Creation suffers ?day from hell.'

Creation Autosportif team boss Ian Bickerton didn't mince his words when asked to sum up his teams' Le Mans 24 Hours test day calling Sunday ?a day from hell.'

Bickerton's modestly sized Bicester based team came to Le Mans with its new Creation CA06/H LMP1 prototype full of high hopes, but a number of technical problems meant that they were only able to complete about half the number of laps of their rivals.

Finishing eighth on the combined practice charts with a best time of 3:37.556secs was far from representative of what the car and its drivers are capable of, but the opportunity to fully challenge the top LMP1 runners slipped from the their grasp on a day filled with typical new car niggles.

As a result of being some seven seconds slower than the pacesetter Pescarolo and five seconds slower than the faster of the two factory Audi's, Bickerton has perhaps sensibly shifted his goals for a race where a finish for a privateer prototype team is similar to a victory.

?There's always a chance of winning at Le Mans because all kinds of things can happen to anyone, even an Audi or a Pescarolo,? said Bickerton. ?But, realistically, we are aiming for a top five finish. We have a package that's pretty well tried and tested; the V10 Judd is very good, the Michelin tyres are the ones to have at Le Mans and we've got a solid driver line up with three drivers who have all been to Le Mans before so know what it takes to succeed.?

Experienced or not, Creation's lead driver Nicolas Minassian could do little about the biggest problem suffered by most teams on the day and became one of the first of many puncture victims.

The Frenchman suffered a puncture after just five laps of the morning session, falling victim to the sharp gravel and dirty track surface in the initial hours of testing. He was approaching the Indianapolis section of the track at nearly 300kph so was extremely fortunate to avoid a big accident and that the resulting bodywork damage was not more severe. It did, however, cost the team valuable track time while repairs were undertaken.

Felipe Ortiz had brake problems in the afternoon which again meant more repair time in the pits, while Beppe Gabbiani also had a puncture. The final blow to the team was when Minassian, who had just fitted a new set of soft tyres with a view to setting a quick time, experienced fuel pressure difficulties. This was later found to be caused by blocked fuel filters, the first time the team has ever had such an issue.

?I suppose we should view it as a dress rehearsal?, mused Bickerton. ?Traditionally, I understand that, if that goes very wrong, it bodes well for the main event. I really hope so because today was not a very good test day really.?