Smith makes Le Mans debut

Smith is driving with the Johansson Matthews team in their Reynard-Judd, that has shown promisingly in the ALMS.

"It's awesome," said Smith of the circuit. "I've read about it, seen it on television and driven the track on the PlayStation and now I've experienced it in reality. It's difficult to explain how it feels, but when I drove down the Mulsanne straight for the first time at over 200 miles an hour, there was a big grin on my face."

"I've never driven a circuit with such a long lap - over 8 miles - and it takes some learning. I only had a chance to do 6 or 7 laps this weekend, so I'm still at an early stage in my Le Mans education, but it shouldn't take me long to get up to speed when we get to the race. The Porsche curves section is probably the trickiest section to learn, so in the absence of any more test opportunities before official race practice in race week, I'll be back on the PlayStation Le Mans 24 Hour game."

The Reynard had something of a difficult birth, but the manufacturer has worked tirelessly to make the car ready for the distinct characteristics of the Sarthe circuit. Modifications have been made to the gearbox to aid reliability, and the new LM-spec cars also boast lower drag aerodynamics and larger headlight arrays.

"From the first lap out, the car was competitive and one of the quickest out on track," said Smith.

"We're all pleased with the changes that Reynard has made to the car. I hear there are even more improvements to come, so I hope that'll we'll be able to close the gap on the Audis and be in with a good chance of success."

Briton Smith has been racing in the US for three years now, with two seasons of Indy Lights behind him, and a deal to run in the ALMS with Johansson. In his first season of Lights, he was 3rd in the Championship and won the Rookie of the Year title. The Le Mans drive is Smith's first return to European racing since 1997, but by contrast, he will contest that most American of events, the Indy 500 later this month with March Racing.