Zoom Triple-member crews for Peugeot in Belgium

Following a Monza race peppered with accidents and a controversial pass between Audi and Peugeot drivers, maybe the Le Mans Series will be a bit more serene in the Belgian Ardennes this week-end. With the 24 Hours of Le Mans race on the horizon, prudence might be on the order as the mid-season begins.

With only five events this year, the half-way mark will already be passed when the race at Spa-Francorchamps comes to an end this Sunday. The 1000km of Spa will take place in unpredictable weather, with some teams concentrating on preparations for the classic Le Mans race in France as well as victory in Belgium. In such a context, the need for regular pace in the lead could outweigh the quest for pure performance on Sunday.

Jacques Villeneuve and Alex Wurz will be joining the Peugeot team crews this week-end as the 24 Hours of Le Mans planning moves up another notch. Three drivers for each car compared to rival Audi's two-member crews at Spa might be a handicap of sorts on the short-term, but could make the difference on the Sarthe circuit if the French team's drivers are better prepared. It must be said however that the German outfit recently completed a 30-hour test on the Paul Ricard track.

Whatever the case may be, the Peugeot 908 arrives at Spa-Francorchamps as the favourite, where its remarkable handling should be a clear advantage. To that must be added the motivation of a determined Jacques Villeneuve, whose best result on this circuit is a second place at the conclusion of the 1996 Belgian Grand Prix during his Formula One days. However, Audi's Prémat-Rockenfeller duo is currently at the top of the driver standings thanks to their constant speed amongst the top-runners – will that be enough to beat Peugeot?

Behind the diesels, the Charouz Racing Lola-Aston Martin confirmed that it was the fastest of the gas-powered cars at Monza, but a fuel line problem prevented a good result. The Pescarolo Sport cars will be equipped with the latest innovations and might be able to contest that situation unless brake problems occur again as was the case at Monza.

As a result of Stéphane Ortelli's violent crash in Italy, Team Oreca will be entering a single racer for the Panis-Lapierre crew while the engineers concentrate on building a replacement car. The Creation Aim team will also compete with only one car following Jamie Campbell Walter's accident during testing. Epsilon Euskadi will race with a single crew as well, since the second car is still in the process of being built.

Daniel BASTIEN © CAPSIS International
Source: François Hurel