Le
Mans Series 2009
Round 3. Autodromo do Algarve 1000 Kilometres.
August 1st 2009
Race Press Release. Issued August 2nd 2009
RML
AD Group Turn the Corner in Algarve 1000 kms
Several
minor delays curtailed what was still RML AD Group’s
best result of the season in Round 3 of the Le Mans Series
on Saturday night. Tommy Erdos drove a blistering opening
stint to work through from 32nd on the grid to challenge
for second in LMP2, but during Mike Newton’s middle
stint in the RML Lola Mazda the car picked up a strange
vibration, and in the final stages of the race a coolant
leak and electrical issues added to the time lost.
Perhaps the strangest
problem faced by the team was a metre-long scrap of Astroturf,
which became trapped around part of the car’s suspension.
Used to decorate the run-off on some corners around the
Autodromo do Algarve, segments steadily disintegrated during
the race and troubled several teams. This, combined with
a coolant leak and a misfire – the latter solved by
a costly seven-minute pitstop for replacement plugs and
coil - would demand four additional pitstops, and cost the
team an almost certain podium.
In a season when
simply finishing a race has become an aspiration, to take
the chequered flag in seventh was a bonus that netted two
points towards a total that had started to look like a good
score in the BBC’s cerebral quiz show QI. A blown
engine in Round 1 secured a penalty of minus two, but any
subsequent failure is scored at minus four, so RML faced
the Algarve 1000 Kilometres ten points down. For the same
reason, Tommy Erdos also started from the back of the grid
after cumulative penalties totalling 20 grid positions were
imposed on his front-row qualifying run, demoting the #25
Lola Mazda from row six to sixteen.
The team took
these handicaps in good spirit and, fired by determination,
Thomas Erdos drove a remarkable opening stint, taking nine
cars on the first lap and reaching seventh in LMP2 inside
eight. He continued to push, and as the race entered its
second hour and darkness fell, he was lying third in class.
A quick pitstop for fuel, and the Brazilian resumed the
chase, closing to within three seconds of second place before
completing his double-stint. “I was very pleased to
have got us into a position where we could challenging for
second after starting so well back,” he said. “We
certainly demonstrated the underlying pace of the Lola Mazda.
The guys put together such a good car for the race –
it was simply delightful to drive - and that’s all
credit to the team.”
Mike Newton,
CEO of AD Group, drove two full stints and an extra splash-and-dash
third in the middle of the race, but towards the end of
his time in the cockpit he endured a vibration that steadily
grew worse. “At first I assumed it was pick-up,”
he said, but at the next pitstop the true cause was revealed.
“The Astroturf was flapping around the front wheel
and wishbone assembly, which combined with the normal tyre
pick-up to create a severe vibration. That made my second
stint very difficult, with driving in the dark being complicated
by blurred vision from the juddering.”
The debris was
successfully removed and Mike completed his spell at the
wheel before handing back to Tommy for the concluding two
hours. During that final stint the data technicians began
to detect some severe temperature spikes and pressure irregularities
in the cooling system. “The car was losing fluid,
but it was hard to pinpoint exactly where it was coming
from. The temperature and pressure started fluctuating wildly
after that,” explained Team Manager Phil Barker. As
a result, Tommy had to make four extra pitstops during the
final period. “We kept pressure-filling the system,
and after the second time we did that, the car did another
30 or 40 laps before it started again.”
Time lost in
the pits is harder to recover on track, but Tommy was consistently
one of the quickest in LMP2 as he worked back to 7th at
the flag. “Those last laps were remarkable,”
added Phil. “Without the water leak, we’d certainly
have been fifth, or better, but it’s so galling. We
started off down at the back of the grid, and yet fought
through to third in class, and might have soon made it through
to second.”
“Despite
these niggly problems, we clearly had the pace,” said
Mike. “We managed a clean, consistent, safe run, but
that only serves to demonstrate just how competitive the
LMP2 class is. You can’t afford to encounter even
a very minor issue without falling back out of contention.
One good point to come out of this race is that the engine
felt very stable, and it’s certainly well run-in now,
so hopefully it will be OK for the Nürburgring. We’ll
also arrive there without facing any fresh penalties, which
is a real bonus!”
Pauline Norstrom,
Director of Worldwide Marketing for AD Group, the team’s
principal sponsor, was impressed by the team’s performance.
“We had been very pleased with qualifying on Friday,”
she said, “but we’re even more delighted by
the pace of the car in today’s race. Tommy made a
solid run through to third in class, and was challenging
for second, and that’s very encouraging. All credit
to the team and both drivers.”
Tommy
felt that the team had worked exceptionally hard for small
return, but if a corner has been turned, than RML can look
forward to the final races of the year with renewed optimism.
There are just three weeks until Round 4 at the Nürburgring,
scheduled for August 22nd-23rd.
LMP2
Result
Pos |
No. |
O/all |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Laps/gap |
Best
Lap |
1 |
40 |
6 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/Pla |
Ginetta-Zytek
GZ09S |
207 |
1:35.316 |
2 |
29 |
7 |
Racing
Box |
Ceccato/Francioni/Piccini |
Lola
B08/86 Coupé |
205 |
1:36.632 |
3 |
41 |
8 |
GAC
Racing Team |
Ojeh/Gosselin/Peter |
Zytek 07S |
205 |
1:36.848 |
4 |
30 |
9 |
Racing
Box |
Biagi/Bobbi/Piccini |
Lola
B08/86 Coupé |
203 |
1:36.000 |
5 |
33 |
11 |
Speedy
Sebah |
Pompidou/Luenberger/Kane |
Lola
B08/80 Coupé |
198 |
1:36.140 |
6 |
35 |
12 |
Oak
Racing |
Ajlani/Lahaye |
Pescarolo
Mazda |
132 |
1:37.420 |
7 |
25 |
13 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
Lola
B08/86 Coupé |
195 |
1:36.740 |
8 |
24 |
21 |
Oak
Racing |
Nicolet/Hein |
Pescarolo
Mazda |
179 |
1:39.104 |
9 |
37 |
24 |
WR
Salini |
Salini/Salini/Jouanny |
WR
Zytek |
171 |
1:39.104 |
10 |
26 |
25 |
Bruichladdich |
Bruneau/Greaves/Sini |
Radical
SR9 AER |
165 |
1:41.832 |
|
|
|
NOT
CLASSIFIED |
(Not running or less than 150 laps) |
|
|
|
11 |
28 |
28 |
Ibanez
Racing |
Ibanez/da
Rocha/Cavailhes |
Courage
AER |
124 |
1:41.840 |
12 |
43 |
31 |
Q8
Oils Hache |
Jorda/Cortes/Nieto |
Lucchini
Judd |
90 |
1:40.332 |
For
high resolution digital photographs, please
visit the Algarve
Gallery.
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