RML
Team News
Wednesday Qualifying - Down to the Wire. June 13th 2007
RML
Take it to the Wire on Day One
The current LMP2 champions endured
a troubled first day of qualifying for the 2007 Le Mans
24 Hours, but Andy Wallace pulled out all the stops for
the MG EX264’s one and only flying lap, right at the
end of the day. His best of 3:49.217 was enough to draw
the RML entry clear of the GT1 field and into sixth position
in class.
From the outset Thomas Erdos had
been aware of a steering imbalance, and brought the car
back at the end of his very first lap. While others were
enjoying the best of the daylight conditions, the Brazilian
was forced to sit patiently in the cockpit as the team endeavoured
to source the problem. Initially believing that a faulty
damper was the culprit, efforts were made to address this,
but time was slipping by. The situation was compounded by
the unfortunate red-flag incident involving the #53 Lambourghini,
followed by a sudden worsening in the weather. With the
#25 lying next-to-last on the timing screens, the team entered
the mid-session break with a genuine concern that the MG
might be starting the 75th Le Mans 24 Hours from the back
of the grid.
The
team’s strategy changed for the second period, with
the sole intent being to ensure that all three drivers fulfilled
their three-lap “night” driving requirement.
Thomas Erdos completed his trio, and was followed by Mike
Newton. The MG EX264 performed faultlessly, and both drivers
were setting times that were well in line with the best
in LMP2, for the prevailing damp conditions. Andy Wallace
stepped aboard as the track began to dry, and was offered
slick tyres. His first lap went well, but part-way through
his second, the steering issue revealed itself again. He
pitted immediately. This time the nature of the malfunction
had revealed the true cause, and the team affected a rapid
repair.
With
little more than five minutes remaining Andy headed back
out on track. He had time enough for just one flying lap,
and he made it count. At one stage he was two seconds up
and looked set for a 3:47, before meeting a white-flagged
car in the Porsche Curves. There was considerable relief
in the RML garage when he crossed the line. “That
was a tremendous lap,” enthused Adam Wiseberg, Motorsport
Director for AD Holdings. “Andy had no real time in
the car at all before that, but he pulled it out of the
bag. It’s nice to know that, whatever happens tomorrow,
we’re ahead of the GT1s. Hopefully that’s all
our little niggles sorted out before the race.”
Andy’s
co-drivers were equally relieved. “I’m happy
that we found the problem,” said Thomas Erdos. “Now
it’s fixed we only need a small dry window tomorrow
and perhaps we can improve. What Andy did with a single
flying lap was stunning. He really showed his class today.”
Mike
Newton was pleased to have completed his night laps. “It
was an evening of frustrating teething problems,”
he said, “and I’m glad they’re all ironed
out.”
Phil
Barker identified the fault as being a “slight movement
in the steering rack that we were able to find second time
around. It’s a bitter-sweet taste, but I’m pleased
to have found the problem today, and not taken it forward
into the race.”
Top
LMP2 Times (Wednesday)
Pos |
No. |
Overall |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
1 |
33 |
15 |
Barazi
Epsilon |
Adrian
Fernandez |
Zytek
07S LMP1 |
3:44.158 |
2 |
40 |
17 |
Quifel
ASM |
Miguel
de Castro |
Lola
B05/40 AER |
3:45.838 |
3 |
31 |
18 |
Binnie
Motorsports |
Allan
Timpany |
Lola
B05/40 Zytek |
3:48.173 |
4 |
21 |
19 |
Bruichladdich
Radical |
Robin
Liddell |
Radical
SR9 |
3:48.322 |
5 |
32 |
20 |
Barazi
Epsilon |
Michael
Vergers |
Zytek
07S LMP1 |
3:48.935 |
6 |
25 |
21 |
RML |
Andy
Wallace |
MG
Lola EX264 |
3:49.217 |
7 |
35 |
22 |
Saulnier
Racing |
Bruce
Jouanny |
Courage
LC75 |
3:49.621 |
8 |
20 |
25 |
Pierre
Bruneau |
Marc
Rostan |
Pilbeam
MP93 |
3:51.342 |
9 |
44 |
28 |
Kruse
Motorsport |
Norbert
Siedler |
Pescarolo
C60 Judd |
3:52.552 |
10 |
24 |
36 |
Noel
Del Bello |
Vitaly
Petrov |
Courage
LC75 |
3:57.566 |
11 |
29 |
54 |
T2M
Motorsport |
Yamagishi |
Dome
Mader S101 |
4:53.983 |
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