Larbre 'will chase Spa revenge'.

Larbre Competition team boss Jack Leconte says his team will seek revenge in the Spa 24 Hours after a problem early on in the Le Mans 24 Hours prevented his team from fighting for honours in the GT1 class.

A hub carrier failure in the third hour of the La Sarthe classic while Christophe Bouchut was at the wheel saw the Saleen S7R lose a rear wheel, which pitched the Frenchman into a spin off into the gravel trap.

After crawling back to the pits for repairs, the team had to replace the transmission, brakes and suspension, as well as remove a huge amount of gravel from the car, in just 45 minutes, but the combined loss of time dropped the car to the back of the field.

Throughout the remainder of the race the car ran without major incident, but the loss of time coupled with the changeable conditions overnight meant the team could only bring the car home seventh in class.

However, having shown that the Saleen is capable of competing in a 24 hour race, Leconte said the Larbre squad would now aim to shine in the Spa 24 Hours later in the summer, where it will race as part of its FIA GT Championship programme.

"Many people said a 24 hour race was impossible for the Saleen, but we've succeeded in making it reliable thanks to our work with Oreca," he said. "After the problem on Saturday, we had no other target other than to finish the race and that was very important for the team and our partners.

"We are proud to have achieved that and we feel we are in good shape for the Spa 24 Hours where we hope to get our revenge."

The only other minor issue with the team came thanks to a loose screw in the floor of the car, but it was the wheel issue that left drivers Bouchut, David Smet and Patrick Bornhauser most disappointed.

"Unfortunately all the problems we suffered, including the issue with the floor, came as a result of the loss of the wheel," Bornhauser reflected. "It's a pity because we certainly could have been in a position to fight nearer the front.

"It's very frustrating because nobody made any mistakes, but the positive is the way we've proved that this car could complete a 24 hour race."