News tidbits from LeMans Wednesday

Although a bulk of his motorsport career has been in GT, Touring and open-wheel cars (including 32 Formula 1 starts), Pedro Lamy came into his new position as a factory Peugeot driver with a tremendous amount of experience.

The Portuguese pilot compiled an extensive prototype experience from 1998-2003 with strong efforts in cars such as Mercedes, ORECA’s Chrysler prototype and BMW’s V12 LMR, which he raced twice in the American Le Mans Series in 1999.

For Le Mans, he is teaming with Stephane Sarrazin and Sebastien Bourdais as Peugeot tries to end Audi’s dominance at Le Mans with diesel power of its own.

“It is easy to jump in the Peugeot and drive it well," Lamy said. “But I enjoyed driving the BMW, which was the winning car at Le Mans in 1999. The aerodynamic detail is the biggest difference. The tires also have gotten better since then. If you started comparing them side by side, there would be a large difference."

LOLA VS. ZYTEK: Adrian Fernandez, can you compare your Lola-powered Acura in the American Le Mans Series to the Zytek prototype at Le Mans?

“This is a different track than anything we race in America so it’s difficult to compare the two," Fernandez said. “You’re doing speeds here that you don’t do in America. Plus the track is very smooth; there are no bumps. The sight differences and seating positions are nothing that you don’t get used to. There are different spaces to look at. I don’t want to say either is better than the other."

Fernandez is at Le Mans as preparation for a hopeful entry next year for Lowe’s Fernandez Racing and Acura.

AROUND THE PADDOCK: With the factory Zytek withdrawn in P1, Stefan Johansson moved into one of the works Courage entry with Jean-Marc Gounon and Guillume Moreau. Johansson of course has experience with Courage as Highcroft Racing’s Acura-powered entry in the American Le Mans Series was originally a Courage before being morphed into an Acura ARX. … Liz Halliday is back in a prototype at Le Mans with Noel Del Bello’s AER-powered Courage LC75. He recorded her first laps in Wednesday’s first session after the car crashed before she could get in it 10 days ago at the Test Day.