Further to the right is a key electronic display that can be activated by Race Control. “Our car is equipped with a GPS system programmed to receive messages from Race Control as a function of where we are on the track,” says Nicolas Lapierre. “The screen will turn yellow, say, if yellow flags are out at Turns 1 and 2. That’s in addition to the trackside signals, so it’s a valuable safety feature.”
Rear-view vision is another important safety aspect. “There are two lines of thought here,” observes the four-time Le Mans class-winner. “The GT cars are often overtaken by the prototypes and many of them have rear-facing cameras linked to a screen inside the cockpit. As for us, we have two small exterior mirrors to see what’s going on behind us. We rarely use them but they are sufficiently big to see whether a car is approaching. The team uses the radio, too, to tell us whether a rival is getting close.”