet, allowing them to test different tyre options. The experience will prove extremely valuable if, as often happens at Le Mans, the rain returns for the race itself.

 

Pierre got plenty of laps in to reacclimatise to the track he knows so well, sharing the cockpit with his teammates Oliver Webb and Zoel Amberg. The trio, who scored an LMP2 podium at Spa, the team’s only WEC event of the season so far, totalled 66 laps across both sessions with lots of important data gathered. TEAM SARD Morand, who are title sponsored by Franck Muller, will look to maximise its performance when race week gets underway the week after next. 

 

Pierre commented: “It has been a joy to get back behind the wheel of the #43 Morgan Evo SARD today and to begin our Le Mans preparations. We had a nice day on Saturday with media work and the traditional Le Mans photo of all the cars, but today was a bit more complicated. The weather has really altered the plans but we were keen to get the most out of the situation. We completed a lot of laps in both sessions, working with Dunlop to understand the behaviour of the tyres in a range of wet conditions. This is important because conditions can change quickly during Le Mans and you need to be prepared. We will hope that the free practice sessions are dry so we can continue to work on the set-up of the car, but I am confident in myself and in the team, and I can’t wait for the big week! Thanks to my partners Drivista.com and Sparco for their support, as always.”