BMW’s all-new Le-Mans contender got a big thumbs up from sportscar veteran Hans Stuck after he put the open top sports racer through it’s paces for the first time last week.
Stuck described the car, built in conjunction with BMW motorsport partner Williams, as having ‘a lot of potential’ after a handful of laps of the Paul Ricard circuit on Monday (6th April).
‘From the beginning I had confidence in the car,’ said the former Sportscar World Champion. Who had given the Le Mans V12 a brief shakedown on an airfield in Britain two weeks ago. ‘I felt like a driver. The car has potential but there is still work to do.’
However, Stuck warned against complacency in the run-up to the all-important Le-Mans pre-qualifying day. ‘There is no margin for error. There will be 70 cars and we will have to be among the best in order to qualify for the race.’
Stuck and Briton Steve Soper, who will undertake the lion’s share of the development on the LM V12, were scheduled to remain at paul Ricard until Today (9th April). The second chassis isn’t expected to hit the track until two weeks before pre-qualifying.
Autosport – 9th April 1998
