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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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Yann Clairay’s new website : www.yannclairay.com Le Mans Series’ info : www.lemans-series.com
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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk Yann Clairay’s Le Mans Series 5th round, Silverstone 1000 km, (UK), September 13 2009 A season of podiums
The omens for this final event in the Le Mans Series calendar were not good as the team's truck caught fire on the way to Albi, destroying both the truck and one of its two Corvettes, along with most of its equipment. The car that usually races in the LMS had to be hastily sent down to the Tarn in time for the two FFSA French GT championship races where, unfortunately, it too got damaged when it spun off the track! That probably had something to do with why No. 72 was not able to take part in open practice on Friday at Silverstone. Yann soon found out that the steering was not working due to a broken rack! Two team members were dispatched to Belgium to collect a spare part. The car was ready on Saturday morning in time for Yann to take part in the 3rd session of free practice. "We didn't have time to set the car up properly, so the team decided to gamble on fitting soft compound tyres for qualifying. It wasn't enough to disguise the lack of set up but it enabled me to vie for pole position. Since we have to keep the same tyres on for the first race I only did two flying laps. I was quick through the first two segments but in both laps I made a slight mistake in the third and most twisty segment. It was a shame because but for 134 thousands of a second I would have qualified ahead of both the Saleen and the Aston Martin and clocked the fastest time." The start of the race promised to be awkward on soft tyres. "Things went reasonably well for three laps but then the car's performance fell off dramatically. We were expecting this so I made a pit stop to mount medium compound tyres." The Corvette settled into a more pacy rhythm after that and was able to keep up the pressure on its two rivals. The Gigawave Aston Martin proved to be slightly more at ease than its rivals on the British circuit and logically enough it took first place in the category, one lap ahead of the Saleen and two ahead of the valiant Clairay/Goueslard/Jousse crew, which never gave up the fight. We will end up regretting this GT1 category! The competing cars, despite their different architectures, had evenly matched levels of performance. The lack of numbers in the 2009 season rarely had an adverse effect on the suspense and keenness of the competition. It was often the drivers that made the difference. No. 72 did justice to its crown in front of a happy Luc Alphand, so pleased to be able to support his troops in person for the first time since his motorbike accident. "We managed to finish the race, which was quite a feat given what the team has been through," said Yann. "It's satisfying for the guys after they put in so much effort. For Silverstone we only had three sets of wheels, no spare gear ratios, no springs, no dampers, just the bare minimum. The net result is positive, we have been improving all season long." Now it's time to dream and build for the future!
4th round, Nürburgring 1000 km, (Germany), August 23 2009 Clairay the Champion!
It was a new-look Nürburgring circuit which awaited the Le Mans Series drivers at the start. The Grand Prix circuit layout is unchanged but new improvements have been introduced this year: a huge engineering shopping gallery, a collection of restaurants, hotels and theme bars and a leisure park including a roller coaster ride skirting the main straight in front of the stands on which you go from 0 to 217kph in 2½ seconds! For Yann and his team, however, the aim was to win a title and, if possible, extend the series of wins which began at Spa and Portimao. The three practice sessions went off without a hitch, even if the Larbre Compétition’s Saleen proved to be marginally quicker when their best driver was at the wheel. This initial verdict was confirmed in the timed tests. However, the overall strength of the Luc Alphand Aventures crew made it the bookies’ favourite. In the warm up, Yann was hit by a Lola-Aston Martin LMP1 as it came out of a fast turn; however, the damage was limited to a torn off wing for the Corvette. Yann and Laurent Groppi respectively were given the job of driving the two top GT1 steeds for the start of the race. Although they’ve been rivals in Formula Renault in the past, present circumstances did not lend themselves to a wheel to wheel battle between them. Yann keeps the Saleen in his sights throughout his stint at the wheel, with the gap fluctuating between 3 and 5 seconds depending on what was happening around him. At the two-hour mark the positions were reversed. The Corvette then managed to get away and by the time Yann handed over to Julien Jousse for the second time No. 72 held a 5 lap lead. However, hopes of celebrating victory and an early title took a mighty blow about an hour away from the finish. Julien suddenly lost 40% of power coming out of Mercedes Arena. He managed to limp into the pits, where a serious engine problem was diagnosed. Calculations showed that the 137 laps completed represented exactly 70% of the distance required for classification - however, you’ve got to cross the finishing line! The team’s engineers managed to isolate the faulty cylinder and Patrice Goueslard, the most experienced of the three drivers, completed a lap to end all laps just a few seconds before this 1000 km race drew to a close. Yann, Julien and Patrice thus achieved podium places and, more importantly, bagged the points for coming home in 2nd place that meant that the Le Mans Series GT1 title for 2009 was theirs. “My aim for the season has been achieved and even exceeded if we take into account our 2nd place in the Le Mans 24 Hours race behind the works-entered Corvette” Yann said after the race. “I’m fully aware of the starting numbers for the Le Mans Series. However, we’ve always had stiff competition. I should like to congratulate the team, which has always given a good account of itself despite the problems. 2009 will remain for me a good sporting season and I hope that these results will augur well for 2010.” Although the title’s won, participation in the Silverstone 1000 km on 13 September remains on the cards.
3rd round, Algarve 1000 km, (Portugal), August 1st 2009 Full points
There is no such thing as an easy win, even if you’ve got only one rival to beat. Firstly, because a 1000 km race in the Le Mans Series is anything but a drive in the park. In order to win, you need to avoid all the traps on the way to the finish. The Portimao circuit represented a new discovery and night racing with prototypes pitted against GTs is a feature of endurance racing that never fails to intrigue. Then again, the opposition were scarcely newcomers to the race, the Saleen car having carried off the LMS GT1 title in 2007, while the Larbre Compétition team’s record in GT racing commands respect. Finally, we should remember that Corvette No 72 suffered serious damage during the Le Mans 24 Hours and the chassis had to be sent to the USA for repairs. On the week before the event in Portugal, the Corvette was once again ready to tackle the new course. “We had only one team to beat”, said Yann, “but that didn’t stop us from attacking from the start. In the third session of open practice I finished 2.7 seconds ahead of the Saleen and 9 seconds behind the best prototype. Then, in qualification, I made pole position in the class by a two second margin, cutting back on the risks as I did so as there was cooling liquid on the track.” Patrice Gueslard’s job was to take the lead at the start, which he duly did. After the first hour, Yann took over the wheel and ran up the best lap time. A refuelling problem meant that the second part of his double stint was cut to 15 laps, during which he lost nine seconds in a spin. The Saleen had more serious problems to contend with and sat it out for fifteen laps. It finished 43 laps behind a Corvette which did not hang about. "We had set our sights on closing the gap on the top 10 in the general classification, without taking undue risks, of course." Luc Alphand Aventures certainly didn’t want a Pyrrhic victory. The Goueslard/Jousse/Clairay crew finished 14th in the event and was a comfortable winner in the GT1 class. "The team deserves a vote of thanks for providing us with the perfect car. We had confirmation that Dunlop developments since Spa were instrumental in ensuring both a winning performance and tyre reliability. This win was for Luc. It can’t have been much fun watching the race on TV. Although we’ll be trying to win the title at the Nurburgring, we’re nonetheless hoping for a keenly contested race."
Le Mans 24 Hours Yann on the Le Mans podium
The crew of Corvette No. 73 had two things in common: their tender tears (average age 26) and their significant experience at high level of single-seater racing. On the other hand, Yann was the only one to have already taken part in the 24-hour race - in 2006 at the wheel of a Courage. That year his race ended when a puncture going into Indianapolis turn sent him into the crash barrier. Like Yann, Dutchman Xavier Maassen knew the Corvette well after racing one to victory at Monza last season. For Julien Jousse, however, it was to be a totally new experience - his first Le Mans, first GT drive and first endurance race. As it turned out, the crew proved to be a perfectly-balanced unit. Everyone stuck to their role, executing team instructions to perfection in order to achieve a magnificent result. Getting the result was no mean task, with obstacles to be overcome and traps to be avoided in what is the world's greatest endurance race. The Corvette gave the crew plenty of problems during qualifying, as Yann explained. "A clutch part had been fitted the wrong way round and the petrol pump wasn't working properly during free practice. It was my job the next day to set up the car and obtain qualification but we had problems with engine mapping. After the first two segments of my hot lap during the first qualifying session I was only a tenth of a second behind the official works Corvette driven by Jan Magnussen, (editor's note: the former MacLaren F1 driver). Unfortunately I couldn't complete the lap because the team picked up a fault on the telemetry screen and called me straight back in." Yann made another attempt at the end of the night session, soon after 11.30PM. "As I was coming out of the Hunaudières straight the brake pedal fell off and I nearly ended up in the wall! It was a good job I was able to push down on the pedal arm." In days gone by, before they installed a roundabout at this point, you could have ploughed straight on at 300kpm until you got to Tours! "I came back in and the team repaired the pedal but then there was only time left for one lap. I attacked like crazy, but driving at night I could have done with two or three laps to get my bearings." With a damage-limiting 3’58’’564 lap, Yann qualified 37th overall and 5th in his category. The race itself was rather less eventful for Corvette No. 73. Yann (who took care of the start), Julien and Xavier relayed their stints at the wheel with no problem and made no mistake. For a while they alternated 3rd place in the category with their sister car, No. 72, the position changing hands at each fuel stop, until an unfortunate Patrice Goueslard got shunted violently off the track by a Lola-Aston Martin. So by 10.30PM car No. 73 was left to carry the Luc Alphand Aventures banner by itself, behind the two works Corvettes. "I took it easy during my first stint. Then we picked up the pace a bit until No. 72 dropped out, after which there was not much point in attacking. Whatever happened we weren't going to catch the works Corvettes. But lapping at an easy 4 minutes we were not too far behind them." Two hours and 17 minutes from the end one of the leading Corvettes suffered a broken gearbox, which let No. 73 through to take the chequered flag in 2nd place. "As soon as you step on the podium the place goes wild, there are people everywhere! There's a fantastic atmosphere at Le Mans, the place is truly magical! I hope I can come back here often, I can't describe the buzz it gives you! I'm so grateful to all my sponsors. Thanks to everyone who turned out to support me. See you next year!"
2nd round, Spa-Francorchamps 1000 km, (Belgium), May 9-10 2009 Yann laps it up in Spa
As in the Barcelona race, qualifying the car was Yann's job. Clocking the 28th fastest qualifying time overall put him within striking distance of the car’s two main rivals for victory in the GT1 class. The opening laps of the race saw the Aston Martin, the Lamborghini and the Corvette (with Patrice Goueslard at the wheel) jostling for position but the British car soon lost ground. The struggle for supremacy between the Italian fighting bull in Russian colours and the American beauty in French livery continued right up to the finish. The Luc Alphand Aventures car was ahead at the 1-hour mark and held on to its lead until the 2-hour mark when Yann's first stint at the wheel came to an end. The order was reversed after 3 hours, with the Lambo 2 minutes ahead, but the Murcielago eventually lost out to the Corvette's superior regularity, finishing the race just one lap behind the current class champion. This result throws the championship wide open. Yann Clairay, Patrice Goueslard and Luc Alphand hold a 1-point lead over Peter Kox, who changed partners between Barcelone and Spa, with the leader board showing 19-18 in their favour. Luc Alphand Aventures holds the same narrow advantage over IPB Spartak Racing in the team standings. "We knew we had to lap consistently if we wanted to win here, we had to set a pace and stick to it," said Yann after the podium ceremony. "I'm quite pleased with my own performance. I feel I have made progress because I kept myself in check instead of trying to go for the fastest lap. Our team-manager Philippe Poincloux proved how good he is at race strategy. He managed to turn the outages when the safety car came out into opportunities for making up time on the Lamborghini or to stretch our lead. As for tyres, things are going better and better. As it happens, the team is off to Dijon on May 19 for a series of tests using a new type of Dunlop tyre. We are looking to step up a notch in performance and consistency, which hopefully will allow us to keep the same set of tyres on for two consecutive stints. " The day after that we will know the composition of the crews Luc Alphand Aventures will be entering for the Le Mans 24-hour race.
1st round, Catalunya 1000 km, Barcelona (Spain), April 4-5 2009 Premiering with a Pole and a Podium
Yann arrived in Barcelona with the rudiments of GT racing already in his baggage. In 2003 he got his first drive in the Spa 24-hour race, coming 3rd in the GT1 class at the wheel of a Paul Belmondo Racing Chrysler Viper. 2005 saw him drive a Viper again, this time in the 1000km of Silverstone Le Mans Series race. Still in endurance racing but this time in the sports prototype category, he was on the podium at the 2005 edition of the Nürburgring 1000km race, taking 2nd place in the LMP2 category, before taking part in the opening races of the 2006 season with a Courage-Ford. He got his first taste of Le Mans 24 hours racing driving the same car. Unfortunately, a tyre failure going into the Indianapolis turn saw him spin off at high speed and retire. The Le Mans 24 hour race is on the menu again for Yann this season. To mark his return he has chosen to drive for Luc Alphand Aventures. With seven finishes in seven LM24 starts, this is one of the leading private LMGT1 teams, and the reigning Le Mans Series champions. Although only four GT1 cars made the trip to Barcelona for the opening round of the Le Mans Series, there was no shortage of quality on display with, in particular, a Saleen-Ford S7R entered by two times LMS champions Larbre Compétition, and an IPB Spartak Lamborghini Murcielago. Yann was fastest during open practice, but the Lamborghini put in a fine turn of speed in the second session and stamped its mark during qualifying. "Our team manager Philippe Poincloux said the Lambo was always going to be fastest over a single lap, because we are still in the development phase with our Corvette with its new Dunlop tyres," explained Yann. "So he wanted me to make sure I was second fastest, knowing that in race conditions our consistency might count." After the scrutineering the Corvette was upgraded to the top LM GT1 spot because the Lamborghini's air box was adjudged to be not within the rules. So Luc Alphand Aventures bagged their first point. But they knew it wasn't going to be as easy to pick up ten more in the race. In the race the Lamborghini had to battle its way through the LM GT2 pack from the back, and it even suffered a collision in the 2nd hour. In Corvette No. 72 both Patrice and Yann put in good stints, and the team was brilliant in its management of pit stops. So much so that the Luc Alphand Aventures trio held a two-lap lead when former Dakar rally winner and World Cup Ski champion Luc Alphand took over at the wheel. Bad luck struck just before the 3-hour mark when Luc got stuck in the gravel pit for six minutes after a braking mishap. The lead changed hands and the Lamborghini held on to its 2-lap lead all the way to the chequered flag. Thus it was onto the second rung of the podium that Yann and his team-mates climbed, pocketing 8 championship points along the way. That made it 10 points to 9 in this round - the narrowest of margins! "We were in contention for victory, that's the main thing," said Yann after the race. "I'd like to thank the whole team and all my sponsors for sticking with me during what has been a difficult winter." The second round of Le Mans Series will take place at Spa-Francorchamps next May 10.
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After
wrapping up their Le Mans Series GT1 championship crown at the
Nürburgring meeting, Yann Clairay and the Luc Alphand Aventures team
concluded the season with 3rd place in the Silverstone
1000-kilometre race. Chequered flags and podiums featured in all six
races in which Yann took part at the wheel of the team's Corvette.
Despite the incredible series of dramatic events it had to face this
year, the team from Sarthe booked itself two tickets for the next Le
Mans 24 Hours thanks to 2nd place in this year's 24-hour race
and its LMS title. In terms of drivers the common denominator of these
two achievements is Yann Clairay! 
The
facts are very simple: all that was needed was for the Luc Alphand
Aventures Corvette to be classified in the Nürburgring 1000 km or for no
GT1 car to do so for Yann Clairay, Patrice Goueslard and their team to
win the title outright. The situation became more complicated when No.
72 came into the pits with an engine problem when it was leading the
field comfortably after 4½ hours of racing. Happily, it was able to
complete a final lap on seven cylinders, which assured it of the crown
for 2009. 
Yann
Clairay clocked up his second pole position on the new Algarve circuit
before coming away with his second win of the season in the Le Mans
Series, along with Patrice Goueslard and Julien Jousse. The Luc Alphand
Aventures team therefore secured maximum points in the event and
affirmed its title claims in the LMGT1 class. Luc Alphand, still
convalescing following his motorbike accident, must have appreciated the
distant sound of the Marseillaise ringing out in the Portuguese! 
Yann
Clairay and his team-mates drove to perfection in the Le Mans 24 Hours
and got the best result they could possibly hope for. They took their
privately-entered Corvette C6.R into 2nd place in the GT1 category, with
only the works Corvette ahead of them. Since he started racing GTs for
Luc Alphand Aventures, the man from Mayenne has a 100% record when it
comes to podium places! 
Luc
Alphand, Patrice Goueslard and Yann Clairay obtained a hard-earned LM
GT1 class win in the 1000kms in Spa-Francorchamps. In this second round
of the Le Mans Series they finished ahead of both the Aston Martin DBR9
which had led the field during qualifying and the Lamborghini Murcielago
which clocked the fastest lap in the race. But the biggest surprise of
all was probably the final placing the Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette
C6.R achieved. Coming home 13th in an event with 51 entries, 50 of which
started, was a great result considering that the field included 31
prototypes which are a lot faster that the GTs. 
Yann
Clairay has taken his career into a new phase by joining the Luc Alphand
Aventures team. With co-pilots Patrice Goueslard and Luc Alphand, Yann
drove a Corvette C6.R to 2nd place in the Catalunya 1000 kilometre race
after flirting with victory. Yann's pole position ensured that the team
remained just one point behind the race winners in the championship
standings.