LE MANS, France — The pole position and all the glory that comes with it is up for grabs this evening in two qualifying sessions, from 7-9 pm and from 10-12 pm. Thus far the No. 8 Peugeot (Montagny, Sarrazine, and Minassian) have set fast time earlier today by the blink of an eye. It is just under a second faster than both the No. 2 and No. 1 Audis with the third Audi being just four tenths of a second off the pace of the leaders. The remainder of the firswt seven cars are made up of Peugeots. 

Though winning the pole position brings with it the glory of the day and a bit of a media blitz for the fastest team and driver, it should be noted that the statisically speaking winning the p0le does not do much for one’s chances of winning the race — and in fact it has not happened that the pole winner won the race since 2003.

Nevertheless the winner of the pole position does get their 15 minutes of fame at the Circuit de la Sarthe and making headlines also counts when teams tally up their results.

In LMP2 Strakka Racing in  Honda was the leader at the end of the first session of training.  It should be noted that the Patron LMP1 team did not make the event at Le Mans due to the multitude  of issues at the factory as a result of the earthquake. This is the team that finished second at Sebring and for which some of the rule changes should have been helpful.

But after the race at SPA the ACO reduced the ability of the diesel teams to run away with the event. They did this by further reducing the air to the car, and reducing the diameter of the hose that delivers fuel, requiring the diesels to stay in longer for pit stops.

In the two new GT classes, the BMS of Priaulx, Muller, and Werner lead GTE Pro qualifying effort by half a second while in GTE Am it is the Porsche of Larbre Competition that leads the field.

It should be noted the Aston-Martin LMP1 car continues to go though the get-ready process of a new car as it ran about 30 seconds off the pace set by Peugeots and Audis. It will be interesting to see if the Aston Martin ups it time.

Highcroft Racing Project 56 DeltaWing

The Highcroft team has been invited by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) to run the 2012 Le Mans race as an additional 56th entry. The 56th entry is usually used for a technologically innovative car to participate in the 24 hours of Le Mans to showcase unique or new technology. Some of the biggest names in motorsports have come together to show the deltawing concept, using both half the weight and horsepower as a traditional prototype car. The project 56 group brings together Deltawing Designer Ben Bowlby. Duncan Dayton of Highcroft Racing. 1967 Le Mans Winner Dan Gurney. As well as American Le Mans Series founder Dr. Don Panoz, who will act as a key advisor.

Racing cars have typically strived for increase in performance, via better and bigger engines, as well as better aerodynamics. The DeltaWing concentrates on exploiting other efficiency gains outside of todays regulations. The new car will have half the horsepower, of the LM P1 cars, as well as roughly half the weight at around 1000 pounds. The project 56 group is in discussion with engine partners and are targeting a 1.6 liter turbocharged engine producing approximately 300 horsepower.

The car is like no other previously run at Le Mans, with its slender nose and narrow front track, minimizing the horsepower required to pusth the car to 200 MPH. Eliminating the traditional rear wing, downforce ont he DeltaWing is generated solely beneath the car by the contoured underbody.

The DeltaWing selection was revealed today at the ACO’s annual press conference coinciding with this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Construction of the new DeltaWing will begin next month at Dan Gurney’s All American Racers facility in California, and the Highcroft team will begin testing the car later this year. Highcroft Racing ran the 24 Hours of Le Mans first in 2010 while Dan Gurney won the race in 1967 in a Ford GT40 with AJ Foyt as his co-driver. Famously spraying champagne on the podium for the first time in history, which launched a now world-renowned tradition.