This weekend is the opportunity for teams and drivers to get some track time at the famous Le Mans circuit.  With a substantial part of the circuit using public roads and the need for road closures etc. the time available for practice and testing is extremely limited.  On Sunday the teams will have all day to do as much running as they want to in preparation for the 24 hour race in two weeks time.

The Corvette Racing Team is now in France and set up for the three weeks they are facing.  They are keen to renew the great battle with Aston Martin in the GT1 class.  The last three years has seen the rivalry intensify and the Corvette Team are focused on regaining their GT1 crown.

This year in the GT1 Class there is an equal mix of 4 Corvettes and 4 Aston Martins, in each case 2 'works supported' cars and 2 privateers.  They are joined by a Lamborghini Murcielago and a Saleen S7R.  The fight for class honours should be between the 'works' cars but the rest of the field are all very strong and cannot be discounted, at the very least for a podium finish.

The driving line up in the number 63 and 64 Corvette C6.R remain unchanged.  The crew of the no. 64 Corvette will be putting behind them the unfortunate retirement of last year and Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Max Papis will be determined to place their car back on the top podium step!  Jan Magnussen, Johnny O'Connell and Ron Fellows will have something to say about that in no. 63 but they will all be working together to prevent a second Aston Martin win and to add to the previous five Corvette class victories.

The test day is on Sunday and we will bring you the unofficial times.  We shouldn't read too much into the lap times this weekend, many competitors will simply be trying to get a good race setup, experimenting with tyres, brakes, suspension etc.  However, the day will be a great appetiser for the competition to come!

The other intriguing prospect this year is the battle for overall honours between Audi and Peugeot.  Can the French manufacturer end the recent Audi dominance and snatch victory in this the greatest sportscar racing challenge?  We will have to wait and see, all the signs point to a long and close fought battle between these great rivals!  Certainly the odds are on a diesel win but perhaps some of the petrol engined runners such as Pescarolo or Lola-Aston Martin can give them a run for their money!