IDEC SPORT took provisional LMP2 pole position thanks to Paul Lafargue, Paul-Loup Chatin and Memo Rojas’s ORECA 07 getting the best time in the first qualifying session for the 2018 Le Mans 24-Hour Race.
IDEC SPORT is in fine fettle and showed that getting pole position provisionally in the 86th edition of the Le Mans 24-Hour Race. After getting the second best time in the test day and open trials, Paul-Loup Chatin took things up a notch with a time of 3’24’’956 in the first qualifier. The 13.626 kilometres of the track were covered at an average of around 150 mph. IDEC SPORT leads the LMP2 category, more than two tenths of a second ahead of Loïc Duval’s TDS Racing (former Audi driver in LMP1). At midnight, the results froze. Patrice Lafargue’s team can be pleased as the 2017 pole position (3’25’’352) has been beaten.
“We have been very competitive since we got here. We carried out some adjustments between the open trials and the qualifier this evening and apparently they are good. We are in pole position, which is fantastic. This is Le Mans, there are the world and European championship’s big teams, so we’re over the moon,” said Nicolas Minassian, head of racing at IDEC SPORT. “The team has moved up, Patrice has committed a lot to this project. Everyone has worked hard and that has paid off. Now is the time to enjoy ourselves and tomorrow it’s back to work.”
Qualifiers 2 and 3
The current pole position will only become official after the second and third sessions, or after four more hours of driving (Thursday 14th from 7-9 and 10 to midnight this evening). We can be certain that the nineteen other teams in the LMP2 category will be aiming to steal the place from IDEC SPORT. It looks like being a mighty battle for the best time.
“Tomorrow, the weather conditions look more complicated with a little rain likely. Today, Paul-Loup (Chatin) had a great lap which was no easy matter. We still have the required tyres if we need to respond to the competition tomorrow. We’ll be looking at all the elements until the race begins.”
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