Le
Mans Endurance Series 2005
Round 3. Silverstone 1000 Kilometers. August 12th - 13th
- 14th 2005
Practice & Qualifying Report
LMES
- Silverstone - RML Practice & Qualifying - August 12th-13th
It was
back to business as usual for Thomas Erdos and Mike Newton
for this weekend’s 1000 kilometer LMES race at Silverstone.
Two weeks ago they were enjoying a spirited reunion with
the Saleen S7-R that they campaigned in the 2004 FIA GT
Championship, enjoying a highly creditable run to tenth
place in the Spa 24 Hours. A fortnight later and they’re
back with their preferred mode of transport, the MG Lola
EX264. “I am glad to be back,” admitted Erdos, with an almost
imperceptible shrug. “That’s nothing against the Saleen;
that car’s been good to me these past few years, but the
MG, well, there’s simply no comparison. It’s just heaven
to be back in the prototype again.”
Four sessions
of free practice culminated in a night session late on Friday,
doubling up as an opportunity for the drivers to complete
their requirement of running two complete laps in the dark.
Initially there was some confusion when the word “qualifying”
appeared on some schedules for the weekend, but it was eventually
confirmed that times from the final Friday session would
not count towards Saturday’s grid - an important consideration,
given the forecast.
The
day had started gently for Erdos and Newton. Their efforts
from the first of the four sessions were conservative, by
their standards at least. A best from Erdos of 1:43.764
was good enough for tenth overall, but only third in LMP2.
“We were just waving at the crowds,” joked the Brazilian.
“Well, I might as well have been, given the speed I was
doing. Really, we were just getting an initial feel for
the car. There’s a lot of traffic out there this weekend,
and while we were working on dealing with a few minor issues,
there was no point in going for a time.” That was before
lunch.
A couple
of hours later it was a slightly different story, with the
MG clocking a more respectable 1:40.922, to stand sixth
overall and two-tenths clear of the second-placed Binnie
Motorsports Lola in LMP2. “That went much better,” acknowledged
Erdos. “There was a touch of understeer, so we’re not quite
there yet, but that’s only a balance issue, and we should
have that sorted soon. We’re aiming to achieve a good set-up
for the race, one that’s comfortable for the drivers, just
as we had at Spa and Monza. We’re not here to qualify; we’re
here to win.”
The final
daylight session at four-fifteen saw more of the same from
the RML pairing. Another 1:40 from Erdos, this time a .768,
was fractionally quicker again, and left everyone feeling
much encouraged. “We made some big changes to the car between
sessions,” he explained, “and it’s so much better now. Every
time we go out, it improves. We want to achieve something
that’s good for the drivers and gentle on the tyres. Looking
after the tyres, and making them last, perhaps being able
to double-stint, is going to be very important here at Silverstone.
I think we’re very close now, and I’m starting to feel more
confident.”
That confidence
was reflected by a very concise effort in the day’s last
session. Each driver went out for just the minimum number
of laps, each completing their requirement for “night qualifying”
and no more.
By half-past
nine the car was back in the garage and the team was packing
up. “We’ve been here since Wednesday,” explained Phil Barker,
looking forward to an earlier night, “and we’ve crammed
an awful lot into the last two days. We started on a medium
downforce setting, and worked through some tyre options.
In the second session today we decided we needed the higher
downforce set-up, and that proved to be a lot better. We’ve
been chipping away at the set-up ever since, and we’re much
happier with the way it’s looking now. We’ll just have to
see where we’re at for qualifying tomorrow.”
Qualifying
Forty minutes to qualify for a six-hour race hardly seems
enough. But the format ensures a quick resolution to the
grid order, just as they do in the ALMS: qualifying is an
event in itself. The only problem was that this one was
on race morning.
Tommy
Erdos wasted not one second of it. In fact, he could have
made do with even less. Fifth out on track, his first full
lap was a 1:54.107, but that was just setting the stage
for what came next. His first genuine flyer was an impressive
1:38.852, which sent him straight to the top of the screen.
He managed to better that by a tenth before heading back
into the pitlane and parking up outside the RML garage.
He sat there for several minutes before the team wheeled
the MG backwards into the garage.
It soon
became evident that nobody else was going to get anywhere
close. The nearest challenge came from Sam Hancock in the
Binnie Motorsports Lola, who posted a best of 1:39.661,
more than a second adrift. “I felt the time was probably
good enough for the front row, so we felt we could afford
to sit and wait,” said Erdos, “but I wasn’t sure we’d hold
onto pole.” The time was almost two seconds quicker than
the MG had managed in practice. “We found a really good
set-up in the third session yesterday, and hadn’t changed
anything fundamental since then, but the track seemed a
bit quicker today,” suggested the Brazilian, “We felt we
had a bit extra to come, but even so, I’m very pleased.”
Every driver wants to get pole, of course, but this weekend
RML hadn’t set out to achieve it. “We simply don’t play
the qualifying game,” insisted Erdos. “We have a car built
for twenty-four hour endurance racing. Our aim is reliability,
so it’s a little heavy, and we don’t try any fancy set-ups
just to get a one-lap wonder. We’re up against other cars
with turbocharged engines, and we know that they can pull
out the stops for a single very quick lap. Facing that,
there’s no point in aiming for pole, but that doesn’t mean
I’m not delighted when we get it! In fact, it’s even more
satisfying.”
So
the RML MG Lola would start from LMP2 pole for Saturday
afternoon / evening’s 1000 kilometers, seventh overall.
The forecast was for unsettled conditions, and history suggests
that a damp track suits the sure-footed MG.
Marcus
Potts
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