Le Mans: TDS good for service

A reference team in the Eurocup Mégane Trophy, Xavier Combet's team is preparing to write a new page in its history. Saturday June 16, she will indeed be at the start of the 24 hours of Le Mans. On this occasion, Thiriet by TDS Racing will field an Oreca 03-Nissan, the same one which allowed it to win three victories in two years in the European Le Mans Series. In the Sarthe the usual duo Mathias Beche-Pierre Thiriet will be supported by Christophe Tinseau who, in addition to his burst of speed, will give the team the benefit of all his experience of this great classic.

Last Sunday, the team took part in the test day. A day ended with the 14th fastest time in LM P2. Anecdotal. The objective was indeed to prepare for the race and not to rush the clock. “We worked on the set up, explains Mathias Beche. Unfortunately, I was not able to have a clear tour to validate the potential of the car. Nevertheless, I am happy and reassured about the work done”. If Pierre Thiriet admits to having very quickly felt at ease in the car, Christophe Tinseau for his part discovered LM P2, a category that is slower than LM P1 in which he has competed in recent seasons. The former member of the Pescarolo Team enjoyed his discovery day, even if he considers cohabitation with the fastest people dangerous.

“I had never really driven in LMP2, emphasizes Tinseau. VSa change un peu surtout au niveau de l?accélération et du déclenchement de l?antipatinage. Mathias m?a un peu guidé. Il faut juste que je m?habitue à avoir moins de puissance. Par rapport aux autres voitures, les dépassements des GT s?effectuent plutôt bien avec une pointe de vitesse suffisante pour doubler. Par contre, l?écart avec Audi et Toyota est dangereux. Mais j?ai pris du plaisir au volant de l?auto. Au niveau charge aérodynamique, les sensations sont les mêmes. Je dois juste reprendre mes repères, cela faisait 10 mois que je n?avais pas piloté ! Il manque juste le temps de référence pour valider nos ressentis. Nous allons désormais travailler à partir des données récoltées. Au niveau de l?équipe, malgré son peu d?expérience au Mans, elle est vraiment très bien. Nous avons eu zéro souci sur la voiture. En termes de set up, nous avons modifié des choses et ce qu?ils ont réalisé allait dans le bon sens. C?est vraiment un bon team, qui travaille bien et qui a de bonnes idées. »

Victorious in the closing round of the LMS 2011 and the opening round of theELMS 2012, Thiriet by TDS Racing hopes to follow up with a third victory in a row in Endurance.

Discover in your AUTOhebdo magazine, on newsstands since Wednesday or available here in digital version, the analysis of the test day of the 24 Hours of Le Mans by our special correspondents in Sarthe.