LMS - Oreca Peugeot dominant at Portimao

The third of five race weekends in the Le Mans Series is taking place at the 4.65km Algarve Racetrack in Portugal. "This circuit is fantastic," says Olivier Pla. "It's quite different from most of the newer tracks. The rollercoaster at Portimao offers a mix of fast, slow and blind corners. It's both interesting and challenging to negotiate."

The three practice sessions on Friday produced identical outcomes: former F1 driver and GP winner Olivier Panis together with fellow Frenchman Nicolas Lapierre posted the best time in their Oreca Matmut Peugeot ahead of Lola/Rebellion duo Nicolas Prost and Neel Jani. The Peugeot was in a league of its own and, despite taking a spin that flat-spotted a tyre half an hour before the end of the third session, Lapierre was still 1.5 seconds faster than his closest pursuer.

Sharing the driving with Panis and Lapierre for the rest of the season is another Frenchman, Stephane Sarrazin. The third man in the cockpit of the Number 4 Oreca-Matmut Peugeot 908 HDi FAP already helped out during the 8-hour race at Le Castellet. "Stephane will be joining us for the next three races on the basis of our close collaboration with Peugeot Sport," says Hugues de Chaunac. "We not only value his qualities as a driver but also the fact that he has already slotted so smoothly into the team."