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Larbre Competition secure 12th major title at Magny-Cours
French sportscar specialists Larbre Competition wrapped up their 12th
major title with an impressive performance in the FFSA French GT
Championship at Magny-Cours at the weekend.
Christophe Bouchut and Patrick Bornhauser stormed to a comfortable
victory in race 1, enough to secure the title, Bornhauser’s third in the
notoriously-tough championship and Bouchut’s first in GT racing on home
soil, before celebrating with a podium finish in the weekend’s second
race. The pair dominated the series this year aboard one of Larbre’s
Saleen S7Rs, taking five race wins and five other podium finishes,
whilst the team’s second car was also a race winner and ran strongly
throughout the season.
Team Principal Jack Leconte was delighted with the success, made all the
more special as 2008 is the first year that Larbre Competition have run
the American-made Saleen muscle cars. “To have immediately been
competitive in a car that was completely new to us is a very satisfying
achievement for all the team. We won the first race at Nogaro and then
never looked back, leading the championship all year long.
“We have now won major titles with Porsche 911s, Dodge Vipers, Ferrari
550 Maranellos, Aston Martin DBR9s and the Saleen S7R. All these cars
have very different characteristics, which not only highlights the huge
amount of talent we have in the team, but also our incredible
adaptability. Many teams have success over a sustained period with the
same marque, but we like to challenge ourselves a bit more.”
The FFSA GT Championship is recognised as one of, if not the strongest
domestic GT series in the world, with the sporting regulations regarding
success ballast, which can see cars carrying as much as 120kg, making it
virtually impossible for one team to dominate. Despite this, Bornhauser
and Bouchut took race wins at five of the seven circuits visited this
year, with Frederic Makowiecki and Wilfried Merafina also taking a win
at Val de Vienne in the other Larbre Saleen.
“Both cars performed well this year and our only regret is that we
didn’t take first and second place in the championship,” said Leconte.
“I think it would have been possible but the second car’s accident at
the Spa 24 Hours put us on the back foot. This is a very difficult
championship to win. The crippling success ballast means that the team
and the drivers must be clever tactically to maximise their points score
at each round. I feel that tactical acumen was one area where we had a
big advantage this year.”
Early incident costs Larbre strong finish at Le Mans 24 Hours
 The loss of a left rear wheel in the third hour of
the Le Mans 24 Hours ultimately cost Larbre Competition the chance of a
strong result at the 76th edition of the world’s most famous motor race.
Christophe Bouchut was driving when the hub carrier broke on his Saleen
S7R as he entered Tertre Rouge and the loss of the wheel pitched him
into a gravel trap. After crawling back to the pits for repairs, the
team had to replace the transmission, brakes and suspension, as well as
remove a huge amount of gravel from the car, in just 45 minutes, but the
combined loss of time dropped them to the back of the field.
Throughout the remainder of the race the car ran without major incident,
but the loss of such a significant amount of time coupled with the
changeable conditions after the heavens opened at 4am on Sunday morning,
meant the team were unable to make up significant ground on their
rivals, ultimately finishing 7th in the GT1 class at the chequered flag.
However, despite their frustrations at being denied a strong result, the
team were pleased to have reached the finish and proved that the
American built Saleen is capable of competing in a twice around the
clock endurance event.
Team Principal Jack Leconte said: “Many people said a 24 hour race was
impossible for the Saleen, but we’ve succeeded in making it reliable
thanks to our work with Oreca. After the problem on Saturday, we had no
other target other than to finish the race and that was very important
for the team and our partners. We are proud to have achieved that and we
feel we are in good shape for the Spa 24 Hours where we hope to get our
revenge.”
David Hallyday: “Despite the misfortune we suffered early in the race,
everything ran quite smoothly afterwards. We did have a slight issue
during Patrick’s last stint when a screw came loose in the floor and we
had to replace it, but otherwise the car was perfect. It’s a shame about
the issue with the hub carrier because I think we could have finished
much higher up the field, but I’m afraid that’s motor racing!”
Patrick Bornhauser: “Unfortunately all the problems we suffered,
including the issue with the floor this morning, came as a result of the
loss of the wheel yesterday. It’s a pity because we certainly could have
been in a position to fight nearer the front. It’s very frustrating
because nobody made any mistakes, but the positive is the way we’ve
proved that this car could complete a 24 hour race.”
Christophe Bouchut: “Obviously it’s a little disappointing because I
missed pole position by a very small margin and I also think I could
have challenged for fastest lap if I’d been on track at the right time.
However, it was impossible to fight for the victory regardless of the
problem we had because we couldn’t match the race performance of the
works Astons and Corvettes. The performance level of the Saleen is very
good over one lap, but they had the edge in race trim.”
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