LM24: Teams scrambling to repair damaged cars

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After the red flags and multiple incidents of the last two days, there are some jumbles in the lineups and some very tired crews working to keep up with car repair and preparation.

Firstly, the No. 1 Audi e-tron Quattro that made headlines on Wednesday was back in fully-prepped form on Thursday, although only to suffer a second, thankfully smaller, contact by Di Grassi as he struck the wall at the exit of Indianapolis after spinning.

That contact then caused a big problem for the LM P2 No. 29 Pegasus Racing Morgan-Nissan, as Di Grassi's apparent indecision on the slow way back to the pits sent mixed messages to Pegasus pilot Leo Roussel, who was forced to take avoiding action in the grass, sending him shooting across the track and hard into the wall with the Morgan.

Both these cars have been repaired, with the No. 1 driver change (Marc Gene to replace Loic Duval) already being instituted ahead of the Qualifying session.

Direct from Paris

Both Prospeed Racing Porsche machines suffered incidents on Thursday, with the worst being to the No. 79 Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3 RSR that has Americans Brett Curtis and Cooper MacNeil and Jeroen Bleekemolen as the entered driver lineup.

Bleekemolen tweeted there was "...a new one on the way." Reports are that the team found a chassis in Paris and it is heading to the track now.

Meanwhile, like late arrivals at a pot luck dinner, the crew is pulling significant portions off of the original car to either see what can be salvaged for the new car build, or be cleared as safe to use as spares. Large boxes have disgorged major components on the car that the team will look to turn around quickly once the chassis has arrived.

Brett Curtis, who was driving the car when it went off, has not been cleared to drive in the race. With much of the opportunity for a driver to qualify having evaporated, the list of possible replacement drivers is a small one. Scuttlebutt, but no confirmation from the team as the change must be signed off by the ACO, has Sebastien Crubile, who raced for the squad last year in this event, set to take the place of Curtis.

In GTE-Pro, the No. 52 RAM Racing Ferrari of Alvaro Parente had an off on Thursday, and the team is currently working to make sure the car is good to go, working through the night and still at it now, but confident to be ready for the race on Saturday.

"We were on for a good lap and the Ford chicane is a part of the circuit where you can make up good time," said Parente. "Unfortunately, I braked a little bit too late and the pedal was a little bit long from the earlier curbs and the rear just snapped on me. I tried to catch it, but it was too late, and I spun into the gravel and hit the tire barrier. It was quite a heavy impact. The team has worked really hard, and now they have more work to do, so I am really disappointed for them."

Friday is a quiet (on track) day for the teams as the mechanics do the final and full preparation on the cars ahead of the 9 a.m. Saturday warm-up. The do so in plain view of several thousand race fans, who are free to mull about the pit area while teams work in the garage. The day also features the driver parade in town later this afternoon.

It also is a day for some team announcements, like the one from Aston Martin Racing that it has struck a new technical partnership that will place photovoltaic cells (solar panels that would fit in your back pocket) on the roof and rear deck of the car to generate solar power to be stored in a battery and power the air conditioning system.

Not only does this fit within the efficiency narrative of the ACO/WEC, but it also would help the performance of the car by reducing, even if by just a little bit, the drag on the machine to power the A/C in traditional ways.

And yes, thats an air conditioning unit in a racecar, which teams must have per the regulations.