Le
Mans Series 2008
Round 5. Silverstone 1000 Kilometres. September 12th - 14th
2008
Post-race Press Release. Issued September 15th 2008
RML
MG Lola Coupé Fourth on Race Debut
Just
a few days after its first roll-out, the fully upgraded
RML MG Lola EX265C completed a faultless run to fourth place
in the final race of the 2008 Le Mans Series. In a six-hour
endurance that was punctuated by dramatic incidents and
thrilling nose-to-tail racing, the much-admired new coupé
performed without a hitch, rewarding the team’s hard
work and meticulous preparation with a reliable and extremely
competitive performance.
“I’m
delighted – chuffed to bits!” said a smiling
Mike Newton, co-driver of the EX265C and CEO of AD Group,
principal sponsors to RML’s sportscar programme. “The
guys have done an amazing job to put this car together so
quickly, and to achieve a trouble-free run is an exceptional
achievement.” The team had always approached the Silverstone
1000 Kilometres as an extended, if very public, test session,
but poor weather on the previous two days had severely curtailed
their on-track development. “When you compare this
to where we might have been, after the events of the last
couple of days, this has got to be an excellent result,”
he added.
The
only issue the team encountered during the course of the
race was a rise in engine temperature that, if left unaddressed,
might have threatened the unit. “The engine was running
a little too hot,” said Thomas Erdos, who drove the
opening three stints in the MG Lola, and was first to detect
the problem. “We were able to de-tune it enough at
the next pitstop to ensure it would run the distance, but
it meant we were perhaps forty or fifty horsepower down
for most of the race. In that respect, fourth is a great
result.”
Despite
the reduction in power, which restricted the car’s
straight-line speed, the lap times remained competitive
throughout - a testament to the aerodynamic work carried
out by Lola Cars of Huntingdon, designers of the car. “I
was very pleased with the pace,” admitted Mike Newton.
“Even after the de-tune, our times were still very
fair.” Before climbing into the cockpit for his first
stint, Mike had only managed five laps in the car, so came
to the coupé very raw. He admits to missing the “wind-in-your-hair”
experience of the open-topped car, but his first lap proved
to be four seconds faster than he’d managed before.
Adam
Wiseberg, Director of Motorsport for AD Group, was well
satisfied. “We said all along that we were making
this an extended test session, and as with most tests, it
just got better and better,” he said. “All in
all, a very pleasing first race. We made no unscheduled
stops, the car ran cleanly, the build was clearly excellent,
and given some more time with it, I think we’ll achieve
the kind of performance we're asking for.”
Phil
Barker, Team Manager for RML, had praise for his crew of
engineers and mechanics. “To have got to the chequered
flag in a six-hour race with a newly-built car is an achievement
that I’m very pleased with. All credit to the guys,
they did a tremendous job. It’s a great start to the
life of the new car, and a good basis from which we can
look forward to next year.”
The
team now has several months of development work ahead of
them in order to prepare the EX265C for a full and very
competitive season in 2009.
LMP2 - Result
Pos |
No. |
O/all |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Laps/gap |
Time |
1 |
34 |
7 |
Van
Merksteijn M/s |
Bleekemolen/Verstappen
|
Porsche
RS Spyder |
191 |
1:35.675 |
2 |
27 |
23 |
Horag
Racing |
Lienhard/Theys/Lammers |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
187 |
1:36.319 |
3 |
40 |
12 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/Pla |
Lola
B05/40 AER |
185 |
1:37.746 |
4 |
25 |
13 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
MG
Lola EX264 |
184 |
1:38.940 |
5 |
31 |
10 |
Team
Essex |
Nielsen/Elgaard |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
68
secs |
1:36.852 |
6 |
45 |
14 |
Embassy
Racing |
Hughes/Kane |
WF01
Zytek |
104
secs |
1;38.738 |
7 |
41 |
17 |
Trading
Performance |
Ojeh/Gosselin/Sharpe |
Zytek
07S |
183 |
1:39.828 |
8 |
44 |
21 |
Kruse
Schiller |
de
Pourtales/Noda |
Lola
B05/40 |
182 |
1:41.559 |
9 |
35 |
9 |
Saulnier
Racing |
Ragues/Lahaye |
Pescarolo
Judd |
174 |
1:38.934 |
10 |
26 |
34 |
Bruichladdich |
Rostan/Petersen/Lueders |
Radical
SR9 AER |
160 |
1:42.231 |
11 |
46 |
11 |
Embassy
Racing |
Manning/Foster |
WF01
Zytek |
158 |
1:37.967 |
|
|
|
NOT
CLASSIFIED |
|
|
|
|
12 |
32 |
16 |
Barazi
Epsilon |
Barazi/Vergers/Rees |
Zytek
07S |
162 |
1:37.417 |
13 |
33 |
16 |
Speedy
Sebah |
Belicchi/Pompidou/Zacchia |
Lola
Bo8/80 Coupé |
75 |
1:37.264 |
14 |
37 |
43 |
WR
Salini |
Salini/Salini/Gommendy |
WR
Zytek |
3 |
1:42.791 |
For
in-depth coverage of all free practice sessions and qualifying,
see Friday and Saturday
reviews. For a full report on the race itself, see Sunday.
There are high resolution images posted in the
Silverstone Gallery.