Drivers’ quotes of each WEC class after qualifying
André Lotterer (nr1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro): "Clinching pole at Le Mans is a cool feeling. Of course a lot can happen in the race but our performance does show that we’ve got a strong car in our R18 e-tron quattro. So my thanks go to the squad that has been working hard for this for a year. I received only one set of new tires and had only one free lap which I made good use of. It’s good to know that the speed is there because the competition does not sleep. Toyota showed what they’re capable of toward the end of qualifying. We’ve now got a good starting base and have given the mechanics a nice reward for their fantastic commitment in the past few days."
Danny Watts, nr21 Strakka Racing HPD ARX 03a-Honda (quickest privateer LMP1): “I’m delighted for the whole team, because to get privateer pole after all the work that everyone has done in the build up to Le Mans is very rewarding. Qualifying’s only a very small part of this race, but it’s nice to know first hand that our car is fast. I really enjoyed my fastest lap. I was thoroughly in the zone, focused and concentrated – and it was one of those balls on the line laps which came off. Having low fuel tanks and new tyres is the best thing a team can give to a racing driver, and I was fairly lucky that I didn’t hit any traffic, except at the final chicane, which to be fair didn’t cost me hardly any time. We’re fairly confident for the race; we’ve ticked a lot of boxes in terms of car set-up and tyre management for the race, we’ve all had some good night running to pick our braking points, because it all feels very different at night, and we’ve come out of qualifying in a strong position and are really looking forward to the race. Happy days!”
Frederic Makowiecki, No. 59 Luxury Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (LM GTE Pro): "We concentrated on working towards the race. The team has done an enormous amount of work in a very short time because we got our cars quite late. It's our second pole since the start of the season, but we haven't really translated this into race results, except for our Spa podium. We have a good package which includes a good car, team and tyres. There may not be many cars in our category, but the level is very high and the race won't be easy."
Allan Simonsen, nr 99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 (LMGTE Am): “I’m very happy to be starting the race from third in class, but at the end of the day a 24-hour race isn’t so dependant on where you start. We have good speed in the car and I think we could have gone even quicker in qualifying, but this sets us up for a strong race. We have our sights set on the podium, but I’m confident that we can do even better than that.”
Cécile Bonardel
Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HEURES DU MANS, JEUDI 14 JUIN 2012, ESSAIS QUALIFICATIFS. Frédéric Makowiecki and the nr59 Luxury Racing Ferrari were the quickest in qualifying in LMGTE Pro.