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Le Mans Monday Notebook

John Dagys’ Monday Le Mans notebook from scrutineering…

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

***The remaining 38 cars took part in scrutineering on Monday in downtown Le Mans, including a large contingent of American entries. Risi Competizione, Corvette Racing, Scuderia Corsa, Michael Shank Racing and Tequila Patron ESM were among the U.S.-based teams to go through the administrative checks.

***Tracy Krohn was the only driver not to go through scrutineering today. Krohn had travel issues and will be allowed to have his administrative checks at the circuit tomorrow, per force majeure. Matteo Malucelli, meanwhile, arrived late and missed his team photo, also due to travel woes.

***The pair of Alpine A460 Nissans were moved to the end of the scrutineering schedule by the ACO, in a move that’s believed to have been made to help attract a larger crowd of locals.

***After rain twice delayed the IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Sebastien Bourdais finally touched down in Angers, France, an hour away from Le Mans, at 12:45 p.m. today. The overnight flight from Dallas was on a Citation 10 from team partner Cessna and included one fuel stop in St. John’s in Eastern Newfoundland.

***Others onboard the Ganassi plane included SMP Racing driver Mikhail Aleshin, who was also competing in the Texas IndyCar race, Dixon’s wife, Emma, and CGR Managing Director Mike Hull and his wife, Melinda. Dixon, Bourdais and Aleshin all completed today their mandatory driver checks and licensing requirements today.

***Townsend Bell was also delayed by the Texas race but arrived in Le Mans in time to join teammates Bill Sweedler and Jeff Segal for Scuderia Corsa’s scheduled Scrutineering session. Bell, who was working for NBC Sports at the race, left Texas at 8 p.m. Sunday night and the direct flight landed in Paris at Noon today where he then boarded a train to Le Mans.

***Le Mans debuting Michael Shank Racing driver Ozz Negri flew straight home from France to Miami after the Sunday, June 5, test day to celebrate his wife Claudia’s 50th birthday the following Tuesday. “She is always there for me for my racing so I wanted to be with her on her special birthday,” Negri told Sportscar365.

***The cause of Negri’s accident is still unknown, according to team owner Michael Shank. The team had initially suspected suspension failure but there has been nothing conclusive. “I honestly don’t have an answer,” Shank told Sportscar365.

***WeatherTech Racing Porsche driver Leh Keen didn’t let a train strike in Paris thwart his travel plans last week. When his train was cancelled, Keen rented a diesel Volkswagen Golf and drove straight to the Nurburgring in Germany where he warmed-up for Le Mans with six laps around the legendary Nordschleife in the VW.

***Greaves Motorsport is evaluating new LMP2 chassis options from both ORECA and Onroak Automotive for next year, according to team principal Tim Greaves. Greaves told Sportscar365 its current Ligier JS P2 Nissan is leased from Onroak, in what’s understood to be a similar arrangement Michael Shank currently has with the French constructor.

***Nathanael Berthon, who was a last-minute replacement for Kuba Giermaziak in the team’s LMP2 entry this weekend, could complete the remainder of the European Le Mans Series. Greaves said Le Mans will more-or-less serve as a test for Berthon, who parted ways with G-Drive Racing that set off a game of musical chairs in LMP2 last week.

***Greaves, which is also running Krohn Racing’s Michelin-shod Ligier Nissan this year, said they’ve been able to use the same essential setup on both cars, despite the tire differences. The team’s No. 41 entry, like the majority of the LMP2 cars, is running on Dunlop tires. Greaves said Michelin has made considerable off-season gains with its dry weather tires in LMP2.

***Proton Competition has its biggest Le Mans effort to date, as the German squad fields four Porsche 911 RSRs across the GTE-Pro and GTE-Am categories, including the WEC season-long KCMG entry. Team boss Christian Ried told Sportscar365 they have a total staff of 90 people this weekend, including some Le Mans-only hires.

***It includes the No. 89 Proton-run WeatherTech Racing entry of Cooper MacNeil, Leh Keen and Marc Miller, one of three all-American driver lineups in this year’s race.

***Proton’s spare Porsche 911 RSR is actually the former Team Falken Tire chassis used in the 2014-2015 seasons in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Selected components of that car have actually been outfitted on the No. 89 WeatherTech entry this weekend.

***Longtime American motorsports official Tim Mayer is serving as the international steward for Le Mans. Mayer was the FIA steward for last month’s WEC Six Hours of Spa and will also work the WEC races at Circuit of The Americas and in Mexico City. He’s been in similar steward positions for both Formula One and Global Rallycross events as well.

Adam Saal contributed to this report

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John

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