Le
Mans Series 2008
Round 1. Catalunya 1000 Kilometres. April 5th-6th 2008
Saturday Review
Saturday
After
the disappointment of Friday, and a late-night session in
the garage, RML's dedicated personnel were hoping for a
marked improvement from the MG EX265 on Saturday, and the
suggestion that this was going to be forthcoming arrived
with the day's first action - another hour-long Free Practice
session.
Third
Free Practice
The
weekend’s third free practice session got under way
at 09:45, when the sun was still working to break through
the light mist and the track had yet to absorb much heat.
The conditions still proved to be very conducive to quick
times, and not a few surprises as well.
The
first of these came right at the start of the period, when
Stefan Mucke suddenly appeared at the top of the screen
in the new Lola Aston Martin LMP1. His time - a mere 1:33.187
- was the fastest achieved by any car at the Barcelona meeting
thus far, and finally suggested that the diesel-powered
prototypes might not be getting everything their own way
– at least for the time being. Mucke’s time
would stand as his quickest for the session, and despite
the best efforts of Peugeot and Audi, only Stephane Sarrazin
would better it before the hour was done.
Tommy
completed his usual three exploratory laps with a best of
1:41.265 and then pitted. A few minutes later, after a quick
check-up and some adjustments, he was back on track, and
his first flyer was a 1:38.453. That was just half a second
shy of his best from Friday afternoon, but two green markers
on the timing screen at the start of his next tour signified
an even quicker offering in the making. True to form, he
crossed the line in 1:36.735 to move the MG into 11th overall,
and a more representative fourth in LMP2.
Delayed
by traffic, his next lap was markedly slower, and Tommy
returned to the pits. Meanwhile, the other Lola coupé
was also doing well, with Andrea Belicchi in the Speedy
Sebah car heading the LMP2 class thanks to a time of 1:35.578.
The Horag Racing team – switching from Lola to Porsche
this season – stood second, courtesy of former Le
Mans winner Jan Lammers. This left Olivier Pla holding fourth
for ASM, just ahead of Erdos, and Michael Vergers in the
Barazi Zytek making an improvement with a time of 1:37.266
to stand a half second behind.
When
the MG appeared again, it would be with Mike Newton at the
wheel. His very first flyer turned out to be his best, but
1:42.422 was an excellent opener from the AD Group CEO.
He’d been quite fortunate with traffic on that lap,
and from then on he found it hard to get any clear space,
so his times eased, but a series of laps in the forty-three
to forty-five bracket must have been satisfying.
With
the session drawing towards a close several of the “big
guns” were brought back into action. Jos Verstappen
was one such, and he posted an improvement of 1:36.859 for
the #34 Porsche to move the purple and white car ahead of
the Barazi Zytek. That was for starters, and a few minutes
later he’d clocked 1:34.125 to move into the class
lead, and an impressive fourth overall.
Also
on track, and celebrating his 30th birthday, was Caspar
Elgaard in the Team Essex Porsche. A best of 1:35.875 would
take the #31 car to second in class behind the Speedy Sebah
Lola until Verstappen’s blinder, and these late efforts
would help nudge the MG back to 16th overall, sixth in LMP2.
With
about ten minutes remaining, Mike Newton steered the MG
back to the pitlane, allowing Tommy one last stab at a quick
time. He tried his hardest, and his first flying sector
proved that, with a new green light showing a “best
yet” for the opening half-track, but with everyone
else also trying to make the most of the dying minutes,
he was soon amongst the traffic. He crossed the line in
1:37.532.
The
chequered flag brought an end to free practice for this
weekend’s 1000 Kilometres of Catalunya, with Tommy
and RML having to be content with sixth in LMP2. The situation
in LMP1 remained somewhat unexpected, with the #8 Peugeot
now fastest overall from a delighted Stefan Mucke, and the
quickest of the Audis being Allan McNish’s efforts
in the #1, fifth overall. Significantly, that was behind
the leading LMP2 runner; the Van Merksteijn Porsche.
The
humour in the RML garage was much improved, although well
short of delirious. “We’re not exactly happy,”
emphasised Mike Newton, “but at least we’re
not suicidal any more! I was very lucky to get a clear lap,
and set that forty-two. I certainly feel that’s given
me some confidence back. I was on used tyres too,”
he added, smiling. He was managing to be very upbeat about
certain aspects of the car’s performance. “We
may not be able to out-drag anyone down the straights,”
he suggested. “Not even the GT cars, but we can run
a lot deeper into the corners. The brakes are monstrous
– absolutely wonderful! We can also hold our own against
anyone through the corners too, and I was even able to get
away from one of the Peugeots.”
Tommy
was “still looking for a bit more from the engine,
but AER are working very hard to rectify that. We’re
not yet able to use full power, so achieving a 36.7 under
these sort of conditions, and amongst the traffic, isn’t
that bad. Come qualifying, we should be in a better position.”
Adam
Wiseberg, Motorsport Director at AD Motorsport, felt the
team had “more to be happy about now. The set-up of
the car looks to be excellent, and if we had the power to
match, then I know we’d have a very good car indeed.
Even as it is, we still have a quick one.”
Top
LMP2 Times - Session 3
Pos |
No. |
Overall |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
1 |
34 |
4 |
Van
Merksteijn M/s |
Van
Mekrksteijn/Verstappen |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:34.125 |
2 |
33 |
8 |
Speedy
Sebah |
Belicchi/Pompidou/Zacchia |
Lola
Bo8/80 Coupé |
1:35.578 |
3 |
31 |
10 |
Team
Essex |
Nielsen/Elgaard |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:35.875 |
4 |
27 |
11 |
Horag
Racing |
Lienhard/Theys/Lammers |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:36.016 |
5 |
40 |
13 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/Pla |
Lola
B05/40 AER |
1:36.531 |
6 |
25 |
16 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
MG
Lola EX265 |
1:36.735 |
7 |
32 |
18 |
Barazi
Epsilon |
Barazi/Vergers |
Zytek
07S |
1:37.266 |
8 |
44 |
19 |
Kruse
Schiller |
de
Pourtales/Noda |
Lola
B05/40 |
1:37.359 |
9 |
46 |
20 |
Embassy
Racing |
Kane/Foster |
WF01
Zytek |
1:38.640 |
10 |
45 |
21 |
Embassy
Racing |
Hughes/Haberfield |
WF01
Zytek |
1:39.250 |
11 |
26 |
25 |
Bruichladdich |
Rostan/Petersen/Lueders |
Radical
SR9 AER |
1:40.438 |
12 |
35 |
24 |
Saulnier
Racing |
Ragues/Lahaye |
Pescarolo
Judd |
1:40.640 |
13 |
41 |
27 |
Trading
Performance |
Ojeh/Gosselin/Schroyen |
Zytek
07S |
1:41.000 |
14 |
30 |
32 |
Racing
Box |
Didaio/Francioni/Savoldi |
Lucchini
Judd |
1:45.594 |
15 |
37 |
34 |
WR
Salini |
Salini/Salini/Roussel |
WR
Zytek |
1:47.860 |
Qualifying
begins at 2:15 this afternoon, with the GT cars heading
out first.
Qualifying
For
a brief release about qualifying, see here.
A
hectic schedule of support races followed the morning’s
final Le Mans Series free practice, and as inevitably seems
to happen, one over-ran into the next. This culminated in
an oily incident during the second VdeV race that delayed
the start of GT qualifying by a full half an hour.
In
a change of routine, the GT cars took to the track first,
but with only seventeen taking part the problems Thomas
Erdos had anticipated in his weekend preview (here)
never really materialised. There were very few “offs”,
and the fifteen minutes went by largely without incident.
The class favourites for pole in GT1 duly took that honour,
with Antonio Garcia piloting the Team Modena Aston Martin
DBR9. In GT2, title-holders Virgo Motorsport enjoyed a comfortable
run to pole, with Rob Bell’s Ferrari co-driver Gianmaria
Bruni claiming two seconds over next-up Marc Lieb in a Porsche.
While
this was happening on track, Tommy took a few moments to
relax in the garage while the RML mechanics completed their
checks on the MG. That done, they were still in good time
to ensure that the EX265 was first-out in the queue for
the start of the session. Tommy duly took to the track,
followed by Allan McNish in the #1 Audi R10.
Then
two cars swept off through the first series of turns, until
the lengthier back straight offered the Scot an opportunity
to get by, which he took. Back then into the twistier final
series of turns, Erdos hung on to the LMP1 prototype’s
rear wing, and the two cars swept down the main straight
nose to tail to begin their flying laps.
Hoping
to make the most of his tyres, which typically peak in their
second or third lap, Tommy had intended to get a quick lap
in right at the start. Following closely behind the Audi,
he was alarmed when the car slewed sideways through the
lengthy Turn 3. “Allan got out of shape and I had
to back right off,” he explained later. “If
not, I’d have gone straight into the side of him.”
Luckily that didn’t happen, but in taking the avoiding
action, Tommy had lost all momentum, and had to abort the
lap. “It would probably have been my best lap too!”
he said.
He
pressed on, and his next lap was a 1:44.125. Although enough
to front LMP2 at this early stage in the session, it was
woefully short of expectations. In the cockpit, Tommy was
already aware that the tyres were past their best, and push
as he might, there seemed little chance of recapturing the
form he’d been able to display in morning practice.
Not only were the tyres deteriorating, but the rest of the
30-odd prototypes were now out on track, and hopes of a
clean run had evaporated.
Erdos
persevered, and improved with a 1:41.766, but others were
now into their stride, and despite the better time, he’d
dropped to 10th overall, 4th in LMP2. Michael Vergers then
came through to lay his claim to pole for Barazi with 1:37.297
– a time that should have been well within the MG’s
scope.
Twelve
minutes in, and Didier Theys slipped the Horag Porsche into
second, and then Jonny Kane eased the #46 Embassy Zytek
just ahead of Tommy, whose last lap had been a modest 1:52.515.
The slowness of the lap actually betrayed the fact that
he was searching for space, and had eased back in the hope
of creating some. It worked, and with open track ahead of
him, his next flyer was a more realistic 1:38.485. It briefly
reclaimed third, until Warren Hughes came through in the
#45 Embassy Zytek to snatch it back with 1:38.422.
Tommy
was truly struggling by now. The MG’s tyres were no
longer offering the same level of grip that he’d hoped
to exploit at the start of the session, and it was also
evident that the engine had reverted to Friday form, and
was down on power once again. Others were suffering no such
problem, with Noda next to pip Tommy’s time with 1:38.437,
nudging the MG down to 5th.
Theys
in the #27 Horag Porsche was still flying, and raised the
bar with a new best of 1:37.344 to move onto provisional
pole. Tommy managed two more laps; a 1:38.984 followed by
1:39.313, before the Speedy Racing Team Sebah Lola spun
broadside across the track and stalled. Unable to restart,
yellow flags soon turned red and the session was brought
to a halt.
During
the pause it was possible to recap on the situation in LMP2.
Heading the class, the #27 Horage Porsche (8th overall).
Next up, the #32 Barazi Epsilon Zytek (10th), the #45 Embassy
Zytek (11th), the #44 Kruse Schiller Motorsport Lola (12th),
and then RML’s MG Lola EX265 #25 (13th overall). Sixth
in class, 14th overall, came the second Embassy Zytek, #46.
At
15:22 the session resumed, but Tommy stayed in the pits.
The tyres had done their best, the engine wasn’t offering
much by way of purposeful assistance, and thrashing round
the track would only further diminish the race-potential
of one, and risk the other. The MG would not take any further
part.
Others
had been holding back, however. One such was Jos Verstappen
in the #34 Porsche, who got the resumption off to a flying
start with a walloping time of 1:34.422 – not only
heading LMP2, but moving into 5th overall. This was followed
by a similar, if slightly less emphatic blast from Caspar
Elgaard in the Team Essex car, who moved into second with
1:36.256. Next up was Olivier Pla in the ASM Lola #40, who
headed into the frame with 1:36.750. It was briefly good
for third.
The
net result of all this late track-action was that Tommy’s
time slipped to 8th in class, 20th overall. Didier Theys
then responded, the third Porsche moved back up to second,
1:36.156 taking him to 9th overall, a tenth clear of Elgaard.
Most
cars were now in the pits, but there was one further player
in the game. In the final moments, a last-gasp effort to
regain face by Xavier Pompidou had the Speedy Sebah Lola
up to 4th in LMP2 on 1:36.578, and then followed this on
the last lap of the session with 1:35.795 to snatch second
in class, leaving Verstappen on pole.
So
the RML MG Lola EX265 will start tomorrow’s race from
9th in class, 21st overall.
Quotes
from drivers and team personnel to follow.
LMP2 Qualifying
Pos |
No. |
Overall |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
1 |
34 |
5 |
Van
Merksteijn M/s |
Van
Mekrksteijn/Verstappen |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:34.422 |
2 |
33 |
9 |
Speedy
Sebah |
Belicchi/Pompidou/Zacchia |
Lola
Bo8/80 Coupé |
1:35.797 |
3 |
27 |
10 |
Horag
Racing |
Lienhard/Theys/Lammers |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:36.156 |
4 |
31 |
11 |
Team
Essex |
Nielsen/Elgaard |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:36.266 |
5 |
40 |
15 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/Pla |
Lola
B05/40 AER |
1:36.641 |
6 |
32 |
18 |
Barazi
Epsilon |
Barazi/Vergers |
Zytek
07S |
1:37.516 |
7 |
45 |
19 |
Embassy
Racing |
Hughes/Haberfield |
WF01
Zytek |
1:38.109 |
8 |
44 |
20 |
Kruse
Schiller |
de
Pourtales/Noda |
Lola
B05/40 Mazda |
1:38.437 |
9 |
25 |
21 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
MG
Lola EX265 |
1:38.485 |
10 |
46 |
22 |
Embassy
Racing |
Kane/Foster |
WF01
Zytek |
1:38.500 |
11 |
35 |
24 |
Saulnier
Racing |
Ragues/Lahaye |
Pescarolo
Judd |
1:39.594 |
12 |
26 |
26 |
Bruichladdich |
Rostan/Petersen/Lueders |
Radical
SR9 AER |
1:40.750 |
13 |
41 |
27 |
Trading
Performance |
Ojeh/Gosselin/Schroyen |
Zytek
07S |
1:41.516 |
14 |
30 |
31 |
Racing
Box |
Didaio/Francioni/Savoldi |
Lucchini
Judd |
1:44.579 |
15 |
37 |
40 |
WR
Salini |
Salini/Salini/Roussel |
WR
Zytek |
1:49.859 |
There
are high resolution images posted in the Barcelona
Gallery.
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