#LeMans24 2017: REBELLION LEADING THE FIRST THIRD OF THE RACE
- Vaillante Rebellion leading each hour since the start
- 13 out of 14 ORECA chassis still on track, 8 hours into the race
- Best provisional lap time in LM P2 for the #13 ORECA 07 – 3’28.801
There are two sides to the first third of this 85th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Firstly, the beginning of the race perfectly controlled by Vaillante Rebellion; the team has been in the lead since the very start. Secondly the very busy first racing hours, full of several unforeseen events. With five of its cars in the Top 5 as the sun went down, the outcome so far is positive for ORECA chassis.
Vaillante Rebellion has not quite dominated the race, but has been delivering a fabulous performance since the start of these 2017 24 Hours. Each time that the clock’s minute hand pointed towards the number twelve, one of the Swiss team’s ORECA 07 was in the lead. Most of the times it was the #31 (Canal/Senna/Prost), and sometimes also the #13 (Bèche/Piquet Jr/Heinemeir Hansson). The squad has managed to stay off trouble so far, apart from a drive through penalty given to Bruno Senna during the 8th hour.
Always very close behind, Jackie Chan DC Racing even took the lead at times, but both of the two cars went off track at some point, thus encountering a few hitches. Just a few seconds behind the two Vaillante Rebellion cars, Jarvis/Laurent/Tung #38 remains in the fight for the first place. Same situation for CEFS Manor TRS Racing, with their #25 (Trummer/Petrov/Gonzalez) racing not far from the LM P2 leading trio.
As for Signatech Alpine Matmut, though the Alpine A470 #36 got delayed, havind had a slow puncture then change a gearbox pinion, following on Menezes having gone off into the gravel, the #35 however delivered a great performance at the beginning, until one of the drivers accidentally switching off the engine by activating the wrong command.
Unfortunate beginning for TDS Racing (off-track excursion in the late afternoon, then a 7-minute penalty following on a contact with a Ferrari), the team also struggled with their second car, after Roman Rusinov and a GT crashed in one of the Porsche corners, forcing both cars to withdraw.
DragonSpeed’s #21 raced without a problem at the beginning, yet the #22 had to stop as some work needed to be done on the alternator. Just off the Top 5, Allen/Bradley/Matelli from Graff Racing started well, though the #39 had a few hitches following on a puncture.
While the contenders are now facing the famous night time in Le Mans, almost all of ORECA’s delegation is still on track, half of which occupy the first positions.
Bart Hayden – Vaillante Rebellion Team Principal:
“One could think that the beginning of the race has gone perfectly well for us, if we look at the standings only, but that’s not the case. We too have had a few issues, for instance with the #31 the drive through penalty given to Bruno (Senna). Yes our cars are in a good position currently, but we’re not even half-way into the race yet. Considering all of the unexpected developments that we’ve seen so far, we need to be careful.”