Le
Mans Series 2006
Round 1. Istanbul 1000 Kilometers. April 7th-9th 2006
Qualifying
Report
Pole
for RML in Le Mans Series opener
The opening round of the 2006 Le
Mans Series season took everyone back to the fabulous Grand
Prix circuit of Istanbul Park in Turkey, where the previous
year had been wrapped up by a win for Mike Newton and Thomas
Erdos in LMP2. After a winter of further development, an
engine swap from Judd back to AER, and a succession of very
encouraging tests (including an exhaustive 455 laps at Paul
Ricard in late March) RML had every right to feel optimistic.
The MG Lola chassis is now well-proven,
and a win at Le Mans in 2005 followed by such a narrow miss
on the LMES title - a single point depriving Newton and
Erdos of shared honours – suggests that RML’s
challenge this year should see the Wellingborough-based
outfit setting the pace in LMP2. The category has matured
considerably over the last two seasons, and the long-standing
accusation of fast but fragile machinery seems to have been
swept aside by a series of impressive results on both sides
of the Atlantic. The competition has also intensified, with
new cars entering the fray, and strength in depth making
LMP2 one of the most competitive categories in endurance
motorsport.
During that Paul Ricard test RML’s
MG Lola covered almost 3000 kilometers, amply demonstrating
the reliability of the car and its newly-installed AER turbocharged
engine. Last year RML elected to power the EX264 using Judd’s
normally aspirated V8, but reverting to the smaller four-cylinder
unit for 2006 reunites the chassis with the lighter engine
around which the original EX257 was created. This “return
to roots” was one of the main reasons behind the change,
as Thomas Erdos explained. “Judd were fantastic to
work with. The car went round and round all last year and
hardly missed a beat. Their backup and support was phenomenal,
and they gave us the unit that won Le Mans for us, so I
wouldn’t want anyone to think we weren’t happy
with their engine or the service we received from them.
Far from it! Even so, the change to AER makes sense this
year. For one thing, Mike [Newton] already had two AER engines
(from the EX257), and for another, the MG was originally
developed around that unit.” And how has this change
effected the car? “The power delivery from the AER
is very different from the normally-aspirated V8, where
you had to wait a moment for the toque to wind up. With
the turbo you get an almost immediate response to the throttle.
That makes the car very different to drive, and it feels
more nimble than before, if that’s the right word.
It is already apparent that having the lighter engine, and
where it’s mounted in the car, suits the balance better.
That may stem from the fact that this car was originally
developed around the AER engine, and we are just getting
back to the purity of the original concept.”
Another
consideration must have been the improved reliability of
the AER unit, as demonstrated in 2005 by those other teams
that had retained the turbocharged four-cylinder. “The
engine seemed very competitive in the 1000 kilometer races
last year,” continued Erdos, remembering perhaps how
Chamberlain’s similar Lola chassis, powered by the
AER unit, had secured the championship title in LMP2. “Teams
were getting great fuel economy as well as improved reliability,
and that finally swayed the decision.” Paul Barker,
team manager at RML, also cited this as having been a significant
factor in the change. “Over the winter we looked at
all aspects of the car’s performance, and saw that
AER had moved on a great deal since we worked with them
in 2004. They were significantly better on fuel economy
over race distances, and that was allowing other teams using
AER units to take a full pitstop away from us. To give our
drivers a fairer chance it was critical that we addressed
that issue.”
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Istanbul
Free Practice
Three
sessions of free practice were scheduled for the run-up
to the Istanbul 1000 kilometers. The first of these was
staged on the Friday afternoon, under what was to prove
perhaps the best weather conditions of the weekend. Times,
however, were generally much slower than they’d been
at the end of last season, thanks largely to the track itself.
“The surface has very low grip at the moment,”
said Erdos. “It’s very dusty, and we need to
lay down some fresh rubber. It’s all very green.”
This was actually a recurrent criticism of the circuit last
year, and wisdom has it that it will actually take another
full season for the surface to mature. Erdos managed a best
of 1:48.416 to stand eighth quickest overall, but surprise
of the session turned out to be Rollcentre’s all-new
Radical SR9. Having retired his class-one Dallaras at the
end of 2005, Martin Short’s entry into LMP2 was being
made with some aplomb. “We weren’t really all
that surprised to see him going quickly here,” conceded
Erdos. “I think we’d had our first taste of
surprise from Martin at Paul Ricard, when the SR9 had also
been very quick.” The Radical’s 1.46.135 was
still well short of last year’s pole of 1:40.860,
but certainly represented an impressive opening gambit from
the black and green car.
The
following morning, early, the track was open for business
once again, although grey clouds had replaced the previous
day’s sunshine and the surrounding hillsides were
swathed in a thin blanket of mist. Thomas Erdos was back
out in the MG, setting a best of 1:45.148, but this session
was not about pace. “We’ve been unable to run
at full speed here yet,” explained the Brazilian.
“There are some minor set-up issues relating to the
engine management software and the fuel, but we’re
getting there.” Phil Barker also explained that the
team had been very busy with the MG since Paul Ricard. “We’ve
fitted a new engine, of course,” he said. “In
fact, the car’s had a complete rebuild – engine,
suspension, the works – and we’re still dialling
that in. We’re also working with new fuel here in
Istanbul, and so we’re slowly creeping back up to
full power, but not there yet.” On the question of
the fuel, Barker continued: “The fuel is new to the
Le Mans Series this season, and it’s a different fuel
to the one being used in America [where the Garrett turbochargers
are built and developed]. The turbo is particularly susceptible
to detonation on the boost, so we had to make sure that
wasn’t going to happen before we gave the drivers
full power. Mike and Tommy have been as good as gold, but
I know it must be frustrating for them!” To those
unaware of RML’s cautious approach, the sight of Joao
Barbosa setting a time of 1:43.195 in the Radical certainly
set the tongues wagging, although the more astute recognised
that this was still three seconds shy of last season’s
pole.
Of
more significance within the RML garage was the broad smile
on Mike Newton’s face. He was finding it hard to disguise
his personal satisfaction, not only at going faster round
the Park than he’d ever gone before, and getting to
within a second of his team-mate’s pace, but also
from the simple joy of being back at the wheel of the MG
once again. Here was a man clearly enjoying himself. “That
was a personal best, and I’m very happy with that,”
he beamed. “I went the fastest I’ve ever gone
through Turn Eight, and yet I felt I could still have used
more throttle.” Hopefully, with the mapping finally
settled, he’ll be able to. “That was another
personal best for Mike,” said Barker as he congratulated
Newton. “He’s just going quicker and quicker
all the while!”
By
the time the second session came around the track was being
glistened by an intermittent light drizzle. More irritating
than anything else, the damp failed to disguise the fact
that RML had found the set-up they liked and were now looking
forward to the afternoon’s qualifying period with
some confidence. Despite the slippery track, Erdos set the
fastest time so far for LMP2, topping the screen with a
best of 1:43.032 and ending free practice as third quickest
overall. “We’re getting there at last,”
acknowledged Phil Barker, “but I’d have liked
to have arrived a bit sooner!” By contrast the Radical
was ten seconds adrift after starter-motor problems, but
there was still a fair-sized gap between Barbosa’s
earlier 1:43 and the third-quickest LMP2 prototype; Paul
Belmondo’s Courage on 1:46.164. “Today has been
a bit frustrating, to be honest,” shrugged Thomas
Erdos. “We’ve been working on set-up for the
race, and not too concerned about qualifying. If there are
any signs of matters we need to address, we’ve been
bringing the car in straight away and stopping. If you adopt
that kind of a strategy, you have to be prepared to compromise
outright speed in practice in favour of race preparation.
We’ll probably push a little harder in qualifying
this afternoon, but not to the detriment of the car, of
course. As always, we’re here for the race, so you
won’t see us trying anything unnecessary in the days
before.”
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Qualifying
A
great deal can depend on just twenty short minutes of qualifying,
although facing the prospect of a six-hour race can also
mean that the difference between one row and the next on
the grid can become pretty inconsequential. Even so, there’s
kudos and a certain degree of pride that comes with claiming
pole position, and Thomas Erdos was out to do just that
when he steered the RML MG Lola away from the team’s
garage at 3:26, just before the pitlane opened. With the
sky still overcast and the track accepted as unforgiving
after the on-going drizzle, Guy Smith’s LMP2 pole
of 1:40.860 from 2005 looked unbeatable, but Barbosa was
still promising much from the Radical.
The early pace in LMP2 set by Michael
Vergers in the #32, who was first to top the charts with
his opening flyer of 1:45.579. Next through was Didier André
in the #37 Belmondo, who moved through to provisional pole
with a new best of 1:44.336. Erdos, yet to complete a flying
lap, came through next, and leapfrogged both with the fastest
time anyone had yet seen from LMP2, staking his claim to
pole with an impressive 1:42.961, fourth fastest overall
and just ahead of Jan Lammers in the Racing for Holland
Dome. “Gounon spun just in front of me at Turn 9,”
explained Erdos afterwards, accounting for his late arrival
at the finishing line. “We were on our first flying
lap. I think he was surprised by the lack of grip, and I
was surprised by his spin. I ended up doing exactly the
same thing! We were both keen to get going, but the rain
was drizzly and the track was greasy.”
Back
in the garage Ray Mallock, Mike Newton and Adam Wiseberg
were clustered around the timing screen, following the car’s
progress intently, sector by sector, while Mike also followed
Tommy’s progress on a mini laptop linked to the car’s
telemetry. The tyres normally reach their peak on the third
qualifying lap, so it was no surprise when Tommy’s
next beacon-breaking time was marginally quicker at 1:42.828,
moving him into 3rd overall and within half a second of
Nic Minassian, at that stage narrowly holding outright pole
from Emanuel Collard. The Radical had yet to show its hand,
with Barbosa trailing André on 1:46.721.
Erdos
hit traffic – not literally – on his fourth
lap – but his fifth flyer was the one that counted;
1:42.336 looking sufficiently well clear of anyone else
that the Brazilian was coasting back down the pitlane next
time around to sit out the remainder of the session, six
minutes still to go. Collard, meanwhile, had set 1:40.266
to establish a firm grasp on outright pole, with Minassian
second and Erdos third. “There’s a light drizzle
and the temperature is down a bit today,” said Mike
Newton. “We know the track has the capability to be
quicker, but not today.”
With
the wheels removed, Erdos sat impassive in the cockpit,
watched by the ever-attentive crew, each poised to grab
fresh tyres should they be needed. They weren’t. When
fresh wheels were brought forward, they were cold, and only
there to enable the car to be brought back into the garage.
In the dying moments, Jan Lammers nabbed third overall by
a tenth or so, but the MG was comfortably topping LMP2,
still on the second row overall, and heading the class by
almost exactly a second from the late-flying Barbosa, with
Vergers rising to third in the final minutes, and André
fourth.
“It’s good to be on pole
for the first race,” smiled a relaxed Erdos afterwards.
“It’s the perfect way to begin the season, and
our relationship with AER. I found enough clear track to
do a quick time, without the GT cars of course, but the
track is still very slow compared to last year.” Asked
what goes through a driver’s mind when he’s
sitting out the end of qualifying, he replies with typical
candour. “I’m just praying nobody goes any quicker!
I don’t want to do any more than I have to, for the
car’s sake. I may not be moving much, but I’m
talking to Phil on the radio most of the time. We have a
strategy of always doing as little as we need to. There’s
no point in pounding round and round for no reason. The
bigger picture is the race, and that’s where we’re
looking.”
At
the time the loss of third overall was deemed of little
consequence. “It doesn’t matter,” insisted
Phil Barker. “We’re still on the second row
. . . just on the other side of the track.” Time would
tell, perhaps, but for the time being the team manager was
very satisfied. “We were steadily tuning-in the package
every session. The engine guys were also sorting out the
fuel issues, and we got on top of everything at just the
right moment. That gave Tommy a nice stable car for qualifying,
and he did the business.” Adam Wiseberg was elated.
“I think that’s the first time we’ve been
on the second row,” he said. “We’re very
pleased with that, very pleased indeed. It’s a fantastic
performance.” Mike Newton agreed. “Absolutely
delighted,” he grinned. “The track is a lot
slower than the ultimate pace, but having only three LMP1
cars ahead of us is the perfect way to start the race. It’s
going to be tough all the way through the field, and there
are several cars here this season with a chance, but we’re
in a strong position.”
Ray
Mallock, team owner at RML, is not usually a man to demonstrate
his emotions in public, but he was clearly pleased. “This
is clearly a very good start to the ’06 campaign,”
he said. “It’s a continuation of the very positive
results we’ve seen in testing, and we already appear
to have the makings of a very quick and consistent car.
It was a real pleasure to see Tommy putting in a lap time
a full second clear of P2. We’ve done all we can to
prepare well for this season, and this race in particular,
so we hope this performance carries through to the 1000
kilometers tomorrow.”
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