It is from first place that the Kawasaki SRC that Randy shares with Fabien Foret and Mathieu Ginès will start this Saturday at 15 p.m. on the prestigious, recently resurfaced Le Mans track. Here's how this eminent trio experienced the tests and how they view the race.
Randy de Puniet:
“Of course I wanted to do this absolute best time, I have done a lot of Grand Prix on the Bugatti circuit, I have had podiums in 250 cc, I know this track really well. That being said, the endurance bike has nothing to do with it, there is the new surface which is great but which has a lot of grip and you have to be careful.
“The first qualifying sessions on Thursday were more complicated for us, today it went better, except for Fabien who fell because he had a lot of traffic. Thanks to my teammates and their good times, as well as mine, we managed to be in pole position.
“But it was a small battle, we won it, now we have to win the big one which will end on Sunday at 15 p.m., that’s the main objective. We have to get back into racing mode and get our Kawasaki to the best place and if possible the first. You will have to be really concentrated, overtake the laggards quickly and not make mistakes. I'm not really comfortable with the exercise yet, for me it's going to be the thing I'm really going to have to pay attention to.
“I think I could have gone faster, I didn't do the perfect lap. I already started the session by making a mistake since I left without putting on my armband. Then I had to overtake 3 drivers in my timed lap which ruined my chances, so I started to get a little annoyed. I finally had an almost clear lap but in which I made two small errors which made me lose 3 or 4 tenths of a second. It's enough to have pole, I would have bitten my fingers if we had missed out because of this slightly botched start to the session. »
Fabien Foret:
“I think my fall this Friday morning was due to the drop in temperature of my tire. In the previous lap I arrived on slower drivers, I lost a little too much speed and when I restarted my tire had perhaps lost a little temperature and efficiency. It's a fall without big consequences, the main thing is that we are in pole position.
“Well done to my teammates, I'm still a little hungry as a result, but it doesn't matter, it doesn't always work out. The main one is Sunday at 15 p.m. Now we will concentrate on the race and do our job as best we can. It's the first time we're riding together but we get along very well, we form a good trio. »
Mathieu Ginès :
“Our Kawasaki is on point, we demonstrated it again during qualifying. I'm discovering the team and I'm very happy because it's great. I'm coming back from injury after breaking both arms in the German Championship last year, I hadn't ridden competitively since July 2016. The start of the season wasn't easy, I had to get my bearings and get back into rhythm .
“I'm lucky to have two teammates who have a lot of experience and who achieve great performances, just like the technical team. The main thing is to have a good race, that I optimize my stints and that we look ahead. Of course we fear competition but for my part I don't think about it. It's up to everyone to have the best race. I am confident in our chances. »
Photos Sébastien Bassani and Michel Jamin © Automobile Club of the West, source Karine Avon for the ACO
