Le
Mans Series 2007
Round 5. Silverstone 1000 Kilometers. September 14th - 16th
2007
Saturday
Report
Third
Session
The
third session of Le Mans Series Free Practice started at
09:30 on Saturday morning, and has become something of a
trend, the first to show in LMP2 was the newcomer LNT Zytek;
Danny Watts wheeling out a 1:37.300 for starters. Later
in the session his co-driver, the equally quick Tom Kimber-Smith,
managed to reduce the car's best yet further, with a 1:36.008,
and thereby claim top LMP2 honours for the day. Indeed,
it was quickest of any lap so far for the class, and comfortably
good enough to leave the Zytek third-fastest overall, just
behind the two LMP1 Peugeots.
Tommy's
best, a 1:37.302, came towards the end of the hour, when
he'd headed back out again after allowing MIke the bulk
of the MG's laps - a total of 16 for Newton, against two
stints of first five and then three for Erdos. Mike had
a better run today. "I got a clear lap, for a change,"
he said. "and I managed to string together a far better
series of laps. I'm also feeling a lot better physically,
so all-round, a far more comfortable session. I'm now setting
the kind of times I'd set for myself as a target, which
is satisfying. I'm now well into the forty-twos, and I feel
sure, had I managed a totally clear lap, I could have ducked
into the forty-ones."
The
reference to his physical state arises from the fact that
Mike has been suffering from a groin strain in recent days,
and he managed to exacerbate that on Friday by overstretching
his right leg climbing out of the car. "It's no problem
when I'm driving," he insisted, slapping his right
thigh and grinning like some pantomime principal boy, "but
it makes getting in and out a bit awkward."
His
progress has been excellent. His best lap in the first session
on Friday had been a 1:44.221 (from 11 laps). Traffic in
the afternoon had curtailed him to a 1:44.404 (out of 8),
but this morning he eclipsed these with a 1:42.065. That
set him as 17th quickest in LMP2 out of thirty drivers,
and just five one-thousandths of a second behind Didier
Theys.
Both
Radicals - usually up there near the top of the LMP2 screens
- struggled in qualifying; a lack of grip being the Bruichladdich
gripe. The news from Embassy suggests that Neil Cunningham
will not be racing tomorrow.
Top
LMP2 Times - Session 3
| Pos |
No. |
Overall |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
| 1 |
46 |
3 |
Team
LNT |
Kimber-Smith/Watts |
Zytek
07S |
1:36.008 |
| 2 |
25 |
5 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
MG
Lola EX264 |
1:37.302 |
| 3 |
32 |
6 |
Barazi
Epsilon |
Vergers/Ojeh/Barazi |
Zytek
07S |
1:37.389 |
| 4 |
40 |
9 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/de
Castro/Burgueno |
Lola
B05/40 AER |
1:38.370 |
| 5 |
31 |
14 |
Binnie
Motorsports |
Binnie/Timpany/Buncombe |
Lola
B05/40 Zytek |
1:38.709 |
| 6 |
35 |
15 |
Saulnier
Racing |
Nicolet/Filhol/Jouanny |
Courage
LC75 AER |
1:38.877 |
| 7 |
45 |
16 |
Embassy
Racing |
Hughes/Manning/Cunningham |
Radical
SR9 AER |
1:39.491 |
| 8 |
21 |
17 |
Bruichladdich |
Moseley/Greaves |
Radical
SR9 AER |
1:39.739 |
| 9 |
27 |
19 |
Horag
Racing |
Lienhard/Theys/Van
de Poele |
Lola
B05/40 Judd |
1:42.060 |
| 10 |
20 |
20 |
Pierre
Bruneau |
Rostan/Bruneau/Pullan |
Pillbeam
MP93 Judd |
1:44.694 |
| 11 |
26 |
23 |
Ranieri
Randaccio |
Randaccio/Lavaggi |
Lucchini
McLaren |
1:45.845 |
Qualifying
Qualifying
for Round 5 of Le Mans Series began at 13:45 on Saturday
afternoon, and Tommy broke the mould of RML convention by
being first-out on the Silverstone circuit. It gave him
probably his first view of an open track since he last tested
here, and he made the most of this rare and uninterrupted
opportunity. His first flying lap was an impressive 1:35.847
- quicker than any other LMP2 car had gone in any of the
previous three hours of free practice and, for a while,
fastest outright. It was a benchmark that others might struggle
to match.
The
LMP2 runners generally were showing good pace, and two especially.
Michael Vergers (#32 Barazi Zytek) and Chris Buncombe (#40
Binnie Motorsport Lola) soon tagging along behind, making
it a one-two-three for the second-class citizens.
For
more than half the session, that was how the timing screens
stood, with the RML MG proudly occupying top slot. Only
Jamie Campbell-Walter in the #9 Creation came close, being
quick enough to snatch third.
Less
than ten minutes remaining, and the serious contenders started
to make their presence felt. The first to break cover was
Tom Kimber-Smith, wrestling 1:35.615 out of the LNT Zytek
to snatch glory from Erdos. He followed this on his next
lap with an even more staggering 1:35.149, a full half second
faster. The RML MG had retired to the relative quiet of
the pitlane by this stage, and Tommy was sitting out the
final minutes, ready and waiting for the call. "Looking
at the sector times, I reckoned we had a few tenths in hand,"
he said. "I sat in the cockpit and waited for the end
of the session. We decided that if they got to within a
tenth or two, I'd go out and have another go, but when Tom
Kimber-Smith found seven tenths I knew we'd struggle to
get close to that. I couldn't see the point of risking the
car - and the tyres - against someone that's not one of
our regular competitors. It would have been pretty pointless,
and I think it was far better to save the car for the race."
So he stayed there for a few more moments, before the team
hauled the car backwards into the garage.
Back
out on track, the Peugeots had hitched up their proverbial
skirts were starting to whistle round the track. First through
was Nic Minassian, with 1:31.692 being a somewhat unexpected
two or three seconds quicker than the practice times might
have suggested was likely. Team-mate Pedro Lamy then secured
the front row for the French manufacturer's 908s with a
best of 1:32.168.
The
only other P1 car to get the better of Kimber-Smith and
Erdos was Stefan Mucke in the Charouz Lola, clocking 1:34.459
to claim third overall before having an off, under pressure
on his final lap, and bringing the session to a premature
close.
There
wasn't a lot for RML to complain about. Fifth overall was
an impressive result from the MG EX264 - a car that others
had almost written off at the beginning of the season for
being too long in the tooth, and already near the pinnacle
of its potential. Results have certainly put the lie to
that view. "Fifth on the grid is excellent," agreed
Thomas Erdos. "It's well ahead of the regular opposition,
and that's what matters. The LNT Zytek has an impressive
turn of speed, and we couldn't match that pace today, but
we'll see how that pans out in the race."
Everyone
has been much impressed by the LNT Zytek's performance this
weekend. "I think they've got something very special
in that car," Erdos conceded, with a wry smile. "When
it comes to the race, in many ways we're racing ourselves,
not the other people. We'll keep to our own pace, keep out
of trouble, and try to be there at the flag."
LMP2
Qualifying Times
| Pos |
No. |
Overall |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
| 1 |
46 |
4 |
Team
LNT |
Kimber-Smith/Watts |
Zytek
07S |
1:35.149 |
| 2 |
25 |
5 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
MG
Lola EX264 |
1:35.847 |
| 3 |
32 |
9 |
Barazi
Epsilon |
Vergers/Ojeh/Barazi |
Zytek
07S |
1:36.318 |
| 4 |
31 |
11 |
Binnie
Motorsports |
Binnie/Timpany/Buncombe |
Lola
B05/40 Zytek |
1:37.416 |
| 5 |
40 |
14 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/de
Castro/Burgueno |
Lola
B05/40 AER |
1:37.461 |
| 6 |
35 |
15 |
Saulnier
Racing |
Nicolet/Filhol/Jouanny |
Courage
LC75 AER |
1:37.873 |
| 7 |
21 |
16 |
Bruichladdich |
Moseley/Greaves |
Radical
SR9 AER |
1:37.957 |
| 8 |
45 |
17 |
Embassy
Racing |
Hughes/Manning |
Radical
SR9 AER |
1:38.010 |
| 9 |
27 |
19 |
Horag
Racing |
Lienhard/Theys/Van
de Poele |
Lola
B05/40 Judd |
1:38.986 |
| 10 |
20 |
20 |
Pierre
Bruneau |
Rostan/Bruneau/Pullan |
Pillbeam
MP93 Judd |
1:41.559 |
| 11 |
26 |
22 |
Ranieri
Randaccio |
Randaccio/Lavaggi |
Lucchini
McLaren |
1:45.045 |
For
full results of all races and events being staged at the
Silverstone this weekend, please visit this
link,
where it is possible to download PDF files for all sessions
The
race is scheduled to start at 12:00 on Sunday and will run
for 196 laps or six hours, whichever is achieved first
There
are high resolution images posted in the Silverstone
Gallery.
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