Le
Mans Endurance Series 2005
Round 1. Spa 1000 Kilometers. March 31st, April 1st &
2nd 2005
Qualifying Report
LMES
- Spa - RML Saturday Practice & Qualifying - April 1st
Debut
Pole for all-new EX264
There
was a great sense of satisfaction – and achievement – amongst
RML personnel after Thomas Erdos came through a treacherous
qualifying session to claim the team’s debut pole of the
new LMES campaign. “We’re delighted with the team’s first
pole position,” declared team owner Ray Mallock. “It’s a
great start to the new programme, and justifies the team’s
decision to go LMP2 with the Judd engine and Michelin tyre
package this season. It’s really excellent.”
Qualifying
came at mid-afternoon, on a day when water, appropriately,
played a significant part in the proceedings here at Spa.
The morning had started dull and overcast, and then progressed
through persistent drizzle, towards a climax of lightning,
thunder and rain of monsoon proportions. Luckily, the final
practice session for the LMES entrants came early enough
in the day to offer tolerable conditions, although far from
ideal. Mike Newton was given the bulk of the hour-long period
in order to increase his experience of the new EX264, under
exactly the kind of track conditions that the forecasters
predict for Sunday’s race. He enjoyed the best of it, setting
some highly respectable times.
“We
wanted to give Mike a lot of seat time in the wet, and he
did exceptionally well,” said Phil Barker, team manager
at RML. “He was setting down some good times despite the
conditions.” Barker was in an upbeat mood. “It’s all gone
very well so far,” he said. “Every time the car goes out,
we learn more, and we’ve had plenty of opportunity now to
see how it behaves in conditions just like these. We tested
in the wet at Albacete (in March), and that gave us a good
indication of how the chassis and the Michelin tyres would
perform, and they’re giving us excellent balance, even in
the rain.”
Thomas
Erdos was given his chance to try the car again for the
final fifteen minutes, but was back into the pitlane after
just a single lap - when the red flags came out for the
third time during the session. “That was quite fortunate,
for us anyway,” he said. “I had a problem with the visor.
It misted up very quickly. The red flag allowed me to come
in and fix it, but the conditions were deteriorating all
the time. There were cars going off all over the place!”
He took it relatively easy for the rest of the session,
being well content with second quickest in LMP2. His time,
set at the worst end of a challenging session, certainly
looked very encouraging in context.
We
caught up with Tommy again while the hour-long Belcar race
was in progress just after lunch. Black clouds, thunder
and torrential rain had rendered the paddock awash, and
the track wasn’t much better. “I’m really looking forward
to qualifying,” said the Brazilian with a wry grin, his
eyes raised to the heavens. “I just hope that conditions
improve (by three o’clock). Qualifying in this would be
more than just pointless, it would be dangerous.” The general
consensus at the time was that grid positions would be better
decided by the times set in practice. “Far better to have
a car in one piece for the race than risk everything on
twenty minutes qualifying.” He would probably get enough
time for five flying laps, and was hoping for a clear track
and a dry line.
As
luck would have it, he got just that, and no more. Qualifying,
when it came, was split into two twenty-minute segments,
with the prototypes out first, followed separately by the
GT runners. The open-topped cars got the better of it, with
moderate visibility and just enough standing water to make
wets essential. The GTs faced thick fog, however, and their
allocation was cut to fourteen minutes. “It will be nice
to be out there with just the prototypes,” said Erdos in
anticipation. “It’s a sensible format, and it gives you
some quality time on track. It would be excellent if they
introduced the same system for the practice sessions, with
perhaps one mixed, and one dedicated for each of the two
categories.”
Erdos
was quickly up to speed, and emerged at the top of the LMP2
timing charts after just his second flying lap. His best
of 2:28.349 would come later, and be good enough to secure
the new MG’s first pole on its debut run, four-tenths ahead
of Vincent Vosse in the Belmondo Racing Courage C85.
“I
struggled with visibility right from the start,” he explained.
“I have an anti-fog visor, but it clearly wasn’t enough
to cope with the kind of conditions we were facing out there.”
Twelve minutes into the session, and with the car already
lying on provisional pole, the Brazilian headed back into
the pitlane for a quick wipe-over. It was a matter of seconds,
but the pressure was on to get a single flying lap into
the bag before the chequered flag – especially when Vosse
went quicker. Erdos crossed the line with moments to spare,
but it wasn’t a straightforward lap. “I got really bogged
down,” he muttered, referring to some slower traffic that
baulked his progress, “but it was still my fastest lap.”
With
pole secure, Tommy Erdos began his slowing down lap, but
his dramas (albeit minor by most estimations) were just
beginning. “The fuel warning light had been on for a couple
of laps, but then the engine started to cough and splutter,”
he said. The car made it to the top of Les Combes, and he
then made best use of the downhill sections to conserve
fuel. The MG was still under power as it approached the
Bus Stop, but was now surrounded by the GT runners, eager
to get their own qualifying under way. Coasting through
the final metres he was almost engulfed by Porsche GT3s,
and then entered the pitlane - with a fast moving Team Jota
Zytek tucked under his rear wing. He had just enough momentum
left to reach the scrutineering bay, and just enough juice
left in the tank to supply the sample needed under the regulations.
Pared to the bone, admittedly, but that’s the way to qualify
on pole.
Erdos
has since been confirmed as the starting driver in the RML
MG EX264 for tomorrow’s race, which is due to get under
way at mid-day local time. “We’re feeling quite optimistic,”
admitted Phil Barker, “but we’ve still got a long race ahead
of us. In an ideal world, I feel we can be very competitive
in the class, and who knows, maybe even overall. But we
won’t be going out there with the intention of entering
a war with the LMP1 cars. If they want to go away, we’ll
let them.” The team has worked hard on reliability this
season, and their sternest test begins tomorrow. Follow
it here.
Marcus Potts
Contents Copyright © RML, AD Holdings and dailysportscar.com.
All Rights Reserved.