Le
Mans Series 2007
Round 4. Spa 1000 Kilometers. August 17th - 19th 2007
Qualifying Press Release. Issued August 18th 2007
Top
of the Pack for Erdos at Spa 1000 Kilometres
Thomas
Erdos and the RML AD Group MG Lola topped the LMP2 times
in qualifying for Round Four of the 2007 Le Mans Series
at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, making it two pole positions
in succession for the UK-based Brazilian.
The team had remained quietly confident of their chances,
even after two days of free practice had suggested that
their closest rivals might have found a performance edge
since the Nurburgring race six weeks previously. Always
posting rapid times, Erdos had nevertheless been content
to end each practice session second, or even fourth in class.
"Our individual sector times always suggested that,
if we could string them all together in a clean lap, we’d
be well placed for a front row start." On Saturday
afternoon he did exactly that.
His challenge came very early in the twenty-minute prototype-only
qualifying period. His very first flyer was a 2:06.795,
and that alone would have been sufficient to secure pole,
but he followed that with an even quicker 2:06.660 on his
next lap, and thereby set a standard that nobody else could
match. Michael Vergers in the Barazi Epsilon Zytek made
a determined attempt, but still ended the day almost half
a second shy of the MG, with former RML driver Warren Hughes
third in the Embassy Radical.
“That was another stunning lap from Tommy,”
smiled a hugely satisfied Phil Barker, Team Manager at RML.
“Once again, he’s done a really great job. We
felt sure we had a good, well-balanced car, and it was just
a case of getting out there and making the most of the lack
of traffic.”
Thomas Erdos was “delighted for the team. We didn’t
sit back, and ever since the start of this year we’ve
been reacting to the increased pace of the competition.
We’ve maintained an excellent relationship with Lola
and AER, and in partnership with our own development programme,
all the hard graft is now paying off. To achieve pole at
Spa, against such very tough opposition, is very satisfying.”
Mike Newton, not only Tommy’s co-driver, but also
CEO of AD Group, principal sponsor of the RML sportscar
programme, could not have been happier. “At the beginning
of this season, the thought that we might achieve pole here
at Spa looked very unlikely. We’re facing other teams
with newer chassis than ours, and employing some very professional
drivers, but we’ve restored the pace in the MG, and
we’re in a very strong position.”
“We have an excellent set-up now, come rain or shine”
added Mike Newton. “Now we’re just looking forward
to the race.” That begins at 12:30 on Sunday, local
time, and will run for six hours or 1000 kilometres (143
laps), whichever is achieved first.
LMP2
Qualifying Results
| Pos |
No. |
Overall |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
| 1 |
25 |
10 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
MG
Lola EX264 |
2:06.660 |
| 2 |
32 |
12 |
Barazi
Epsilon |
Vergers/Ojeh/Barazi |
Zytek
07S |
2:07.137 |
| 3 |
45 |
13 |
Embassy
Racing |
Hughes/Manning |
Radical
SR9 AER |
2:08.154 |
| 4 |
40 |
14 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/de
Castro/Burgueno |
Lola
B05/40 AER |
2:08.262 |
| 5 |
31 |
15 |
Binnie
Motorsports |
Binnie/Timpany/Buncombe |
Lola
B05/40 Zytek |
2:08.331 |
| 6 |
21 |
16 |
Bruichladdich |
Moseley/Greaves |
Radical
SR9 AER |
2:08.568 |
| 7 |
27 |
18 |
Horag
Racing |
Lienhard/Theys/Van
der Poele |
Lola
B05/40 Judd |
2:09.451 |
| 8 |
35 |
19 |
Saulnier
Racing |
Nicolet/Filhol/Jouanny |
Courage
LC75 AER |
2:10.146 |
| 9 |
44 |
20 |
Kruse
Motorsport |
Burgess/de
Pourtales/Siedler |
Pescarolo
C60 Judd |
2:10.354 |
| 10 |
20 |
21 |
Pierre
Bruneau |
Rostan/Bruneau/Pullan |
Pillbeam
MP93 Judd |
2:13.618 |
| 11 |
26 |
29 |
Ranieri
Randaccio |
Randaccio/Collini |
Lucchini
McLaren |
2:18.095 |
High
resolution images from Spa may be viewed and downloaded
from the dedicated gallery.
