Neel Jani’s Paul Ricard Diary

Neel Jani is racing for the Rebellion Racing team in this years Le Mans Series and Le Mans 24 Hours. The 27 year old Swiss racer will team up with Nico Prost and Marco Andretti at La Sarthe in June.

Neel begins his series of diaries with a review of this weeks Paul Ricard test. Used in preparation for the season opening Paul Ricard 8 Hours on April 11, Neel describes his two days in the very chilly South of France.

“In many ways the Paul Ricard test was an interesting weekend for me and the Rebellion Racing team. Firstly, I have never seen snow falling in the South of France! When I was going down the Mistral straight on Sunday evening I thought I was back home in Switzerland!

“It was so cold that I think it affected many peoples programme for the test because it was just so hard to get the temperatures correct! Our objective upon arriving at Ricard was to go through some race simulations and try to find some good race set ups but, as I mentioned, the conditions and some delays for us on the first day meant we didn’t do too much running at all. I only just 2 laps in total and Nico and Marco managed 10-12 laps each.

“We really needed to give Marco (Andretti) a good run and for him to get some miles, so he is at least prepared, in the car, for Le Mans when he will next drive the Lola-Rebellion. I know him well from A1 GP, as does Nico, so we have a great little team for the 24 hours in June.

“The night session was so cold and then there was the snow so it made no sense to risk the Lola-Rebellion LMP1 at all, so we came back in the morning and Monday was much better in terms of mileage completed. We also found a great compound of Michelin tyre for the conditions and amazingly Marco, Nico and myself all have the same size seat, so that is perfect and should save some seconds at Le Mans during the pit stops!

“For sure April will look a lot different when we go to Paul Ricard for the opening Le Mans Series race. But what the test showed us is that we are certainly among the top teams. ORECA are always quick at Ricard and they know the track so well, as they are based there. The corners and circuit layout at Ricard will make for a great race next month and the whole Rebellion Racing team are looking forward to it. It will be a very hard race but we did some good preparations and know we can challenge at the very front.

“I must say that the team has taken another step up this season. The Lola-Rebellion LMP1’s looks fantastic in the new livery and is very distinctive. I really like the fact that it is a little bit different from normal schemes. It was great also to work with Adam Airey from Lola. He will be with the Rebellion Racing team again this season and he obviously knows the car inside out. Nico and I get along very well with him and we think we can achieve big things together this year.”