Testing 1-2-3

The official test day for the 2011 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is underway at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France.  As much of the track is comprised of public roads, this is the only opportunity for teams to test on the full 8.46 mile circuit prior to race week.

With new rules limiting power and performance, the test day is especially important for teams with new cars like the Audi R18, Peugeot 908, Aston Martin and Lola Toyota prototypes.

In addition to providing an opportunity to familiarize new teams and drivers with the daunting circuit, the test day also draws an early yardstick on the performance of key competitors.  The April test day provides additional time for teams to make changes and refinements prior to the June 11-12 race. 

American Le Mans Series regulars entered for Le Mans include: the Corvette Racing, Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche and Robertson Ford GTs., the Level 5 LMP2 Honda powered Lola-prototypes, and the Highcroft Racing HPD LMP1 prototype.  The early timing of this year’s test day, coming on the heels of last week’s Long Beach event, means that the Flying Lizard and Highcroft teams have skipped the test. Corvette Racing is partcipating in the test day with a single car entered by the European based Larbre team.