Le
Mans Series 2008
Round 5. Silverstone 1000 Kilometres. September 12th - 14th
2008
Qualifying Press Release. Issued September 13th 2008
Debut
Qualifying for the MG Lola Coupé
RML AD Group’s new MG Lola EX265 Coupé
makes its race debut this weekend in the final round of
this year’s Le Mans Series at Silverstone. Just a
week after the well-kept secret of the team’s decision
to follow the closed-cockpit route broke cover at Snetterton,
the car is now in the throes of its first serious test -
but on a major international stage and in front of all the
team’s rivals.
Expectations for qualifying were modest.
Two days of overcast skies and poor track conditions had
restricted any opportunities for establishing a suitable
set-up for running in the dry, but that’s exactly
what Tommy faced when he headed out at the start of qualifying.
Unlike other teams with established cars, RML could not
draw upon the benefit of any previous data, and it was always
going to be difficult to achieve an appropriate balance
for the new EX265C. Within that context the team was fully
justified in feeling that tenth in class was probably as
good as could have been expected.
“I’m not disappointed at all
– far from it,” declared Adam Wiseberg, Director
of Motorsport at AD Group, the team’s principal sponsor.
“We knew that this weekend was always going to be
a challenge, and a very public one at that. Our chances
for working on the set-up were severely restricted by the
weather, and under those circumstances we didn’t expect
to qualify the car strongly. I’m just delighted to
see the car running reliably, and so close to the pace after
such a short time.”
Brazilian
driver Thomas Erdos took responsibility for the qualifying
run. “It was our first chance to push the car in anger
for several consecutive laps, and I’m really pleased
with the way it went. The car ran like clockwork,”
he said. “It’s all about learning – discovering
the areas that need improving and making progress –
and there’s lots of homework still to do, but we’re
getting there!”
As has often been stated, the championship
has moved on in leaps and bounds this season, with new cars,
teams and drivers, so comparisons are difficult. “Looking
at last year’s data (with the open-topped car) we’re
not too far off the mark,” added Erdos. “We’re
lacking a bit of speed at the moment, mainly through the
final complex between Bridge and Woodcote, but for a first
run, I’m really quite happy.”
Mike
Newton, CEO of AD Group, has had even less time in the EX265C
than his co-driver. “Developing what is, in effect,
a new car, does take time, but we’re gathering the
data, and learning more and more all the time, and that’s
what we’ll carry forward from this weekend. Preparing
for next season was always our main objective behind being
here.”
Sunday’s
race starts at 11:20 am and will run for 195 laps or six
hours, whichever is achieved first.
Top
LMP2 Times - Qualifying
| Pos |
No. |
Overall |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
| 1 |
34 |
8 |
Van
Merksteijn M/s |
Van
Merksteijn /Verstappen
|
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:34.212 |
| 2 |
32 |
12 |
Barazi
Epsilon |
Barazi/Vergers/Rees |
Zytek
07S |
1:35.378 |
| 3 |
33 |
13 |
Speedy
Sebah |
Belicchi/Pompidou/Zacchia |
Lola
Bo8/80 Coupé |
1:35.907 |
| 4 |
40 |
14 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/Pla |
Lola
B05/40 AER |
1:35.998 |
| 5 |
31 |
16 |
Team
Essex |
Nielsen/Elgaard |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:36.282 |
| 6 |
27 |
17 |
Horag
Racing |
Lienhard/Theys/Lammers |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:36.338 |
| 7 |
46 |
18 |
Embassy
Racing |
Manning/Foster |
WF01
Zytek |
1:36.768 |
| 8 |
45 |
20 |
Embassy
Racing |
Hughes/Kane |
WF01
Zytek |
1:36.920 |
| 9 |
41 |
21 |
Trading
Performance |
Ojeh/Gosselin/Sharpe |
Zytek
07S |
1:37.277 |
| 10 |
25 |
23 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
MG
Lola EX265C |
1:37.753 |
| 11 |
35 |
24 |
Saulnier
Racing |
Ragues/Lahaye |
Pescarolo
Judd |
1:38.282 |
| 12 |
44 |
25 |
Kruse
Schiller |
de
Pourtales/Noda |
Lola
B05/40 |
1:38.487 |
| 13 |
37 |
27 |
WR
Salini |
Salini/Salini/Gommendy |
WR
Zytek |
1:40.737 |
| 14 |
26 |
28 |
Bruichladdich |
Rostan/Petersen/Lueders |
Radical
SR9 AER |
1:41.073 |
For
in-depth coverage of all free practice sessions and qualifying,
see Friday and Saturday
reviews.
There are high resolution images posted in the
Silverstone Gallery.
