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American LeMans
WHITE: Christmas in June
Le Mans is done. The world’s greatest race is behind us for one more year. That seems like a strange thing to say even a month after we left France.
Dale White  |  Posted July 24, 2009   Bozeman, MT
Drayson Racing's Aston Martin Vantage GT2 car made it almost all the way to the end of its first 24 Hours of Le Mans. (LAT)
Le Mans is done. The world’s greatest race is behind us for one more year. That seems like a strange thing to say even a month after we left France. At Drayson Racing we devoted so much of our time and effort to that single race that to have it behind us feels like a giant weight has been lifted and a big void was left behind.

That sounds a bit negative but it isn’t meant to be. All of our energies focused on that one race. Everything we did before it was with Le Mans in mind. We still have some great races left on the schedule (Algarve, Nürburgring, Silverstone, Petit Le Mans, Laguna Seca, Japan and China) that we are devoting all of our energies towards but there is just a bit of a feeling that the “big one” is over. To me, it is a lot like Christmas as a kid. You had a great time, you got a lot of great things but, when it is all over you are left with the feeling that now you have to wait one more year for that excitement and rush to happen again! This year we didn’t get the present we really asked for but there was a lot more under the tree than we were expecting.

We can look at Le Mans very positively. Once the initial disappoint of not finishing was put into perspective, the 24 Hours was actually a very good event for the team. The milestones we passed on the way to La Sarthe and while there are so major that only time can really put them into perspective. Despite having two rookie drivers in Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker and our event “veteran”, Marino Franchitti, only having a single start at Le Mans, the result was very strong. The truth is that the team performed better than it ever has.

The Aston Martin Vantage GT2 went further than it has ever run in both distance and time. In fact, my son Corey came up with a great nugget that put into perspective what the car accomplished at Le Mans due to the untiring efforts of the team and Aston Martin Racing (AMR). The car, chassis No. 002, completed more laps at Le Mans than chassis No. 001 did in its entire 2008 debut season in the American Le Mans Series and the 2009 12 Hours of Sebring COMBINED! That is saying something when you acquire more seat time in 22 hours than in 10 months! The future is very bright for Drayson Racing.

Let’s start with the Aston Martin. The Vantage GT2, for which we are the worldwide development team, had never been able to go more than eight and a half hours without a terminal failure. As the eighth hour approached – 10 pm – we were all clearly focused on the task at hand. However, I can promise you that not a single person wearing the green and white of Drayson Racing didn’t have that eight hour time window in their mind. Every crackle on the radio sent just a moment’s shiver up your spine as you worried about what was coming next. But, eight hours came and went, nine hours, then ten and eleven.

Twelve hours was a big marker not only as the race’s midpoint but also because it meant the equivalent of a complete 12 Hours of Sebring had been run. But, almost as if someone didn’t want us to get complacent, just after halfway - about 3:30 am - the static on the radio would be the harbinger of bad news. A fuel warning light had flashed incorrectly – the car had just been fueled a few laps before - and was followed by a low voltage indicator light. A conference in the office at the back of the garage, an area that the crew started to call “Mission Control”, took on that air of a NASA problem resolution room. Graham Moore, our head engineer, Andrew Jacks of AMR, our data specialist Teena Gade and I huddled together for a brief conversation. Meanwhile, Marino radioed in more lights and warnings which gave the whole thing that added feeling of “Apollo 13”. Once we rolled him into the garage, a quick data download showed that the battery was dead and the alternator was the culprit. The choice was simple; change the alternator and the battery.

Changing the alternator on the Vantage GT2 is not simple. For packaging and efficiency, it is placed at the bottom of the engine, between the exhaust manifold. To reach the alternator requires the removal of the car’s floor/underbody and the exhaust. No easy task with a car that has been running at racing speeds in very hot ambient temperatures for over 12 hours. The crew did a remarkable job getting the alternator swapped and a few other “house keeping” issues resolved to maximize performance for what we hoped would be the remainder of the race.

Back on track 14 hours passed trouble-free, then 15, 16 and still no issues. In fact, the car was running as well as it has ever run at any circuit. The track at Le Mans, with its long straights and sweeping corners is a very good fit for the Vantage GT2 on Michelin Tires. We were making-up some of the ground we had lost and it felt like we were right back in it.

At around hour 18 you put any mechanical problems out of your mind. If they happen, there is little you can do about changing that now so you work the race. Our full focus was gaining as many positions as possible. The long stop in the middle of the night had ended much chance for a podium but we were back in the top 10 and within striking distance of a top seven. Even a top-five was not out of the question. By the 21st hour you begin to get a sense that the race is “almost over” even though a full American Le Mans Series “sprint” race is still remaining.



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