Le
Mans Series 2008
Round 2. Monza 1000 Kilometres. April 26th-27th 2008
Saturday Report
Saturday
"We're
far, far away from where we should be," was Tommy's
verdict after the final practice session on Saturday morning.
"It's turning into a very frustrating weekend."
The news has not all been bad, however, and despite a general
disappointment in the RML garage that the MG X265 wasn't
as high up the timing screens as perhaps it should have
been, Mike Newton was looking hot, but happy. His final
three-lap practice stint had seen him set his fastest ever
lap here at Monza.
Come
the end of the afternoon, the mood had changed. A stunning
lap in qualifying from Thomas Erdos had restored the team's
spirits, and the RML MG was back amongst the front-runners
in LMP2. There was still a gap to the Porsches, but it had
narrowed considerably.
Third
Free Practice
The
guys at RML are used to long hours and hard work. The challenge
is to not simply to complete the tasks assigned to them,
but to do them well. Another late night, followed by an
early rise, had ticked all the boxes, and the MG was looking
in good shape by the time Tommy throttled away from the
pitlane exit at just after ten this morning. Close examination
of all the data had allowed Phil Barker and his technicians
to devise a set-up for the car that they hoped would suit
the track.
Tommy's
first real flier proved that their educated guesswork had
been pretty close to the mark. 1:40.257 was the quickest
the red, white and blue MG had yet gone, and while it fell
short of last year's qualifying best from the Brazilian
(1:40.146) it wasn't far off. The only trouble is, the benchmark
has been moved this season, and pole in LMP2 looks likely
to be close to two seconds faster than the 2007 time of
1:39.271 set by Michael Vergers in the Barazi Zytek.
Over
the course of the next forty minutes the MG was in and out
of the pitlane almost every three laps, as the engineers
made fine adjustments to the settings. Sadly, the mounting
level of traffic meant that Tommy was never to get another
clear lap, and that forty-point-two would end up being his
best, for now at least.
For
the final ten minutes or so, Mike took advantage of some
track time to set a new personal best of 1:42.386 for the
Monza circuit. "I'm absolutely delighted with that,"
he beamed. "And that was in traffic too!". He
admitted to some personal satisfaction at an achievement
which can be attributed to two factors - his own improvement
as a driver, and the advances the team has made with the
chassis. If only that vital third factor - the engine -
could be said to be contributing in equal measure. Although
much improved since yesterday's disastrous start, the XP-21
is not yet meeting the potential that the team, and the
AER technicians, know it represents. "We're much happier
than we were yesterday," conceded Mike, "but it's
all relative, We're not exactly over the moon with the general
situation."
Adam
Wisberg, Motorsport Director of AD Group, has been keeping
tabs on times, not only those set by the RML MG, but also
the other competitors in the LMP2 class. With the #34 Van
Merksteijn Porsche posting 1:37.522 in that session, he
was well aware of the challenge facing the team's two drivers.
"Losing an engine in the first session yesterday has
left us playing catch-up, and we've got an awful long way
to go yet before we're in the position where we should be."
Perhaps matching the pace of the Porsches on a circuit like
Monza was always going to be a long-shot, but being 2.5
seconds adrift is immensely frustrating.
Top
LMP2 Times - Session 3
Pos |
No. |
Overall |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
1 |
34 |
12 |
Van
Merksteijn M/s |
Van
Merksteijn/Verstappen |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:37.522 |
2 |
31 |
13 |
Team
Essex |
Nielsen/Elgaard |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:37.928 |
3 |
32 |
14 |
Barazi
Epsilon |
Barazi/Vergers/Rees |
Zytek
07S |
1:37.968 |
4 |
27 |
15 |
Horag
Racing |
Lienhard/Theys/Lammers |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:38.119 |
5 |
33 |
17 |
Speedy
Sebah |
Belicchi/Pompidou/Zacchia |
Lola
Bo8/80 Coupé |
1:39.183 |
6 |
40 |
18 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/Pla |
Lola
B05/40 AER |
1:39.460 |
7 |
46 |
20 |
Embassy
Racing |
Kane/Foster |
WF01
Zytek |
1:40.033 |
8 |
25 |
21 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
MG
Lola EX265 |
1:40.257 |
9 |
41 |
22 |
Trading
Performance |
Ojeh/Gosselin/Schroyen |
Zytek
07S |
1:40.816 |
10 |
35 |
23 |
Saulnier
Racing |
Ragues/Lahaye |
Pescarolo
Judd |
1:41.239 |
11 |
45 |
25 |
Embassy
Racing |
Hughes/Haberfield |
WF01
Zytek |
1:41.462 |
12 |
26 |
26 |
Bruichladdich |
Rostan/Petersen/Lueders |
Radical
SR9 AER |
1:41.886 |
13 |
44 |
27 |
Kruse
Schiller |
de
Pourtales/Noda |
Lola
B05/40 |
1:43.061 |
14 |
30 |
28 |
Racing
Box |
Didaio/Francioni |
Lucchini
Judd |
1:43.868 |
15 |
37 |
37 |
WR
Salini |
Salini/Salini/Roussel |
WR
Zytek |
1:47.512 |
Qualifying
The
twenty-minute prototype session kicked off at five-past
two, but the RML MG Lola EX265 was still sitting in the
garage, Thomas Erdos strapped into the cockpit. There wasn’t
a problem, and this time the choice to stay there was deliberate.
“There are a lot of LM2 cars going down early, so
we’ll wait five and then go,” said Phil Barker
over the radio. Everyone relaxed, almost visibly, and Tommy
sat calmly and quietly, the car’s wheels still baking
gently in the warming cabinet.
Out
on track the first cars were hustling through the Ascari
chicane and heading down towards Parabolica. The GT times
still topped the timing screens, with the #72 Luc Alphand
Corvette on pole, but not for much longer. First to show
in LMP2 was the #27 Horag Porsche, driven by Jan Lammers.
He whistled past the pits in a time of 1:38.104. He was
followed in swift order by Jos Verstappen, clocking a 1:36.340
in the #34 to go 4th overall and reaffirm the purple Porsche’s
credentials as fastest in LMP2 – a position it has
occupied throughout all sessions so far. However, with the
Peugeots, Audis or other leading P1 contenders yet to appear
on track, it was all pretty academic at this stage.
Five minutes had more than elapsed, and
Tommy was still mentally twiddling his thumbs in the garage.
Then, with 12 minutes and 30 seconds remaining, Phil Barker
called for the tyres. Quickly, and efficiently, the four
fresh tyres were collected from the infra-red warming cabinet
and fitted to the car, but as the last nut was tightened
fast there was a gasp from those watching the TV coverage.
Jamie Cambell-Walter in the #14 Creation had plunged at
considerable speed across a paved run-off and straight into
the tyre wall at the second chicane. It was a very heavy
accident,. “There may be a red flag” called
Phil Barker. Yellow flags could be seen being waved, but
the car and scattered tyres were clear of the track. “No,
it looks like we’re going on,” countered Phil.
“Let’s send him out.”
Tommy and the MG were eased out onto the
pitlane. “If there’s a crash and yellow flags,
I won’t be able to set a time,” suggested the
Brazilian, but Phil reassured him that everyone else was
still going for it. “You’ll just have to drive
through it,” he said, as the car accelerated away
down the pitlane.
Half
the session had now gone, and the situation in LMP2 had
the #34 Porsche on provisional pole with a time of 1:36.842,
followed by the #27 Horag Porsche on 1:37.845, then the
#32 Barazi Zytek, Vergers in the cockpit, on 1:38.955. Fourth
and fifth stood the two Embassy WF01 Zyteks, but their times
of 1:40.196 and 1:40.386 respectively looked achievable.
Then, with nine minutes remaining, the #33 Speedy Sebah
Lola muscled through with a 1:38.180 to plant a flag for
third in LMP2. It was significant, perhaps, that Jos Verstappen
had already returned to the garage in the #34, job done
on 1:36.842.
Despite Jamie Campbell-Walter buried in
the tyres, many cars were still setting improved times,
and some still had to post a meaningful time at all, including
Tommy and the ASM Lola #40. The first lap from the MG was
a 1:41.135, which was good enough for 10th in LMP2, 21st
overall, but it was soon evident that there was much more
to come. The first two sectors of Tommy’s next lap
both showed as green on the timing screen, signifying a
potential improvement. Sure enough, it was a “quick
one”, and he swept across the line to record 1:38.697,
his fastest lap of the meeting so far, and good enough for
fifth in P2, 15th overall.
In
LMP1 the times were continuing to tumble, with a shoot-out
to the flag being staged between Peugeot and Audi, with
the Charouz Lola Aston Martin the quickest of the petrol-powered
cars. “I’m aborting this lap,” came the
message from Thomas Erdos, who’d encountered traffic.
He looked for space, as Phil confirmed two laps to the end
of the session. Finally, a time from Olivier Pla in the
#40 ASM Lola, but 1:40.785 wasn’t yet a threat. His
next, at 1:39.998 would be better, but that was as good
as it got, and the Portuguese Lola would end the day 8th
in LMP2.
Others
were giving up by this stage, although several did not have
Verstappen's luxury of believing they couldn’t be
caught. Jonny Kane had been in the pitlane for five minutes
already, and with three still to go, Warren Hughes joined
him. The two Embassy Zyteks will start tomorrow’s
race from 10th and 11th, but neither car has yet to each
its full potential. If the numbers on the track were thinning,
those that remained included several with the potential
to change the status quo. One such was Casper Elgaard in
the Essex Racing Porsche #31. His next lap was a 1:38.346,
which slotted him into the frame, fourth in LMP2.
Also showing pace for the first time, the
#41 Trading Performance Zytek. This, the same car which
had led last season’s Silverstone 100 Kilometres as
a works entry for Zytek, failed to impress in Barcelona,
but in the closing moments of qualifying today, Claude-Yves
Gosselin notched up a time of 1:39.861 to claim sixth in
LMP2, just behind the MG.
Casper Elgaard hadn’t finished yet,
and his final lap of 1:37.957 moved the #31 Porsche through
into class 3rd. Another driver still on the move was Michael
Vergers, and in the closing moments he came through with
a new fastest time for the #32 Barazi Zytek, pipping Tommy
by a tenth with 1:38.570. Tommy, meanwhile, was finding
space a rare commodity, and his next lap was a 1:39.129.
“This will be your last timed lap,” said Phil
over the radio as the chequered flag was waved from the
starting gantry. The MG’s first sector was blue, and
so was the next. “Slacking off, slacking off,”
announced Erdos over the radio. “Never mind,”
replied a conciliatory Phil Barker. “That was a good
lap anyway.”
“That
was a very good lap from Tommy – a great effort,”
said Phil. “Considering we’ve been on the back
foot all meeting, that was a great effort. To have the Vergers
car (Barazi Zytek #32) just a tenth in front, and all the
others ahead of him brand new cars this year, I don’t
think the result is too upsetting.”
Mike
Newton was pleasantly surprised. “From where we started
yesterday, with a dead engine and struggling with the chassis,
the time that Tommy delivered today is probably the best
we could possibly have expected. Compared to ASM and the
Zyteks, I think it’s probably indicative of where
the car truly is now. It could have been a lot worse. I
just hope that we’ve now sorted out the gremlins and
cleared them away in practice.” From his own point
of view, he was very pleased to have set his best-ever time
for the Monza circuit, 1.8 seconds better than he’d
managed last year. “I’m confident that a mid-forty-two
is certainly possible for me. In that context of the times
being set by the other cars here, that’s not bad at
all. I’m just mindful of the fact that these Porsches
are six seconds quicker than me!
Tommy
recognised that his best efforts, as excellent as they were,
left a huge amount of work still to be done. “I’m
happy with that, but we have to recognise that we’ve
got an ocean to cross now. To be two seconds behind pole
is a vast difference, but that’s where we are, and
that’s not a nice situation to be in. However, we’re
ahead of the ASM Lola, and that’s the nearest comparable
package we’ve got to go on. I’m happy to be
ahead of them, and to be the quickest of the [open topped]
Lola chassis, but there’s such a vast gap between
us and the people on the front row. We’ll just have
to keep pushing, keep trying, and see if we can close the
gap.
News
of Jamie Campbell Walter
Jamie
was taken to hospital after his heavyweight meeting with
the tyrewall today, but the general prognosis seemed good.
Although battered and bruised, he was not believed to be
seriously injured, but had sustained ligament and muscle
damage to his back. He later underwent a specialised scan
which revealed two broken vertebra. Although in good spirits,
Jamie will be forced to take it easy for a while.
The
car is beyond repair, at least for this weekend's race,
and co-driver Stuart Hall will join Robbie Kerr and Bruce
Jouanny in the #15 sister car.
Penalised
Cars
Two
GT cars were penalised after qualifying for excessive cockpit
temperatures. Part of the ACO's latest regulations state
that drivers are not expected to have to endure cockpit
conditions that exceed 12 degrees above ambient. One of
the Spyker GT2 cars, and the #73 Corvette will start from
the back of the grid as a result, as will the #37 WR Salini
Zytek, which failed to set a time in qualifying.
Top
LMP2 Times - Qualifying
Pos |
No. |
Overall |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
1 |
34 |
10 |
Van
Merksteijn M/s |
Van
Merksteijn/Verstappen |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:36.842 |
2 |
27 |
14 |
Horag
Racing |
Lienhard/Theys/Lammers |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:37.845 |
3 |
31 |
15 |
Team
Essex |
Nielsen/Elgaard |
Porsche
RS Spyder |
1:37.957 |
4 |
33 |
16 |
Speedy
Sebah |
Belicchi/Pompidou/Zacchia |
Lola
Bo8/80 Coupé |
1:38.180 |
5 |
32 |
17 |
Barazi
Epsilon |
Barazi/Vergers/Rees |
Zytek
07S |
1:38.570 |
6 |
25 |
19 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
MG
Lola EX265 |
1:38.697 |
7 |
41 |
20 |
Trading
Performance |
Ojeh/Gosselin/Schroyen |
Zytek
07S |
1:39.861 |
8 |
40 |
21 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/Pla |
Lola
B05/40 AER |
1:39.998 |
9 |
35 |
22 |
Saulnier
Racing |
Ragues/Lahaye |
Pescarolo
Judd |
1:40.174 |
10 |
46 |
23 |
Embassy
Racing |
Kane/Foster |
WF01
Zytek |
1:40.196 |
11 |
45 |
24 |
Embassy
Racing |
Hughes/Haberfield |
WF01
Zytek |
1:40.385 |
12 |
44 |
26 |
Kruse
Schiller |
de
Pourtales/Noda |
Lola
B05/40 |
1:41.007 |
13 |
26 |
27 |
Bruichladdich |
Rostan/Petersen/Lueders |
Radical
SR9 AER |
1:41.785 |
14 |
30 |
30 |
Racing
Box |
Didaio/Francioni |
Lucchini
Judd |
1:44.471 |
- |
37 |
- |
WR
Salini |
Salini/Salini/Roussel |
WR
Zytek |
-:-
-.- - - |
|
Click
the link to hear an interview with Thomas Erdos |
There
are high resolution images posted in the Monza
Gallery.
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