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Le Mans rookie Rosenqvist not out to "prove some point"

Le Mans 24 Hours debutant Felix Rosenqvist is taking a pragmatic approach to his first-ever appearance at La Sarthe with the DragonSpeed LMP2 team.

#21 Dragonspeed Oreca 07 Gibson: Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, Felix Rosenqvist

#21 Dragonspeed Oreca 07 Gibson: Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, Felix Rosenqvist

JEP / Motorsport Images

Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, Felix Rosenqvist, Dragonspeed
#21 Dragonspeed Oreca 07 Gibson: Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, Felix Rosenqvist
#21 Dragonspeed Oreca 07 Gibson: Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, Felix Rosenqvist
#21 Dragonspeed Oreca 07 Gibson: Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, Felix Rosenqvist
#21 Dragonspeed Oreca 07 Gibson: Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, Felix Rosenqvist
#21 Dragonspeed Oreca 07 Gibson: Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, Felix Rosenqvist
#21 Dragonspeed Oreca 07 Gibson: Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley, Felix Rosenqvist
#88 AMG - Team AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3: Tristan Vautier, Felix Rosenqvist, Renger Van der Zande
#88 AMG-Team AKKA ASP, Mercedes-AMG GT3: Tristan Vautier, Renger Van der Zande, Felix Rosenqvist
Felix Rosenqvist, Dragonspeed

The Swede, who took his first Formula E victory in Berlin at the weekend, arrives at Le Mans with growing confidence in the Oreca 07 he will share with teammates Ben Hanley and Henrik Hedman.

“The test day went smoothly and there is a good atmosphere at DragonSpeed, we worked well,” said Rosenqvist.

“It is something for me to explore this season, to feel the race, to feel the atmosphere and get a nice strong taste for Le Mans. Overall, it is just one of those races you want to do from when you are a kid.”

The 24-year-old can call upon the experience of his long-time manager and 1997 Le Mans winner Stefan Johansson as he enters his first race at La Sarthe this weekend.

“[Stefan] gives advice and for someone who has done 17 Le Mans and won it, you would be silly not to listen,” Rosenqvist said.

“He has a lot of value to add, such as not being greedy and not taking risks. The team element is important, more important than in other racing probably so you have to be humble and try to take the knowledge.

"I won’t be one of those drivers coming in and proving some kind of point. I will be thinking about the bigger picture all week and all race."

Spa 24h helped understand endurance ethic

Rosenqvist has one previous major endurance race experience to draw upon, after he took second place in the Spa 24 Hours last July, partnering Tristan Vautier and Renger van der Zande in a AKKA ASP-run Mercedes AMG GT3.

“Spa was useful in learning the endurance way and opened my eyes to some key aspects of racing this way and understanding the team ethic,” Rosenqvist said.

“But at Le Mans there were fresh things to learn like having situations such as the LMP1 cars being 50 or 60 metres behind you exiting a chicane and then rocketing past you when they use the boost.

"But then you kind of get to equal speed and you feel like maybe you can get back through but kind of just stay with them. The limited energy they have makes it interesting but naturally they want to use it getting out of the chicanes and corners.”

The reliability of the new LMP2 cars has been a concern for many teams, some of which have yet to see clean runs over a multi-hour simulation.

“I think there have been some reliability issues on the LMP2 cars so far, so first of all we have to try and have a clean race from that point of view,” added Rosenqvist.

“We can’t strike all the kerbs and damage the car, so this is the first step. Surviving will be crucial obviously. Winning it is almost a separate feature.

"We have to see how comfortable we can get Henrik in the car. Ben has been really quick in the ELMS and at the test. I’m still learning really but getting there.”

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