Pilet: “We are the challengers”

Victorious of 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GT2 category in 2007, the team Imsa Performance Matmut hopes to repeat its feat this week, on the occasion of the 79th edition of the Le Mans classic. For this, the Normandy team has a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with all the 2011 developments.

“Technically and sportingly, we are operational, underlines team manager Franck Rava. The car used at the Spa 1000 km was refurbished for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We went to carry out its burn-in on Thursday on the Croix-en-Ternois circuit. On the drivers' side, we don't need to coordinate specific preparation, each driver rides a lot. Patrick is followed by Porsche, Nicolas drove last weekend in the Carrera Cup, and Raymond has his physical trainer. Porsche is not the favorite, but given what we saw during the test day, we hope that the game can turn in our favor. Consumption will be interesting to monitor, but you will have to get through the problems and stay as little time as possible in the pits. »

“We are the challengers this year, explains Patrick Pilet. We will have a table of instructions to follow. It's up to us not to make a mistake. A smooth race would be ideal, and we'll see the rankings at the end. On paper, we have very little chance given the number of professionals present, but the characteristic of Le Mans is to be unpredictable. »

In the shoes of the outsider in a GTE Pro category at an extremely high level, Patrick Pilet, Raymond Narac and Nicolas Armindo are discreet, but harbor the secret ambition of sowing discord in the leading cars.

Discover in your AUTOhebdo magazine, on newsstands tomorrow, around fifteen pages on the 24 Hours of Le Mans including exclusive interviews with Anthony Davidson and Philippe Sinault.