The LMP2 honours in RaceDepartment’s Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans were claimed by the THR SimRacing prepared Acura ARX 01B. Tommi Ojala, Jesper Taulborg, David Jundt and Robert Wiesenmuller drove a superb race, completing 363 laps of the Circuit de la Sarthe, the same number as the team’s sister LMP1 entry.
Hell Racing Team Hungary claimed a gallant second position in the LMP2 class, whilst the #207 ME Racing entry rounded out a deserving podium. SIMCO Hungarian Team and MR Corse completed the top five positions in the LMP2 class respectively. Drivers from THR SimRacing, MR Corse, DareDevilz Racing and SrS Racing were kind enough to devote their time to discuss their respective experiences in the RaceDepartment’s Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Tommi Ojala – THR SimRacing (Finished 8th Overall, 1st in class)
How would you evaluate your team’s RaceDepartment Le Mans 24 Hour campaign?
For this, I need to go back a few weeks to the moment after the 10hours of Road America. James (Johnson) started asking inside THR for drivers to race in the 24Hours of Le Mans, and I volunteered to try out the P1 car. However, I found that with a fast setup it was very on the edge. Well, I said I could drive it and have reasonable speed in it, but then, a few weeks later, Robert Wiesenmuller said to me that maybe we could enter another car, so we tested all the classes and cars and found that P2 was the best for us. Then, it was just a matter of testing the car and hoping we could receive entry into P2.
After confirmation about a week before the event, Robert made the timetables for the car. I made the setup mainly with the help of Jesper Taulborg and Robert. I think that the team really came together for this event, as we planned it carefully and tested the car enough. I think I speak for both THR teams in saying that we are proud of what we did. Nothing went really badly except for a few disconnects for the P1 team which dropped them far behind.
As a prototype pilot, was it a challenge to constantly remain alert whilst lapping the slower GT cars throughout the race?
Simple answer to this is YES, it was really a challenge sometimes to overtake GT cars. There were so many drivers that gave you room and others that did what the rules said, keeping the racing line and letting the faster car do the overtaking. Also, sometimes they would seem to let you past and then they dive onto the racing line. Those moments definitely kept you awake. But overall, passing GT cars went fine when you just kept your nerve.
Were you satisfied with your car’s setup in terms of tyre wear and speed?
In terms of handling the car was superb, I noticed that I could drive over the crests in first sector much faster than many of our rivals, speed-wise we weren’t looking for top speed, and we wanted stable car so that when you started to get bit tired, you didn’t have to struggle so much. The setup for the car maybe wasn’t perfect but it was nearly perfect. I personally made the setup with Jesper's and Roberts tweaks on it. I was satisfied with it as we had little time to actually make it.
From your personal perspective, how hard was it to maintain concentration and continue to complete consistent and clean laps throughout the race?
Personally, I have always wanted to test myself as an endurance racer, but I never had a team for it until now. For me, it was actually pretty hard to maintain concentration, as even in races at the Touring Pro Series; I sometimes become bored and start pushing buttons on the wheel and that sort of stuff while driving. But with only a few mistakes, I’m really happy with my own performance. It wasn’t actually hard to concentrate on consistent laps anymore, as I had someone telling me my lap times and gaps on TS and somebody to talk to during the race.
We know that sim-racers don’t experience high g-forces and painful bumps while driving, but did you find it physically difficult to complete long stints behind the wheel?
When driving, there weren’t any problems, but when you stop your stint and start to move around again, my legs would feel bit jammed and my neck too. During driving though, I had no problems.
In what is arguably RaceDepartment’s most prestigious race, can you describe how it felt to win your class overall?
We didn’t really have any objectives for this race. Secretly, we were wishing for a podium finish in our own class, but really to win it... it was exciting! I was so happy for the team and for me too because it definitely is saying that I can do long stints in the car and I can do endurance races. I am still very proud of our win in P2 class. It’s definitely one of the milestones in my personal sim racing history. And I’m definitely looking for more endurance events!
Tiago Soares da Costa – MR Corse (Finished 12th Overall, 5th in class)
How would you evaluate your team’s RaceDepartment Le Mans 24 Hour campaign?
Our team had some previous background in endurance racing, with some 6h, 12h and 20h events under our "belts". But nothing quite like this...so we went for this race with high expectations but a lot of uncertainty. Our goals were to finish the race and be placed in the Top-3 in our class. Overall we can say that our main goal was fulfilled: we started from 2nd place, and even though we had some misfortune, we managed to finish the race, even though we only managed 5th place in P2. The decisive moment in our race was caused by a connection problem during a driver swap (Rafael Lobato went without the spectator mode activated) and with the several penalties; we threw away any real chance we had for a Top-3 position in P2.
How hard was it to maintain concentration and continue to complete consistent and clean laps throughout the race?
It was very, very hard. The late shifts in the morning (with little sleeping and a total of about five hours of driving), along with the 4 hours done on Saturday, were mighty enough to test my own limits in sim racing.
As for my colleagues, Rafael Lobato and Raul Pereira did all the night stints and maintaining concentration on a track where you can barely see in front of you (and with all the on-track activities with the P1 and GT cars) was very demanding for anyone, even in sim racing. Luckily, our line-up in P2 was very unique, gathering the speed with the consistency needed for a 24 hour race. And I just have to thank Rafael Lobato and Raul Pereira for being two awesome drivers who can be relied upon during such demanding task.
As a prototype pilot, did you find it difficult remain alert while lapping the slower GT cars throughout the race?
It was a challenge because of the differences between drivers etiquette concerning lapping or lapped cars. While some drivers were great in such situations, others were not. Overall, I have to say that the majority of the field is really good and I didn’t have any real issues throughout the race.
Another problem was the sound (or lack of it) from the P1 cars. I had to maintain the concentration for such fast and really skilled drivers. One final note to the tools made available by RaceDepartment, such as the track viewer or live timing, which helped with any lapping or precaution needed during the race.
Were you satisfied with your car’s setup in terms of tyre wear and speed?
Our setup was a compromise: we managed to get good fuel mileage and straight line speed, with just the right amount of tyre wear for two stints without any change of tyres. We saw what our opposition was doing and taking into consideration the penalties we faced and the amount of time we lost, we think we were perfectly capable of a Top-3 position.
Unfortunately, luck just wasn't on our side this weekend...
How many stints did you complete throughout the race? Which was the most difficult for you and why?
I completed four stints during the race, which adds up to about 9 hours of driving. I did the start of the race and completed the final stint in our car, so it was an honour to be present on-track in such important moments throughout the race.
Regarding the most difficult stint through the race, I have to say it was the last one in the morning. I started at about 10h30 (GMT+1) and drove until the end of the race, some 3 hours later, non-stop. Some hours of sleep weren't really enough to maintain my skills at a desirable level and my team mates were taking some rest, so I barely had any talk during those 3 hours. Believe me; it was difficult just staying awake...
How highly would competing in RaceDepartment’s Le Mans 24 Hour rank in terms of your personal sim-racing achievements?
On a personal level, it was the most difficult challenge in my sim racing career. I started sim racing way back in 2003 with Grand Prix Legends, and I have completed my 10th anniversary this year. Remembering all of those races before made me realize the complexity involved in this "adventure" and how much of the knowledge gained throughout the years was important to successfully face such demanding race.
Xavier de Carvalho, Mike Bell – DareDevilz Racing (Finished 18th Overall, 9th in class)
How would you evaluate your team’s RaceDepartment Le Mans 24 Hour campaign?
Xavier: Well things this season have been tough for DareDevilz. The team has finished below their expected position due to bad luck during the races. I was only driving for the team during the Le Mans 24 hour event, so I can only speak for this round. I must say that the team was very professional both leading up to the race, and during the race. All drivers were well prepared and were constantly on the practice servers. We turned hundreds of laps before this event. I was really excited when I heard Lars had put the car on pole, and if I’m honest, I'm a little disappointed that we couldn't maintain our position during the race. All in all, the team worked well during the race, giving each other a constant feed on information and supporting one another when we made a mistake. I must commend my team on the finish, as that in itself is an achievement. I would also like to commend the guys on their awesome spirit! Really, we were always positive, no matter what happened, we always saw the bigger picture!
Mike: Things that went well: the few weeks leading up to the race, everyone putting in the practise and setup development work to be the fastest P2 team on track for a lot of the race Things that didn’t go well: we had no luck at all, starting with Lars blowing his engine, followed by several CTD's and disconnects, a big crash in the night for Xavier and graphical issues for Per, meaning we had in excess of 1 hour of penalties.
From your personal perspective, how hard was it to maintain concentration and continue to complete consistent and clean laps throughout the race?
Xavier: To be honest we were all doing stints on the practice server before we got in the car to do our race stints, we used the hour leading up to our stints as our time to get our eye in and sharpen the senses, to get into the zone if you'd like. Maintaining focus wasn't that difficult during the day stint, it was more the night stint where problems started to arise. I hadn't slept before my second stint which was my night stint, and I hadn't had the full hour of practice before. I was in the commentary booth until 30mins before my night stint.
So when I got into the car I was feeling a little tired and drained, and I had a sixth sense feeling that something was going to go wrong somewhere. And it did, Matt had a TeamSpeak issue during my stint and I couldn't hear him giving me information. I tried to see if something was wrong on my end and in the process I had run off onto the dirt into turn one and accidentally hooked the car into the wall. This caused major damage and a lost wheel which was not fixed when I finally got back to the pits. After the server restart, I started right at the back of the entire field and after getting past the GT's ahead; I was chasing down another P2 to un-lap myself. I made a mistake into Indy and the car ran off onto the grass, the brakes did nothing so I was a passenger heading towards the guys going through the corner. I was very fortunate to be able to keep it out of the wall and have a near miss with another car!
Mike: From my personal perspective, it was very easy to maintain concentration and keep putting in consistent lap times because I had put in a lot of night laps, and by the time I got into the car we had nothing more to lose, meaning I had no pressure and could just enjoy the drive.
As a prototype pilot, was it a challenge to constantly remain alert while lapping the slower GT cars throughout the race?
Xavier: This was not really an issue for me. Sure, there were some hairy moments, but that's expected. Some drivers were less predictable than others which made it slightly difficult to get past, but I got through the back-markers as cleanly as possible. If I had a slower car ahead in a slower section, I hung back until it was safe to pass. The GT1 cars were difficult to pass! We had similar speeds in and out of some corners and at the beginning of some straights, so finding a safe place to pass was quite difficult.
Mike: Not really, I was quite lucky with where I caught the GT's and could often get past very quickly. I ran into a few issues with MASSIVE temp cars due to people leaving the game and coming back on track.
Were you satisfied with your car’s setup in terms of tyre wear and speed?
Xavier: Our race set-up was partly done by myself according to data I acquired from Motec i2 pro after running some laps. The team liked the set-up, everyone was comfortable and we had pretty decent speed all around the circuit. We could really push with confidence and Matt set the fastest time of all P2 cars with the set-up! The tyre wear was extremely good! So much so that 1 set of softs were only 3 bars down at the end of one tank of fuel! We were so good on tyres; we switched to super softs for our late afternoon stints all the way through the night to our early morning stints! I believe we were the first team to use the Super Softs as well.
Mike: I was satisfied with the car's setup due to having weeks of development work. Being someone who isn’t the best at working with car setups, it was an adaptation process to adapt to each new version of the setup, but that wasn’t too difficult. We were very fast in terms of speed, and I’m normally a driver who saves the tyres due to my style of driving and there was no drop-off in performance, so I’d say the setup wasn’t far off spot on.
We know that sim-racers don’t experience high g-forces and painful bumps while driving, but did you find it physically difficult to complete long stints behind the wheel?
Xavier: This is an interesting question, and it's something which we discussed in the commentary booth. I don't run with high force feedback, so I don't take any physical strain. I think the only physical strain would come from sleep deprivation! I would however, rather say that we get a lot more mental strain! A sim-racer is usually his own engineer, mechanic, manager, strategist, and above all, driver! We need to do lots of calculations whilst in the car, and we need to make lots more important decisions. We don't always have the luxury of a team telling us what we can do; we have to figure most things out by ourselves! And that can take a lot out of a person over even in just a short period of time.
Mike: Well, due to me being a cheapskate, I don’t actually have a chair, only a 'DIY' stool. By the end of my time in the car (after a few hours in the commentary booth beforehand), I was a bit stiff in my back and shoulders.
Did you personally make any really significant mistakes during any of your stints?
Xavier: Funny you should ask (laughs). I mentioned earlier that I binned the car after a communication failure. This was in fact caught on the broadcast unfortunately. I made myself look a bit silly when I realized I would not make the first chicane down the Mulsanne straight and headed for the escape road, whilst still on camera, I went straight on into the tyre wall as though I was doing my usual thing (laughs). I then had to reverse and creep around the chicane. Then, whilst still on camera, I pulled into my pit box and nothing happened! Guess the crew didn't feel like fixing the car (laughs), and so we had to push esc. And serve a penalty. Then of course, after the server restart, I went off into Indy as I explained above, and nearly took a couple of cars with me. So in short, yes. Yes, I did (laughs).
Mike: I went straight on at the first Chicane on the back straight once, other than that the only time I left the track was trying to avoid someone re-joining and dropped a wheel, going nose first into the wall and taking the front end out. The car was still fine and I finished that stint with no front end or splitter.
Teemu Toikka – SrS Racing (Finished 20th overall, 10th in class)
How would you evaluate your team’s RaceDepartment Le Mans 24 Hour campaign?
Our team’s testing didn’t go so well. We only started testing properly on Thursday/Friday, but our team spirit was a good thing. Even though we were 25 laps behind the class leader, we were still doing competitive laps and cheering each other on.
Did you personally make any really significant mistakes during any of your stints?
I did, many (too many to remember any of them)!
Sim-racers don’t experience high g-forces and painful bumps while driving, but did you find it physically difficult to complete long stints behind the wheel?
I have chronic back and knee aches, so I can't do long stints, and double stints were just within my pain limit. Plus after spotting for teammates and driving, my eyes were hurting.
Did you have any close battles with any other entries during the race?
Nah, when I got to the wheel for the first time we were already multiple laps down, but on Sunday morning I was battling with many drivers from P2.
How hard was it to maintain concentration and continue to complete consistent and clean laps throughout the race?
I lose concentration very easily if there is no one to drive with or if nobody is on TeamSpeak with me, but usually I have to push to keep concentration.
How many stints did you complete throughout the race? Which was the most difficult for you and why?
I believe I did 3 or 4 double stints and 1 single stint to the finish. Not sure what would have been the most difficult for me, but I'm guessing it was the first stint in the morning.
Stay tuned for two GT Class interview articles to be published this weekend! You can read our full race report
here and our LMP1 interviews
here.
