Bonner Back with Binnie at Le Mans
13 June 2006
Scottish GT racer Alan Bonner will again team up with Bill Binnie
for the 2006 Le Mans Binnie Motorsport assault on the LMP2 crown.
Binnie and Bonner last raced together in the 2005 Britcar 5 hours,
however Bonner will not be driving at la Sarthe, he will however be
working with the team for the duration.
Bill Binnie "I am delighted Alan is joining us for Le mans he
has a great deal of racing experience and we need professional expertise
for what is Binnie Motorsport's first attempt at the 24 hours".
Alan Bonner "It's absolutely brilliant, for sure I'd rather be
driving but there's no other team I would rather spend the time with
than Bill Binnie's crew. You never know, maybe my time will come".
Bill Binnie "We are all looking forward to a good run this weekend,
I am driving my own car with my own team and that is very special for
me, after a 2 hour stint, crossing the finish line to win Le Mans in
2004 was the best four minutes of my life and I am privileged to be
competing here again.
Sharing the seat with me from England is Allen Timpany whom I am racing
with in the Le Mans Series, earlier this year we were on the podium
together at Sebring, my other team mate is Japanese Le Mans veteran
Yojiro Terada. Yojiro and I drove together last year and I am delighted
he has joined Binnie Motorsport in our Lola".
Allen Timpany "Every time I get in the LMP2 it just feels better
and better. I am really looking forward to the whole event. I was learning
the circuit on the test day here on June 4th and the car felt really
good. In an event like this and over 24 hours you just have to make
sure you're still running at the end of the race. I can't wait".
Yojiro Terada "Well Bill and I drove together in 2005 in the WR
Peugeot and I am thrilled to driving with Binnie Motorsport this year.
It's true I'm no stranger to Le Mans; this will be my 27th race at the
24 hours. The team are great and I am hoping we will be on the podium
on Sunday afternoon.
Bill Binnie "It's no secret that we have changed engine supplier
to Zytec, in fact we are the only Zytec LMP2 engined car out there and
I am really interested to see how the AER engines will fair in race
pace. We had a few gearbox and suspension problems on the test day but
we have a great Team Manager in Derek Kemp who is well on top of things
and everything should be ironed out come the race. I feel really positive
with our engine and drive train configuration and as long as we keep
going around and around we should still be there at the end.
We have only had two outings this year, it was great to be on the podium
in the first race, however we would have won Sebring had it not have
been for a loose water hose on the radiator. We were again on the podium
in our second outing at Spa in LMS so we come here with good preparations
and lots of laps under our belts.
There will be quicker LMP2 cars but the secret of Le Mans is to make
no mistakes and not to break the car, I believe the cars to beat will
be RML and Chamberlain, I've won with Intersport so we know how good
they are and perhaps the Rollcentre car may give a surprise, we'll know
for sure on Sunday afternoon.
See 2006 series calendar for Le
Mans
Related Story 20.04.2005 - Alan
Bonner and Adam Sharpe Give the Aussie Falcon a Podium in Europe
