Le
Mans Series 2008
Round 2. Monza 1000 Kilometres. April 26th-27th 2008
Race Press Release. Issued April 27th 2008
RML
AD Group Upbeat with Fourth
Just
as they had in Barcelona a fortnight ago, RML AD Group’s
Thomas Erdos and Mike Newton came through to finish a strong
fourth in today’s 2008 Le Mans Series 1000 kilometre
race at the Autodromo di Monza in Italy. This time
they had the added satisfaction of knowing that they had
achieved a commendable result on performance alone, and
the RML MG Lola EX265 had demonstrated some of the pace
that the team always believed it could achieve.
The race weekend had begun with two very
challenging and character-building days of practice, headlined
by an engine failure within two minutes of the car’s
debut on track. From that moment onwards the team had been
playing catch-up, battling against time to establish an
appropriate set-up for the demanding Monza circuit. In characteristic
fashion, the experienced crew came through with the goods,
and by the time Thomas Erdos headed out for qualifying on
Saturday afternoon he was in control of a car that could
deliver a competitive time.
The
team accepted that the MG EX265 would be unable to match
the new and dominant Porsche RS Spyders on pace alone, but
with years of experience and a consummate understanding
of endurance racing, a good result was still on the cards.
With a long race ahead of him Erdos kept out of harm’s
way during a frenetic first lap and settled into a class
seventh. During the course of a determined double-stint,
he steadily consolidated his position, moving through as
high as fifth on pitstops before handing over to Mike Newton
for the mid-race period.
Newton contributed a solid performance that
saw the MG hold station on its immediate competitors throughout
his time in the car, and he was able to hand back to Erdos
for the final hour-and-a-half with the car only slipping
back to eighth under the pitstop. Once everyone else had
completed that same scheduled stop Erdos started to move
back through the field, making up ground almost lap-by-lap,
until he’d reached third in class. An horrific accident
for Stephane Ortelli in one of the LMP1 Oreca Courage prototypes
then brought out an extended safety car period that bunched
up the field, and allowed a recovering Jan Lammers in the
#27 Horag Porsche to close on the MG. On the restart he
was able to exploit the Spyder’s outright pace advantage
and reclaim the position. Erdos then retained fourth place
comfortably to the flag.
“That was another sterling five points,”
declared a very satisfied Phil Barker, RML’s Team
Manager. “We had a clear, untroubled run, with no
mechanical dramas, and I’m well chuffed. In Barcelona
we inherited the position through other people’s mistakes
and misfortunes. This one was all about performance, preparation
and staying out of trouble. The guys did a fantastic job.”
Both Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos shared
a similar view on the result. Mike’s assessment was
that RML was “leading the non-Porsche Cup Class,”
while Erdos said it was like “being first in the second
division.” Adam Wiseberg, Motorsport Director for
AD Group, took up the theme. “We always knew that
these new Porsches were going to be difficult to beat, and
they are. However, we were much closer to them at the end
of this race than we were in Barcelona, and we’ve
just got to keep chipping away. On the basis of the progress
we’ve made this weekend, I believe we can be back
on the podium before much longer. All in all it’s
a super result, and a positive performance.”
The
next round takes place on May 11th at the Spa-Francorchamps
circuit in Belgium. Last year RML became the first LMP2
team in Europe to finish on the overall podium, crossing
the line third outright and taking a first class win of
the season.
There
are high resolution images posted in the Monza
Gallery.
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