An interview with Vincent Beaumesnil

Photo : DOMINIQUE BREUGNOT - ACO/Nikon

Last year Vincent Beaumesnil was appointed Sports Director in the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO). A few weeks after the 2010 running of the 24 Hours he refers to as “wonderful”, he answers our questions.

What was your background?
Vincent Beaumesnil: I have always been in the motoring world. My father worked with Jean Rondeau in the Inaltera team. I started my professional career in Michel Ferté’s team before joining Dams in 1998. I was in charge of marketing, communication and logistics, notably at the Le Mans 24 Hours with Panoz chassis. I have been working with the ACO since 2006, and I was managing the tracks and driving schools until 2009.

Could you explain you job as Sports Director?
This job covers a lot of activities: technical and sports regulations, problems linked to safety, and the management of the tracks and driving schools.

What were you actions over the past 12 months?
There’s so many! We worked on the 2011 regulations, establishing new relationships with the contenders. For example, we set up a private Internet space reserved to the teams. We formed new groups, notably the technical consultants.

What is your feeling about your first 24 Hours as a Sports Director?
I am very pleased. The race was wonderful despite the frustration caused by the DNF of the Peugeots. This year we did not experience the tension regarding the interpretation of technical regulations. We introduced new features like the Technical Verification starting on Sunday, and the reintroduction of the Porsche Cup race as a curtain raiser. All these changes were very satisfactory.

Will the Le Mans type start be set up again in the future?
Yes, this new feature was very much appreciated. One driver misunderstood the principle, and this caused a mistake by all the others. So next year everyone will know about this procedure.

Why was the third safety car sent on the track?
We do not want to see any car alone on the track under caution. When one pits, he comes back on the track behind a safety car. So we added a third safety car in order to avoid a racing car waiting at the end of the pit lane.

Why did Jean Todt come for the race start?
Every year the ACO invites the President of the FIA, but this invitation was not positively answered previously. Jean Todt is very much interested in the 24 Hours he won twice with Peugeot, so he decided to come to Le Mans.

Do all the teams know about the 2011 regulations?
Yes, they received them during the week of the 24 Hours last June. Some details have to be taken care of, but regulations are 99% finalised.

You announced the coming of hybrid technologies in 2011. Are they only for the LMP1 prototypes or will a car like the Porsche 911 GT-R Hybrid be able to compete in the 24 Hours?
No, this is only for the LMP1s.

Don’t you think that the craze for alternative technologies could bring fancy projects?
We have very strict demands regarding safety. Regarding performance, we will take great care that the level of preparation of the contenders is up to the standards of the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Will you be able to control all the restrictions imposed to the users of energy recovery sytems?
Of course, we establish the limits but we can make sure the entrants abide by them.

Don’t you fear conflicts regarding the equivalences in 2010 and 2011 regulations between diesel, petrol and hybrid engines?
We have a team of engineers working on these issues (including Bernard Dudot, the former boss of Renault Sport). We are already working on 2014-2015 regulations. Choices will have to be made. You can do nothing, or you can take risks, and it’s in the genes of the ACO to look to the future. We want to open the race to new technologies and this has to be done through equivalence.

Were car manufacturers currently absent at the 24 Hours consulted about the forthcoming regulations?
Yes, many people are watching us and bring their own ideas. That’s we are working very hard on the 2014-2015 regulations. We need many opinions to establish the guidelines, but a major one will be sustainable development.

The forthcoming GT endurance regulations will be based on the current GT2 category. Will carbon fibre GT cars like the McLaren MP4/12C be part of this category?
The ACO makes the final decision, but with preliminary discussion. We have created a group dedicated to Grand Touring cars to study all possibilities, including this one.

Julien Hergault