72nd Le Mans 24 Hours – Tuesday Morning Scrutineering Report (3)
Audi UK’s Six Of The Best

The Audi Sport UK TeamVveloqx cars were the last of the 48 to go through scrutineering on Tuesday afternoon. Graham Goodwin caught up with all six drivers.

Frank Biela on Fatherhood, Team Orders, Tyres And Team Goh
Congratulations to Frank Biela and wife Patricia who are celebrating the birth of Frank’s second child Patrick, on Sunday last.

Frank is of course delighted at the arrival of his first son but disappointed that his Le Mans commitment will mean he misses time with his family. “The timing is a shame, I love to race but times like this make it tough.”

Don’t confuse that with a man without a focus on the race ahead. After the crushing disappointment of last year’s race, when a misjudged move on a slower car led to the Audi UK car running out of fuel early in the race, Frank is determined to bounce back:

Deputy Ed Graham Goodwin apologised for “Asking the question about last year’s race, I’m sure everyone else is doing the same?”

“No actually you are the first but I’m sure there will be many more!”

The Audi stalwart is convinced that the four customer cars will race throughout.

“I can’t believe there will be any orders until the last hour at least. There never was, even when we had three factory cars.”

And why are the Audis up to five seconds quicker here than last year?

“I don’t think its five seconds its more like three (wrong Frank I’m afraid its five!). We’ve picked up some time with the new tyres, but anther chunk of time has come out of the circuit. There is new tarmac at the last chicane and we are much quicker there. The first chicane on the Mulsanne has been relaid too and that’s faster as well.”

Do you expect Tom Kristensen to be challenging in the race after the problems that the Team Goh car has suffered recently?

“I believe they have found and fixed a problem with the car. They had problems at Monza but I expect them to be right on the pace here.”

Pierre Kaffer – A Dream Le Mans Debut
A spectator here for the last two seasons, Pierre Kaffer now has the dream opportunity of competing for the overall win on his Le Mans debut.

“It’s a dream to drive in this race, to do it in an Audi R8 is amazing and to do it alongside Frankie and Allan (McNish) is just unbelievable.

So how did you hear that this was all slotting together Pierre?

“I was just back from the F3 race in Macau and got the call. Audi wanted to announce their new factory drivers at the Essen Motor Show and I was to be one of them. The R8 deal came a little later but I was stunned.”

Kaffer now joins a six man squad which includes four previous winners of the race (with six overall wins between them) and 2003 GTS class winner Jamie Davies. It’s a lot for the 27 year old to live up to, but he couldn’t be in better company if the final part of the dream is to become reality.

Jamie Davies – Moving Forward With Veloqx
Jamie Davies’ step back into the British GT Championship in 2002 now looks to have been an inspired move. A now long-term relationship with Team Veloqx has netted the 30 year old Somerset man runs in the team’s Ferrari 360s in the British GT Championship (where he finished 2002 as champion), in the FIA GT Championship in 2003, in Veloqx-backed Ferrari 550s at Sebring and Le Mans (where he won the GTS title) and now in an Audi R8.

“I’m enjoying it enormously of course, but it is very competitive with four privateer Audis this year. I’m not expecting team orders so we could end up with a great battle.”

Davies believes that any downforce disadvantage meted out by the regulation changes for 2004 has already been filtered out, the cars now producing as much as they did before the changes were made. “The tyres have made a difference this year but the key in qualifying is going to be getting a clear lap. That’s never easy here.”

Guy Smith – The Champion Returns
“I can’t believe it’s a year now since the win, but fortunately here I am in an Audi with a good chance of doing it again.

“I think an Audi will win but which one is anyone’s guess, probably just whoever has the least hassle. Veloqx has had a good run and we certainly have some momentum behind us, but all of the four Audis have their own strengths and weaknesses. Champion have good Le Mans experience, but so do our drivers and mechanics for example, even if the Veloqx name is new.

“And there won’t be any team orders between the two Veloqx cars - we will be sprinting for 24 hours: if anyone starts backing off, they will lose the chance to win.”

Allan McNish – Pole Predictions And Respect For The Zytek
“I think we have a good chance of being on pole, but nothing more than that. Just because me and Johnny had rivalry at Monza doesn’t mean we can discount the others. Dindo, Johnny or JJ could do it but I hope it’s me.

“I wouldn’t rule the Zytek out from the front row either. I’m really looking forward to the race rather than qualifying anyway - it’s going to be a toughie but it will sort the men out from the boys.

“I think pole will be a 3:30, the only thing that will stop that happening is this heat. The extra time from last year is mainly the tyre technology, but the new surfaces at Ford and Dunlop plus the new aero rules package and general tweaking of the cars have also helped.”

Johnny Herbert – “It’s a 24 Hour Sprint”
A very fast race pace indeed is predicted by Johnny Herbert.

“It’s a 24 hour sprint nowadays and it has been for a while now. It’s getting more and more important to have three drivers and a car that are all up to it.

“We can win with the car and the guys we’ve got and it would be fantastic to be able to chalk up a second win.”

Herbert was another who attributed the time gained by the R8s over their 2003 pace to “a little bit tyres and a little bit of track change.”

With the Audi UK boys expecting the Audis to be closely matched, competitive and, crucially free of team orders, the race could develop into a barnstormer.

One observer reckons that the pressure on the three drivers in each R8 will be intense, with McNish and Herbert setting the pace for Audi Sport UK, Lehto and Kristensen for the other two cars. The other eight are going to have to try and match these four.