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FFSA V de V SERIES LE MANS

27-29 April 2012 

V de V VHC Endurance Challenge

The V de V Le Mans 2-Hours

First Outing of 2012

The VHCs are back! The Protos are up for some fun and the big GTs will be getting their engines roaring. Let’s have a look at the line-ups. 

Sports Protos

An exotic treat for the eyes, with a Moynet LM 75, as in the year it was built, in the historic Esso livery and belonging to enthusiast, Gérard Pargamin. It will bear the number 35, just as it did when taking part in the Le Mans 24-Hours. Next up, in a similar vein, is Stéphane Raffin’s Chevron B16, de, produced in 1971. And,offering a more aggressive stance, the streamlined n°8 Cesca Grac of Franck Metzger and Elie Dubelly.These three will no doubt be contesting the win. But let’s not forget the Ford GT40, driven by Eric Vincenot and Jean-Marc Bachelier and bearing the n°37, that will bring joy to more than a few.

There will be three Sports 2000s, from the Courage Classic stable, who will have the privilege of being the first to take to the track in this newly-accepted class for V de V. We will also be welcoming back the 2 Elva Mk8s from Meca Moteur, ready to defend their crown. We will also have the chance to see Damien Kohler’s Diva 10F.

Group 3 will be contested by 3 cars; the n°10 of Bernard Salam and Jean-Claude Barthe from LD Racing, both highly experienced drivers; n°14 from the same stable, with British driver Markus Mahy at the wheel, and the 2.7 RS Porsche of newcomer André Sediki. Philippe Louet and José Da Rocha will be demonstrating the class of their very rapid Morgan Plus 8 (n°105), for the first time.

Group 4 is where the competition should be fiercest, plus with enough power to make a mark on the overall result. Bernard Moreau and Miguel Langin, reigning Challenge Champions in their n°1 Porsche 3.0L RSR, should give their usual good account up against Serge Kriknoff and his Porsche 2.8L RSR n°66, who won the “2-hour race-within-a-race” Challenge last year. But Alain Pages and his Porsche 930 could be the bogeyman in this class, along with Eric Achard and his 3.0L SC. In the GTs, there will also be the Alfa Romeo Giulia of Bernard Zimmer and Axel De Ferran which should do battle with the MG B driven by Vincent Le Besne and Jean-Pierre Maingault, as well as the Porsche of Henrique Gemperle.

Which brings us neatly to the Americans, with the impressive Ford Falcon n°62 of Denis and Jean-Claude Allemang that will be slugging it out - with surprising agility - with Christophe Schwartz’s Dodge Charger. 

V de V GT/Touring Endurance Challenge

The V de V Le Mans 4-Hours 

More than 35 crews are expected for this late-April date on the Bugatti circuit, with an eye-pleasing assortment of competitors. A ferocious battle in GTV3 awaits us once again, whilst the crew of Ferrari n°2 is expected to head the overall results after its win in Barcelona.

It looks as though we will witness another hard-fought GT/Touring race, even more so with the new regulations that force competitors to make as many pit-stops as there are hours in the race if they are to avoid penalties. This rule caused its share of surprises towards the end of the race in Catalunya and should prove its worth here once more.

GTV1 will be tight, between the GT2 Ferrari 458 n°2, from Team Visiom and driven by Jean-Bernard Bouvet (the “A” driver), Jean-Paul Pagny and Thierry Perrier; the Porsche 997 RSR n°52, from Imsa, with Patrice Milesi and Richard Balandras at the wheel. The outsiders are the n°14 Porsche 996 RSR of Moreau and Langin, the Moslers - n°11, driven by Eric Van de Vyver and Franck Metzger and n°22 from V2V Energy Racing driven by Guillaume Van de Vyver, Cyril Raymond and Manuel Ferreira; and finally the Porsche 997 RSR n°54 of Portuguese drivers, Monteiro and Rodrigues.

In GTV2, we welcome back Pierre Martinet and Gérard Tremblay’s Porsche n°65; recently 3rd overall in Catalunya, the Audi R8 LMS n°323 driven by Angelos Metaxa and Bernard Santal and the Lamborghini n°45 of Thybaud and Choukroun. There will also be three other Porsche 997 Cup Ss: n°36 of the Demorge family, n°63 driven by Polette and Lelièvre, who turned in a magnificent performance at the season opener, and number 93 with Fontaine and Decultot at the wheel.

GTV3 will be hotly contested once again! One to watch is the Porsche 997 Cup n°67 of the Alloin family, currently leading the class ahead of n°25 of Crubilé and Perrodo. Then there is n°007 driven by Porsche Lorient boss, Fréderic Ancel - denied a podium in the first event by a slow final fuel stop that let in Fontaine and Decultot in n°93. The four Porsche 997 Cups from RMS will be there, including reigning class Champions, Stepec and Prignaud, who missed out in the first race and will want to make amends. Franck Racinet and Yves Provins, in n°53, will be keen to show that Imsa can rely on them this season, whilst a magnificent Ferrari 458 Challenge from Modena Motors, will make its bow as favourite, with François Jakubowski and Jean-Yves Adam.

GTV4 will feature six podium hopefuls, with three Ginetta G50s among them, including the cars of (former V de V Radical drivers) Richard Ryder and Charles Atherton and Pellerzi and Nury. Also there will be n°12 from the Escuela Espanola de Pilotos, with Greek driver Kanaroglou and Spaniard Oliver Campos (the “A” driver) at the wheel. Vincenot and Bachelier’s Ferrari F430 should delight our eyes and ears, whilst the n°41 Porsche 996 Cup of Bob Arezina and Philippe Burel looks a likely favourite. Pierre Nicolet and Guy Lacroix could come to the party in their Lotus 2-Eleven, n°24.

Lastly, there are the Silhouettes, including an exclusive: four GC 10s, three of them V8s. These belong to the car’s designers and developers - the Gomez brothers and their team’s sister car, number 21, plus newcomer n°40 driven by Amrouche and De la Chapelle, from Defi Autorsport; the team entering Balas and Cimadomo’s 10.2. Beautiful people for a beautiful weekend?

V de V Proto Endurance Challenge

The V de V Le Mans 4-Hours

A good twenty cars - driven by crews of outstanding quality - are expected on the starting grid, promising a highly intense, tactical and technical race over 4 hours on the Bugatti circuit. The reigning Champions and Championship leaders will need to keep an eye on their mirrors and really put the hammer down to be sure of success.

Let’s start with CD Sport, who are bringing two highly-experienced crews. Car n°25 will feature Kevin Bole-Besançon as “A” driver and Matthieu Lecuyer who entertained us all at Le Mans last year before retiring. His “A” colleague, Sébastien Dhouailly, running in n°26 with Thomas Accary, would certainly like to do better than in Catalunya where he distinguished himself by shadowing Zollinger for an hour before developing blisters on his hands.

Zollinger and Mondolot will be at the wheel of their n°1, fervently hoping to do better on a circuit where they were unable to finish higher than sixth last year. Another win would be ideal to add to their already extensive roll of honour, after their win in the first event.

Grégory Fargier, second last year with Jean-Michel Ogier, will be back with Christian Vaglio-Giors, with nobody doubting their resolve to go for the win here. The third Palmyr car will be driven by Didier Beck and Richard Mori, a gentlemen’s crew that should be capable of a win, in this class at least.

A win that should also be within reach for Frédéric Da Rocha and Patrice Lafargue, from Extrême Limite - two more fast and experienced gentlemen drivers. As are Bruno Bazaud and Philippe Thirion in car n°96 from TFT, and who finished third on the podium in Barcelona, behind stable-mates Nick Padmore (“A”) and Jean-Lou Rihon in n°34.

Pegasus Racing will be back among the big boys with the spanking new Ligier JS53 n°18, with 2008 Champions Julien Schell and David Caussanel hoping to distinguish themselves behind the wheel.

Last year’s winner, Damien Delafosse, could be back in a Wolf GB08, whilst young Marc-Antoine Dannielou – pole-sitter in Catalunya – will be teaming up with Jean-Claude Poirier at Extrême Limite in n°19.

Another Ligier – and another promising combination - is Haezebrouck and Toulemonde, who will have everything to gain from a win at Le Mans: confidence, clarity and the podium that eluded them in the first race, where they finished fourth. Grégory and Rémy Striebig, with Team One and their Norma M20FC n°67, will be relying on their family’s passion and the associated enthusiasm, to guide them to a better finish than the seventh place they managed in Spain. Dominique Cauvin will join Jerôme Sornicle in Norma n°31 from JMP Racing, and Jorge Domingues’ “wingman” will be Christophe Tardieu in n°56 from J.R.T. 

In the Open class, Philippe Papin will be seeking victory once more with Jean-René De Fournoux, while trying to stop them will be Stéphane Adler and David Abramczyk in n°75 from Sébastien Giltaire’s SKR, and British pair John Harrison and Richard True driving a Ligier JS49.

Following their successful Barcelona weekend, both in terms of spectacle and suspense, the Funyos are heading for Le Mans – not far from their Breton homeland – hopefully to provide us with more of their explosive battles.

V de V Funyo Challenge

Candidates ready for a second round

Watch out for the top four from Barcelona, who will be mixing it again. At the head of the queue will be the fiery Serge Hériau, n°36, who seized a win in the third race after forcing an error from Martin Eteki, n°30, who has made great progress since last year and won the first race. Yves Orhant in n°35 is also worth watching; the car’s designer will certainly feel at home on the Sarthe track and should get the most out of his brainchild to score the win.

Eric Grare, driving n°28, will be the loose cannon in this foursome, with a tendency to produce surprises such as passing Eteki on the final lap in the second race, beating him by half a second.

Last year’s runner-up, Nicolas Cannard, in car n°2, will need to wake up at Le Mans if he wants to hunt down the title this year, as the pack will be looking to turn the tables. The same goes for his comrade – and 2010 Champion - François Hériau, n°37, who finished third last year, and who is once again slightly off the pace.

It’s worth mentioning that their opponents, Axel Dolhem n°25, Jacques Fontbonne n°5, Jean Quelet n°11 and Henri Perrier n°7 are no shrinking violets, like Dominique Brulon in car n°13 who, having had a fantastic weekend at the wheel of his Funyo 4RC, would be among the overall favourites if he was driving a Funyo 5. But, we could mention as many names as we like with the Funyos, but a new hand is dealt at every race, and when there are 30 or so “karts” per deck, the odds are never the same… 

V de V Single-seater Challenge

No fewer than 25 cars entered for this second leg! The first saw Antonin Borga distinguish himself ahead of some pretty useful pursuers, including Hugo Blanchot and Alexandre Mantovani, who will no doubt be present in the Sarthe.

The dominant trio of Borga n°12, Blanchot n°41 and Mantovani n°31, will have to look out for a few drivers after a bit of revenge at Le Mans, if they want to secure some glory. The avengers will include Julien Goupy in n°33 from Formula Motorsport, who was third in race 1 in Catalunya; Amaury Rossero, who showed great promise in qualifying, but lost out in the race and current Challenge runner-up David Monclair, who still needs to find more consistency in his performance across a complete weekend if he is to pose a threat again.

As an experienced driver, Michel Piroird n°76 is capable of seizing good opportunities. Less quick in outright performance, he doesn’t make mistakes and usually manages to get himself into the top eight. Didier Colombat n°26, Philippe Haezebrouck and Michel Mora are all in a similar vein.

Team One will be there with Grégory Striebig n°67 and Philippe Leclere n°68, who also raced in Spain.

The Paddock is expanding, with ten different teams, including Team Macracer and its two Formula Master cars, here to do battle with Philippe Daric n°6 from Bossy Racing team and the Kennol Racing Team running one Formula Master and one Formula Renault for this race.

At Neel, as well as Monclair, will be Russian driver, Igor Yavorowski, and Rudy Volpe, both driving Formula Renaults.  Isn’t that great..? 

pics H Laroche