07 Nov 2010 Morning brief

Photo : Nicolas COUSSEAU - ACO/Nikon

Sebastien Bourdais' Peugeot set the fastest time in in the warmup this morning, leading the Audi of Rinaldo Capello by 0.398s. The big news of this final test session is the much anticipated arrival of the sun!

The track is dry and should remain so throughout the day. It will even be warm this afternoon as temperatures could reach 27°C and 83% humidity. The settings established by engineers in the rain will be hurriedly readjusted. "We'll have to improvise to get by as best we can, said Bruno Famin, Technical Manager of Peugeot Sport. That said, our opponents are in the same situation."

At 4pm (in UK, noon at Zhuhai), Franck Montagny will start from pole position at the wheel of the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #2, while Sebastien Bourdais will line up alongside his compatriot with the sister car #1. The Audis of Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello will be third and fourth on the grid.

Over-performing in practice, the GTC class cars will start with a ballast of 30 kilos. Vincent Beaumesnil, Sports Director of the ACO, explains why: "To change the configuration of the cars before the race is not our philosophy. But as we accept the GTC for the first time and the regulation provided for intervention prior to the start if these cars proved too powerful. This is the case, and we have applied the rules to the letter. "

The start of 1000 km of Zhuhai will be on Sunday at 4 am (UK time, noon in China).

Photo: ZHUHAI (China), 1000 KM OF ZHUHAI, Nov. 7, 2010. The group photo of the 23 teams at the start of 1000 kilometers Zhuhai.

Julien Hergault