Of the Audis, the safe money would be on the number 1 with “super team” of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish, and Dindo Capello. In addition to their win last year in the R10, they also showed their heels to the Peugeot competition at Sebring (ALMS) on route to a victory in the R15's first outing.
Behind that trio in car 2 is the team of Mike Rockenfeller, Lucas Luhr, and Marco Werner. Although the young guns narrowly missed the podium in 2008, a strong performance at Sebring gave them third place. If they can capitalize on experience from last year and keep the car out of trouble, a new trio of champions could come from Audi number 2.
To round out the lineup, the third car will be driven by Bernhard, Dumas, and Premat. Traditionally, Joest has used the third car as a “rabbit” and a test bed for setup in transitional weather conditions.
As the Peugeot 908 continues its third year of competition, the pressure is on for a win. After a difficult first year, the French team came close to winning in 2008. For the past two years, the Peugeot has held a single-lap speed advantage over the Audis, but lacked the consistency and durability to close the race strong. The increased speed of the new Audi will bring even more focus on driver consistency and preparation At the only event where both factories competed, Peugeot came home with a close second. The engine regulation changes have even more impact on the 908 though, as it is generally accepted to be an engine-dominated package. The driver lineups have shuffled from last year, with the departure of Villeneuve and the separation of Minassian and Gene meaning that none of the three second-place finishers will be together for 2009.
This year, Peugeot number 7 will be piloted by Pedro Lamy, Nicholas Minassian, and Christian Klein. The lineup finished fifth at Sebring and won at Spa with Simon Pagenaud driving for Lamy. However, with Lamy back in the lineup, there is enough experience in the crew to make a run for the front.
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In car 8, Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin are joined by Le Mans-native (and Scuderia Torro Rosso driver) Sebastien Bourdais. The crew finished second at Sebring, but sat out Spa. Bourdais, the F1 replacement for Villeneuve, started strongly with a fastest race lap and new lap record at Sebring, so the speed is apparent. Last year, Montagny showed himself to be adept in all conditions, so alongside Minassian and Bourdais, they may prove to be the fastest single-lap team of the race.
The third Peugeot, car 9, will feature Marc Gene, Alexander Wurtz, and David Brabham, hoping to bounce back from a disappointing 13th overall at Spa. The car was plagued with problems and spent enough time in the pits to prevent a strong finish. At Spa, the car's best lap was over a second off of the 7 car's best, so unless serious improvements are made, they will likely play a supporting role for the other two cars.
The major question remaining for Peugeot, however, is whether the 2009 race will be their last. With the impending rule changes, the 908 Hybrid will not make an appearance in 2010 and the future of the French manufacturer's efforts may depend on a successful 2009 campaign. Luckily, most of the wrinkles in the 908 have been ironed out in three years of development and this may be the year the Tricolor is raised on the top rung of the podium once again.
The dark horse among the factories is Aston Martin. After a surprisingly quick car in the 2008 Lola-Aston Martin, campaigned by Charouz Racing Systems, David Richards and the AMR team have taken the proven Lola chassis and used the more generous rules for production-based petrol engines to create a potential contender. The Aston benefits from a bigger restrictor and larger capacity afforded engines homologated in GT1, where the DBR9's six-liter V12 proved its strength. However, many (Richards especially) argue that the petrol cars still suffer a disadvantage against the diesels. The Charouz team showed that, head-to-head, a well-prepared petrol car can be competitive in terms of pace. This, combined with low-drag oriented bodywork, may allow Aston to pull the upset on the 50th anniversary of the last Aston victory, the famous DBR1 of 1959. The cars will carry the famous Gulf livery and the now-traditional double-oh numbering of last year's GT1 campaign. At Catalunya the car won, albeit without competition from the diesels. At Spa, the cars finished third and fifth. But, of the three factories, Aston has faced the most difficulties. First, the petrol-engined cars still have to improve to match pace with the diesel competition. Second, the team must recover from a testing session crash in which new driver Jos Verstappen destroyed a chassis in a brutal, 250 km/h-plus impact. That crash brings into question the presence of a third AMR car, although rumors persist that last year's Charouz car will be rebodied to new 2009 factory spec. Third, as a first-year car, questions of reliability and driving consistency swirl around the cars. If they succeed, it will go down in the annals of Le Mans history as one of the great upsets.
The 007 car will be run by the driving team of Jan Charouz, Tomas Enge, and Stephan Mucke. If the names look familiar, it is because this is the team that drove the Charouz Lola-Aston Martin to ninth last year, an impressive result considering the frequency of on-track incidents the car experienced. Of the three crews, this is the one most experienced in this chassis/engine combination and are the Catalunya winners. At Spa, they posted the second-fastest petrol lap and took third.
Three drivers from quite different Le Mans backgrounds take turns in 008. Jos Verstappen won LMP2 last year in a Van Merkstijn Porsche RS Spyder, but this year will challenge the premier class. With a background in open-wheel racing, he is arguably the prototype veteran of the squad. Darren Turner transferred over from the GT1 class-winning DBR9, bringing with him a wealth of experience and strong relationship with the team. Fans of BAR and Honda Formula 1 will recognize Anthony Davidson, a relative newcomer to prototypes but a seasoned test driver and commentator.
Car 009 also features a driving team with mixed backgrounds. Both Stuart Hall and Harold Primat come from prototype teams last year, while long-time Prodrive pilot Peter Kox takes the final seat in the rotation.
In addition to the factory efforts, there are several “privateers” with strong factory support that may challenge for the win. Le Mans legend Henri Pescarolo has secured a Peugeot 908 for the 24 hours, dressed in Playstation livery. Considering how well prepared his team usually is, the fourth Peugeot could be quite competitive. Also, for fans of the old R10 TDI, Audi have leased two to Kolles, although in competition this year, the cars have proven little match for the factory efforts. Finally, Speedy Racing Sebah will campaign a car very similar to the Charouz Lola-Aston Martin from last year. The car has been competitive in the Le Mans Series, so they could enter the picture late in the race, should things get messy. The one certainty is that, with a full 20 cars racing in the LMP1 class, there will be little break in the excitement up front.
LMP2
Although often overshadowed by the premier prototype class, LMP2 features a much more diverse entry list than the LMP1s. In addition to the Porsche RS Spyders of Team Essex, last year's runner up in the class, there are 11 other cars fighting for the class win. Fans of the ALMS series will be surprised to find Penske absent, but the ACO considers them a factory team, explicitly banned from the class.
The class also features seven different chassis/engine combinations. There are two Porsche RS Spyders, two Lola-Judds, two Lola-Mazda (one B07/46, one B08/80), two Pescarolo-Mazdas, two Zytek 07Ss, one Ginetta-Zytek, and one Radical SR9.
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The Team Essex Porsche won at Spa and could carry that momentum into Le Mans. Last year, the Porsche proved to be well-matched to the long Sarthe circuit, so they remain strong favorites. The Lola-Judd of Speedy Racing Sebah improved on a 7th in Spain to take second at Spa, just .654 seconds behind the winning Essex car. If both teams avoid trouble, this battle could go down to the wire.
OAK Racing is the only team to field two cars, Pescarolo Mazdas that have been off class-leading pace all season.
Most importantly for the fans, the combination of smaller teams and a long race mean that the winners are anything but decided in LMP2.
GT1
In the final year of the factory C6R's competitive life (this will be the final Le Mans for the bright yellow machines), it is disappointing to see no factory effort from Aston Martin to face off against Corvette Racing. A lone DBR9, entered by Jetalliance Racing from Austria, will defend British honor. In addition to the Jetalliance car and the two factory Corvettes, there is a pair of Luc Alphand Adventures C6Rs and the return of the Murcielago R-GT from the Japanese Lamborghini Owner's Club. With only six cars in the class, GT1 will play second-fiddle to the “lesser” GT2 class.
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GT2
For fans of the GT cars, this is where the action is. With 17 entries, this is the second-largest class. Although the class is dominated by Ferrari F430 GTs (10 of them) and the five Porsche 997 GT3s, there is also an Aston Martin V8 Vantage and a Spyker C8. For both of these cars, finishing would be an achievement as the Aston is a first-year effort and the Spyker has been unable to finish the 24 hours yet.
Team Modena could reap the benefits of a move down from GT1 if the team of Leo Mansell, Pierre Ehret and Roman Rusinov can drive well together and keep the F430 out of trouble. Although not the fastest in Spain, the team made good improvements and won the class at Spa and set a fast-lap almost a second faster than the next-best car. Although the class is dense with talent, look for the Modena car at the front towards the end.
Risi Competizione will try for the repeat with the pairing of Mika Salo and Jaime Melo now joined by German Pierre Kaffer. This trio should keep the 82 car towards the front of the class. The second Risi car, driven by Tracy Krohn, Eric van de Poele, and Nic Jonsson will try to make it past the early hours and rekindle the magic of their 2007 race. The team crashed out early last year, but could compete for another podium if they stay clear of trouble.
Hoping for better luck than last year, Flying Lizard has put together a stellar driver lineup. Jorg Bergmeister, Darren Law, and Seth Neiman will try to keep the Porsche competitive with the faster cars in class. At Sebring, the car was off the pace, but their continued efforts in ALMS should help their chances at Le Mans.
The best driver lineup may belong to Felbermayr Proton. Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, and Wolf Henzler are top-level drivers and give the 77 car the best chances at the class win among the Porsches.
Also of note is the entry from Endurance Team Asia. This is the first entry of a Chinese team at Le Mans and although the drivers all have GT experience, none have driven at Le Mans. They are unlikely to be a top contender, but at Le Mans, the unlikely sometimes happens. (Of further note is the excellent paint scheme on this car, one of the best seen in recent years.)
No matter who wins the day, the strength of the field and continued interest and support of the race indicates that sportscar racing is going to withstand the economic downturn. In fact, several other factories have expressed interest in returning to sportscars as a more cost-effective alternative to other series. With the parity within the classes, the 2009 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will doubtless stand up against the best races of the event's storied past and should kindle interest for the race long into the future.
For those that cannot be at the race in person, the options for following the race are numerous, but the author humbly suggests (for those in the US) the Speed TV coverage supported by Radio Le Mans (www.radiolemans.com) audio via your computer. All of the TV networks receive the same feed from the French race TV director, but the chaps at RLM do a stellar job all around and are worthy of a listen.
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