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The Caterham Motorsport team will start its first ever Le Mans 24 Hours from 21st on the grid, 13th in the LM-P2 category, following two strong qualifying sessions for the team.
Caterham was forced to sit out Wednesday night’s qualifying session, as the team worked to re-build the Zytek Z11SN-Nissan following an accident in free practice.
In a gutsy display, a valiant team effort by the Caterham Motorsport crew and their Greaves Motorsport colleagues saw them work through the night to repair the #41 car in time to take part in Thursday’s two qualifying sessions.
In the first opportunity for the Caterham Motorsport LM-P2 machine to take part in competitive on-track action at the La Sarthe circuit, it was Tom Kimber-Smith’s lap time of 3m44.621s that secured 13th in the LM-P2 grid.
The session began in the wet; Tom Kimber-Smith gained some vital track-time and, as the track surface began to dry, the double-LM-P2 class-winner made strong progress, making up for time lost in Wednesday’s night-time session.
The 120-minute session was curtailed to just 90 minutes, after being red flagged for lengthy barrier repairs and, as Thursday’s first session drew to a premature close, the #41 car placed 19th in the LM-P2 standings.
With final set-up tweaks made, the final qualifying session of the day got underway at 2200 CET, as Caterham’s three drivers drove into the night for the first time at the 8.47-mile track.
As the session began, a damp track necessitated intermediate Dunlop tyres for Kimber-Smith, who was the first man out on track for Caterham Motorsport. It was then the turn of Caterham F1 Team Reserve and Caterham Racing GP2 driver, Alexander Rossi, to take to the la Sarthe circuit – the first competitive drive of the week for the young American.
Still on intermediate rubber, Rossi immediately made an impact on the timing screens, placing third in his class on only his second flying lap.
On an ever-evolving track, Kimber-Smith was soon back behind the wheel; the 28-year-old was the first of the trio to switch to slick tyres and it was evidently the right move, as the Briton topped his class by over three seconds, with a time of 3:44.621.
Rossi too proved quick on slick rubber, with his first and second sector times placing him within the top six in terms of class pace.
The American was unable to fully unlock his potential, as he was first held up by GT traffic in the Porsche Curves, before being called in for fuel.
As the chequered flag fell just after midnight, the starting positions were determined by the best times set across the three qualifying sessions.
Caterham Technology CEO, Mike Gascoyne, said: “We’re very pleased with our starting position for our first ever Le Mans 24. In the face of our early setback, the team really upped the ante and worked phenomenally hard to give Alexander, Tom and Eric the best possible shot at securing a strong grid position.
“All three drivers put in some strong laps on Thursday and, while the race will not be without its challenges, I’m confident that this good pace from the team will translate into a strong race result on Sunday.
“We’re continuing to learn a great deal about the track and the car, which is vital, both in terms of final touches ahead of Saturday’s race, but also in terms of the knowledge and insight that we’re gaining with regard to the development of our own customer sports prototype chassis in future.”
The Le Mans 24 Hours marks Alexander Rossi’s first foray into international sportscar racing and the Caterham protégé was thrilled to get behind the wheel, having missed out on any competitive running thus far.
He said: “It was nice to finally drive this week. Practicing at night was good for me to get used to before the race. After losing out on the first practice day, there was a bit of pressure to find the time and be on pace as quickly as possible, but I think we did a good job and I believe we can be very pleased with today.
“The night driving is tricky, especially because the track was in transition from wet to dry so it was difficult to distinguish the damp parts. There is room for improvement but there's not much to complain about. Importantly, there were no issues with the car. The team did a great job last night, the balance was good so it gave me confidence to push straight out of the box.
“Now comes the next challenge for me with a 24-hour race. Tom has a lot experience at Le Mans and he's in great form. He has been helping a lot from day one and we're already able to work together and learn from each other. I think we're in a good position.”
This year’s Le Mans 24 Hours is the first time that the Caterham name has ever raced at the famous round-the-clock race, as the British marque looks to investigate the viability of producing a customer sports prototype chassis as part of its longer-term growth plans.
The race will begin at 1500 local time on Saturday, June 22.
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