2010: LE MANS BIG BANGERS EXIT STAGE RIGHT

The 2010 Le Mans 24 hour classic will be the last chance to see the big banger turbo diesels in action. Changes to regulations for 2011 and beyond are expected to cut the maximum engine size of the diesels back to only 3.7 litres a far cry from today's 5.5 litre 700 BHP powerplants. Already the two major players in the diesel race at Le Mans have signalled their intention to develop cars for the new regulations. According to the respected magazine Racecar Engineering, Audi will develop a new car powered by a 3.7 litre Turbo V6 while Peugeot have announced that they are actively developing a hybrid powered racer to replace the current 908 HDI FAP.

SORA SOARS TO ASIAN LE MANS WIN. SIMMONSEN WINS GT2

It would have to be one of the shortest race series in the world. One weekend, two races, but with a guaranteed start in the Le Mans 24 hour classic as one of the prizes, it was little wonder that Sora racing were delighted to win the first Asian Le mans series at Okayama. The Sora Racing Pescarolo of Christophe Tinseau and Shinji Nakano won Saturday's first race with the Gulf Aston Martin of Stefan Mücke and Harold Primat winning the second race. A second place to Tinseau and Nakano in race two was enough to give the team the overall victory. In LMP2 the team of Mathieu Lathaye, Jacques Nicolet and Richard Hein in the Pescarolo-Mazda came out on top, while Lamborghini won in GT1 thanks to the all Japanese team of Atsuhi Yogo and Hyroyuki Iiri. Australian based Danish driver Alan Simonsen had a great weekend as he helped co-driver Dominick Farnbacher to a win in GT2. Driving their Ferrari 430 GT, Simmonsen and Farnbacher turned the tables on race one winners, the BMW M3 of Dirk Muller and Tom Milner to take the overall win and an invite to the 78th running of the World's greatest motorsport spectacle the 24 hours of Le Mans on the 12th and 13th of June.

De FERRAN BOWS OUT ON TOP IN ALMS: BRABHAM/SHARP TAKE THE TITLE

Gil de Ferran brought his stellar career to a close with a closely fought win at Laguna Seca to close the 2009 American Le Mans Series. De Ferran and co-driver Simon Pagenaud won the Monterey Sports Car Championship after a thrilling duel with Adrian Fernandez in the final 30 minutes of the four-hour classic. De Ferran beat his long-time open-wheel rival by just 0.662 seconds earning the Brazilian his fifth win of the season. “It certainly wasn’t easy. There wasn’t much time to think about anything else,” an emotional de Ferran said after the race. “Coming into the weekend, there were a lot of different thoughts going through my head. But I had a job to do as a driver. It was a tough weekend from that standpoint. In a way, the race was so intense that I never had time to think of anything else.” The Patrón Highcroft Acura finished second in class and third overall, to secure the LMP1 driver championship for Australia's David Brabham and US co-driver Scott Sharp.

PEUGEOT ENTERS PETIT LE MANS. AUDI TO FOLLOW ?

Peugeot have confirmed that the team will compete in this year's Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in late September. Pedro Lamy, Nic Minassian, Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin will make up the driving lineup for the team in it's second attempt at the race. Last year’s Petit Le Mans saw the team of Stephane Sarrazin, Nic Minassian and Christian Klien came up 4.512 seconds shy of race-winner Audi in an epic battle. American Le Mans Series organisers are thrilled at the news in a year when the series has struggled following the departure of the dominant Audi team. “It would be hard for us to imagine a stronger end to 2009 than with Peugeot sending not one but two clean diesel-powered prototypes for an event that truly has become a spectacle on the landscape of global motorsport,” said Series President and CEO Scott Atherton. “With the Le Mans trophy already in hand, the potential of adding yet another significant honour to close out the year would wrap up a season for the ages…especially if the rumour mill is indeed accurate and other world-class teams and manufacturers who are no strangers to Road Atlanta, Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA6 and Peugeot confirm their entries in the near future." This is clearly a hint to the strong rumours that Audi will return to the race in it's Sebring winning R15. Audi were hurting after it's Le Mans loss and the team will be looking for more testing opportunities in preparation for next year's classic. Should Audi enter the race, the prospect of a clash between the German marque, Peugeot and the all conquering Acuras will be one that will excite Sportscar fans the World over. with ALMS Media

THE SPEED TV LE MANS WRAP

SENSATIONAL SARRAZIN AS PEUGEOT TAKES LE MANS POLE

Peugeot will start the 2009 Le Mans 24 hour race from pole following a sensational last gasp qualifying lap by Stephane Sarrazin. Audi looked set to take pole after dominating free practice Wednesday evening with Allan McNish setting the fastest time. But as the clock headed to the midnight close of session Sarrazin reeled off a spectacular 3m22.888s just seven tenths quicker than McNish to give the French Automaker it's third straight pole position. The McNish Audi breaks up a Peugeot dominated front grid. The car of Nicolas Minassion. Pedro Lamy and Christian Klein will start from their ahead of the “borrowed” Peugeot of the Pescarollo team led by Jean-Christophe Boullion. Australia's David Brabham will start from fifth place thanks to a fast lap from Marc Gene, they'll start alongside the second Audi led by Marco Werner. The third Audi of Bernhard, Dumas and Premat will start out of position number seven with the Lola/Aston-Martin of Charouz, Enge and Mucke the fastest of the petrol powered cars in eighth place. Aston Martin rounds out the top ten with the Davidson, Turner and Verstappen car just in front of Jarni, Belichi and Prost. Danish driver Casper Elgaard won pole in LM P2 with the Essex Porsche RS Spyder just ahead of the other RS Spyder, of the Japanese Navi team Goh. Third in LM P2 is the Speedy Racing/Team Sebah Lola Judd. As expected Corvette dominated the dwindling GT1 field with Jan Magnussen leading the category at the wheel of the #63 Corvette. The two GM works cars easily lead the class, outpacing the #66 Jet Alliance Aston Martin by over two seconds.   Porsche won the first battle with Ferrari in GT2 as the American based Flying Lizard team took their first pole at Le Mans. The famous red and silver Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of  Jorg Bergmeister won pole with a best lap at 4.03.202. The 2008 champions the Risi Competizione Ferrari team  is third, after being overtaken by another Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, the #77 car of the Felbermayr Proton racing team. Australian based Danish driver Alan Simonsen will start out of position number 47 in his Ferrari 430 GT2. The Le Mans 24 begins Saturday at 3.00 p.m. local time, Australian viewers can watch the start live on ONE HD from 10.30 p.m.  Radio Le Mans is broadcasting live at www.radiolemans.com . Macintosh users having trouble accessing this feed should install VLC player and go direct to mms://mercury.radica.com/radioshowltd or mms://venus.radica.com/radioshowltd .

LE MANS: THE GREATEST RACE

It's all happening, the countdown has begun for the greatest spectacle in International motorsport, forget F1, ignore the Indy 500, don't even consider the Bathurst 1000, the greatest race in all motorsport is without a shadow of a doubt Le Mans. For the first time since 1984 Australian television audiences will have the chance to see the race live, well some of it anyway. TEN's new ONE HD sports channel will bring Aussie viewers the race live from 10.30 p.m. Saturday night with live coverage going through until 2.00AM when the network crosses to NASCAR Qualifying. The coverage continues from 6.30AM till 10.00AM with the final few hours also covered live from 8.30PM till 11.10PM when coverage of the MotoGP begins. For most Australians Le Mans is an abstract concept, not since the early eighties has there been any real mainstream media coverage of the greatest race. Even that proud purveyor of obscure sports everywhere cable TV confined their coverage to a scant hour of highlights often weeks after the race. Of course we on In Pit Lane tried our best to keep the spirit of Le Mans alive. In 2004 I attended my first Le Mans, it was everything I had expected and way, way more. The efficiency and friendliness of the ACO officials is a long way from the indifference and arrogance of the average Aussie racetrack. As I've said on the show before, it was easier to get into Le Mans and do our job than it is to get through the tunnel at Phillip Island for a round of the Victorian State Series. The media centre is remarkable, every table with its own monitor, a lockable cage for your laptop and a steady stream of information all delivered with a smile from a crew who are not only professional but knowledgeable and quite rightly proud of their event. It makes a big difference from some media centres at a typical V8 Supercar event when any request for information on a support event is met with a mixture of confusion and utter contempt. The track itself is suburb, sadly not all of it is accessible to the average spectator but there's plenty of good places to view from. The esses down from the famous Dunlop bridge is a favourite, especially on Saturday night when you can stand on the hill and watch the cars on one side and them flip around to the bands at the annual rock concert. Of course any trip to France must include food and wine and Le Mans is no disappointment there either.

PENSKE POWERS SATURN ?

  Roger Penske has always been ambitious in his business pursuits and this week it has been announced that 'The Captain' is set purchase all of Saturn. However after being told that he could not legally purchase the hydrogen filled luminous body, he decided to simply to turn his attention to the defunct GM brand of the same name.  General Motors is in the midst of a fire sale, yes thats right, all the big brands, Saab, Hummer, Pontiac and more, have all got to go! As the automotive giant remains on a $15.4billion government subsidised life support system, its restructure has meant bargains are to be had!. Considering their dire financial situation, the announcement made last week of GM's brand restructure, surprised noone. The move will see GM offload several brands in a move to focus their attention to their 'core four', Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC. Saturn is one of the brands that didn't make the cut. Saturn Corporation was established in 1985 to combat the success of  Japanese imports in the small car market. First dubbed as 'The different kind of car company', it was always the poor cousin to GM's more premier brands such as Chevrolet and Cadillac. Like much of the US Automotive industry, Saturn suffered heavily from mismanagement and the imports it was designed to compete with, eventually accounted for its demise. Saturn spokesman Steve Janisse has revealed that several bids for the company have been made, however they wouldn't be revealing any of the interested parties until early June. A cautious Tony Porson, spokesman for Penske Automotive Group has stated they are considering the Saturn purchase, “It's very premature to assume anything will be done. I can confirm to you that we are looking at it”. Roger Penske has achieved virtually everything in the automotive world, however resurrecting a car company may be too much even for 'The Captain'.  Saying that, Roger Penske's motorsport interests are as vast as they are succesful, with teams running in IndyCar, NASCAR and ALMS. His stint into Formula One in the mid 70's recorded a victory and he has more Indy 500 than any other team owner. Off the track the Penske Empire also includes the world's second largest automotive dealer network, Penske Automotive, representing over 250 franchises. If anyone can do what General Motors couldn't, It'd be Roger Penske to do it.  

AUSTRALIAN MOTORSPORT MOURNS LOSS OF GRAHAM WATSON

Team owner, driver patron and former CAMS Gold Star winning driver Graham Watson has passed away after a brief battle with cancer. Watson who won the Australian Drivers Championship in 1986 was a prominent supporter of openwheel racing in Australia actively supporting several young drivers in their local careers. Most recently he had thrown his support behind young NSW driver Tom Tweedie in this years Australian F3 championship. Despite his illness Watson was alongside Tweedie at the opening round of the season on the streets of Adelaide. Watson was an integral part of the local openwheel scene, his roster of drivers reading like a who's who of local and international motorsport. Current Indy Racing League stars Scott Dixon and Will Power both drove for Watson in the early stages of their careers as did current F1 star Mark Webber, Le Mans endurance driver David Brabham, Brazilian Roberto Moreno and V8 Supercars star Craig Lowndes. The Australian Formula Three Association said that the loss of Watson was a huge blow to the community that surrounds the Gold Star championship, and will be felt around Australian Motorsport in general - such was his influence on so many drivers, teams and people working throughout the industry. The Association have announced plans to honour Watson at the next round of the championship to be held at Wakefield Park in conjunction with the Shannons Nationals on April 24 – 26. In Pit Lane passes on its sincere condolences to the family and many friends of a great friend of Australasian motorsport. 

AUDI ON TOP AT SEBRING

Audi continued their incredible sportscar record with a first up win in the annual Sebring 12 hour race, the first round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series. In another thrilling race the new Audi R15 driven by Alan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Cappello crossed the line only 22.279 ahead of the Peugeot of Franck Montagny, Sebastian Bourdais and Stephane Sarrazin. Diesel powered cars took the first three places with the number two Audi of Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller and Marco Werner in third. Acura finished fourth but it was the P2 car of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz and not the new P1 car with both the ARX-02a's retiring late in the race with mechanical failures. Corvette was always going to win GT1 with the two factory backed Corvettes the only cars in the class.