Valencia: Peugeot qualifying report

MARC GENE SIGN THE POLE POSITION

In a repeat performance of their success at Monza, both Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs have qualified on the front row of the grid for the 1,000km of Valencia. It was local talent Marc Gene who took pole position at the wheel of the N7908 HDi FAP, just 0.441s clear of the N8908 in the hands of Pedro Lamy.

Even though qualifying was restricted to the LMP 1 and LMP2 classes, the two 908s were sent out early in the session to avoid traffic, a key concern at Valence.

Marc Gene: "I'm really happy to claim pole position here in Valencia in front of both my fans and friends. I put in a very good first lap, using all the grip I could from my tyres. I had to overtake a car which made me loose 2 or 3 tenths in the last sector. I knew I had to give it everything on the first lap and that is exactly what I did. The other laps weren't as good and traffic prevented me from improving my time."

Pedro Lamy: "I didn't push hard enough on the first lap and that is when I needed to put in a quick time. After that, traffic and the fact that my tyres were going off stopped me from doing any better. Even so, I'm very happy to have succeeded in making it an all-Peugeot front row. The race is going to be very long tomorrow and I am really worried about traffic with 45 cars on a 4km circuit!"

Serge Saulnier (Team manager): "The gap between our two cars is actually quite significant when you consider Marc Gene's considerable knowledge of the Valencia track. He knew how to get the best out of his car and his tyres right from his first flying lap. It was in the first sector that he made the diffe rence compared to Pedro. After that the gap stabilised, with Marc loosing a few tenths himself when he had to overtake another car in the last sector. We decided to send out our cars as soon as the session started so they could benefit from a clear track, even though not much rubber had been laid down. "Their respective team mates Nicolas Minassian and Stephane Sarrazin, who will both start the race tomorrow, made a choice to see who would be responsible for qualifying their respective cars and starting the race.

Bruno Famin (Technical Director): "We came here two months ago testing. We had already therefore already established set-up that would allow us to work calmly on the set- up for the race. In both cars we have the engines from Monza and revised gearboxes. The challenge is to complete a 1,000km race round on a circuit that will put more demands on the chassis than Monza, but qualifying has already shown that our car is really excellent in this area."

-credit: peugeot