Blog 24H Le Mans 2007 - 24 Heures - Luc Alphand - Par Sandy Divelec

FinEquipagesLAA
Vidéo envoyée par Sandy_Dakar

Our Dr. House gives telemetry prognostics instead of medical ones! What do you think? Do you not find that there's a resemblance between Laurent of Luc Alphand Aventures and Hugh Laurie of the sitcom Dr. House?

Ok, they're not from the same generation but I would say there's a small family resemblance :) Let's bug those we like! :)

Since 5 in the morning, there’s a small drizzle of rain falling on the Sarthois circuit. The mechanics and engineers are starting to feel the tiredness of a night without sleep.

“The last four hours of the race will be the hardest », explains one of the technicians, « as we’ll have the impression that each hour is endless. The adrenaline which comes with the race will come back about two hours before the finish. It’s really a satisfaction when the cars function without problems from the beginning until the end as this means all of our preparation for this race was well done. However, physically 24 hours straight is tough. The human body is not made to be efficient without sleep.”

Everything is foreseen in order to remain fit until the end; fast and slow sugars, caffeine, and energizing drinks… The drivers are not the only ones being asked to contribute. We should ask the cooks how many meals they have prepared in 36 hours. The only people who have the opportunity to rest are the drivers since beds are place at their disposal behind the stands. Knowing that they are 3 per car, that they double or triple their driving time, and that a relay lasts on average 1 hour… You may calculate their sleeping time !

Pneumatiques
Vidéo envoyée par Sandy_Dakar

Did you know…that tires have a limited life span? Depending on the choice of the tire rubbers, the drivers must come into the stands at a specific time to refuel and change their tires. Some tires last for 1 hour and others for two.
But…what do they do with the tires afterwards and why do the mechanics clean them when their used? Well, the Luc Alphand Aventures team gives them back to Michelin for analysis and recycling. The rims are given back to the team. You must have already seen the rubber floors which are made for children to play on…? This type of flooring comes from recycled tires!!

From left to right, you can recognize: Patrice Goueslard, Laurent Pasquali, Jean-Luc Blanchemain, Jérome Policand, Guillaume Moreau and Luc Alphand.

Good luck for the race.

DedicacesPitLane
Vidéo envoyée par Sandy_Dakar

The day before the official start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, some teams take the time to meet the public for autograph sessions of posters and cards. Each year, crowds of fans with banners come up to the edge of the stands in hope to receive a signature of a driver as a souvenir of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. There is such a mass of people coming to see the teams that sometimes you would believe that the crowds will crush you! Admiring a team is almost dangerous!

On Tuesday, June 10th, Philippe Poincloux and Luc Alphand blew out the candles to celebrate their 10 years of teamwork in the automobile industry.

Let’s go back in time: Luc met Philippe in 1998 during his first participation the Dakar rally. After several mishaps, Luc did not wish to continue driving, in what he considered disastrous conditions!

Ready to quit, Philippe convinced Luc to continue and proposed a plan which has now become history…The duo created Luc Alphand Aventures which is a private team present in the circuit driving and enabled Luc to join Mitsubishi Motor Sports within the REPSOL Mitsubishi Ralliart team.

They still have many years ahead of them full of projects, objectives and hopefully VICTORIES!

Often the guests and fans would like to acquire Luc Alphand Aventures clothing. Often, the merchandising of team clothing does not exist but LAA has foreseen this eventuality…

The choice is not large yet they have short and long sleeve t-shirts, fleece vests, and parkas in several sizes. The colour is unique yet they have both men and woman’s wear.

The prices vary from 20 to 135 euros…Do not hesitate to call Luc Alphand Aventures at the Technoparc and they will do their best to answer your questions and take your order ;-)).

Adresse Luc Alphand Aventures : Technoparc des 24 Heures – 72100 Le Mans - France Tél. +33 (0)2 43 39 25 72

The Frenchman Jérôme Policand participated at Luc Alphand's (FRA) and Guillaume Moreau's sides (FRA) driving the new CR.6 Corvette. Further to the preliminaries, the first weekend of June, Philippe Poincloux, the Luc Alphand Aventures team manager, decided to change the team compositions.

Patrice Goueslard will drive the C6.R Corvette N° 73 alongside Jean-Luc Blanchemain (FRA) and Laurent Pasquali (BEL) of the Luc Alphand Aventures team.

Between each relay, the drivers must relax. They also must be supported as they are under much stress and fatigue during a race such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To create and manage a private team is not a small task. Taking example on the factory teams, small items can be quite beneficial despite smaller budgets. Let's not forget the most important point, which is to finish the 24 Hours. Let's listen to Denis who explains his schedule of the weekend and how he divides his time between the three drivers of the C6.R and C5-R.

In order that you understand why Laurent and Alain are so humoristic on this video it is due to the fact that they are big fans of the Canadian internet website "têtes à claques". Actually, everyone on the team is a fan of this animation web site! To get back to serious business, telemetry is very important in motor sports. Laurent and Alain will explain this to you in better terms...

The drivers are completely soaked after each relay. The stress, the concentration, and the energy they give to handle this race makes them sweat despite the VALEO air conditioning. Therefore, once the drivers are out of the car, they immediately change clothing and give their gloves, shoes, and helmets to be dried. They have a very inventive way of drying their clothes. Paulo gives me a demonstration of their dryer. Take a look at the images…

From 19h00 to 21h00, the Luc Alphand Aventures team participated in the 1st qualifying trials of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The drivers did not find the track great…and the weather kept changing. Difficult to find their bearings…Luckily, there will be a second session of qualifications tomorrow at the same time as today. Lets wait and see after the 1st night trials which will take place from 22h00 until midnight tonight…

The three drivers of the C6-R Corvette (Luc Alphand, Jérôme Policand, and Patrice Goueslard) are in the Luc Alphand Aventures motor home to listen to the last instructions of the team manager, Philippe Poincloux, and his deputy, Christian Lavielle, before the first qualifying trials of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The weather forecast, for this Wednesday June 13th, announces rain during the night. The team will have to try to have the best times before the rain slows down their performances. Last minute information: Michelin does not wish to equip the LMGT1 category cars with tires for the qualifications. The instructions have been given to all, without an exception as there is no place for such rivalries.

Congratulations to the Valdenaire family which has just grown! A second boy, 3,6kg, was born this morning. Little Andréa is keeping him mom happy and busy while his dad is working at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Fabien, the technical director of the LAA Team, will only see his newborn son on Friday for a very short visit as they live in the South East of France. We send our best wishes to baby Andrea!