One to forget !

24 Heures du Mans
It could have been a tale of victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours in the LMGT2 category for Romain Dumas. But it turned into one of disappointment. Romain had every reason to hope for a win in the 2006 edition of the classic French sportscar race after setting the fastest time in pre-qualifying by a Porsche driver and 2nd fastest overall. "Luca Riccitelli is a very quick and experienced driver and Raymond Narac has made huge progress. And the car, with the latest factory updates and using Michelin tyres and Sachs dampers, has allowed us to set some very good times", was Romain's comment at the end of the session. Despite a minor loss of balance for official qualifying, the driver from Alès in southern France put in a superb performance to take pole position, more than a second quicker than the nearest opposition. But just after Romain had put the flame into the hearts of all the team members of the IMSA Performance squad, Luca Riccitelli damped down their spirits when he had a huge off, seriously damaging the car. "The chassis was bent and the IMSA Performance team had to ask the ACO's permission to change it. So they had to go and get their second GT3 RSR to graft on the parts which had originally been destined for the number 1 car. The mechanics spent the whole of Friday rebuilding our car. We tested it on Friday on the airfield across the road and then in the warm-up on Saturday morning, we discovered a problem with the engine. But with the help of Norbert Singer who had been delegated by Porsche to our team, we managed to cure it and so were able to take our place at the back of the field, as required by the ACO", explained Romain.

So from the back of the grid, Romain set off with the bit between his teeth, hoping to soon catch up with the class leaders. It only took him a few laps and after just 30 minutes, the works Porsche dri- ver had taken the lead of the LMGT2 class! This wonderful start to the race for Porsche No. 76 las- ted three hours, before a series of problems began to plague it. "Electrics, power-steering, lighting .. and then to cap it all, the engine! At about 9 o'clock on Sunday morning, when we had fallen down the leader board, the engine cried enough. This persecution (it's the only word I can think of to describe our problems; I've experienced more trouble in this race than in all the races I've done here since 2001) finally finished just as we were about to start the last third of the race. We'd done everything possible to win – set pole position time, dominated the start of the race and then a tor- rent of problems rained down on us! It's my worst 24 Hours, probably the worst race of my career. What a contrast with my last race at Mid-Ohio where we had a magnificent win with the Porsche Spyder RS" Romain declared after the race.

Races come and go and they're not all the same for Romain Dumas, who after a test session with the Spyder RS in Europe this week, will return to the United States next week to resume the ALMS Championship at Lakeville.

Romain DUMAS