RML
AD Group Team News 2009
Mazda-Lola in the Algarve.
Issued February 21st 2009
RML
AD Group heads south to the sun
Following
on from the team’s successful shakedown of the new
Mazda Lola B08/80 Coupé earlier this month at Snetterton,
in snow and fog, RML AD Group headed south for the sun of
the Algarve for the squad's first intensive track test of
the 2009 season.
In
conjunction with Michelin, RML had booked the two-day test
(February 18-19) at the exciting Autódromo Internacional
do Algarve, half an hour north of the picturesque holiday
resort of Portimão. A number of other Le Mans Series
and FIA GT teams accepted an invitation to share the test,
and all benefited from two days of perfect weather and ideal
track conditions.
RML's
Le Mans 24 Hours and Le Mans Series winning driver team
of Thomas Erdos and AD Group CEO Mike Newton covered a total
of nearly 200 laps of the 4.7 kilometre circuit across the
two days. Team Manager Phil Barker declared the test to
have been a great success. “It’s all gone exceptionally
well,” he said. “We managed to fulfil virtually
everything we’d had scheduled and worked on getting
everything in line with the new engine and aero package.
We made changes overnight on Wednesday that allowed us to
work on collecting specific data for this track, and I think
we’ve achieved a very good foundation for when we
return here in August.”
Since
the circuit was completed in October last year, the Autódromo
has hosted just two major meetings; the final rounds of
the Superbike World Championship and the Spanish GT Championship
in November, yet the track has already acquired a reputation
for being one of the best-designed and most challenging
in motorsport.
“Some
really clever imagination has gone into the creation of
the track,” suggests Thomas Erdos. “The surrounding
landscape is the key to the circuit’s appeal. The
layout reflects the style of the local roads, which are
also a delight to drive! So many racetracks are flat and
featureless, but this one exploits the contours of the land
to create a circuit that is both physically demanding and
technically complex. The changes in elevation are, at times,
quite extreme, and will in themselves add their own element
of challenge, but I believe this will be a fantastic circuit
to race on, especially at night.
The
third round of the 2009 Le Mans Series will be staged at
the Algarve circuit at the beginning of August, and will
feature the season’s only night race. The start is
scheduled for 8:00pm, running through to around two o’clock
in the morning. More immediately, however, RML AD Group
is preparing for the official ACO Le Mans Series test at
the Paul Ricard circuit in France on 8th and 9th March.
For
the first time, the Paul Ricard test will be open to the
public, with a limit of just 4000 tickets being made available,
and giving access to the circuit’s new spectator grandstand.
Cost is just 15 euros, and tickets can be reserved here:
Please
click on any of the images to access high resolution versions.
Photo credit: Marcus Potts/CMC
Further
information please contact:
RML: Rupert
Manwaring, Sponsorship & Marketing Director
Telephone: +44 (0)1933 402440
AD Group: Pauline
Norstrom, Director of Worldwide Marketing.
Telephone: +44 (0)1928 706 449
