RML
Team News
Britcar 24 Hours - Friday Qualifying. Issued September 8th
2006
Wagging
the Tail
The
Britcar 24 Hours is a unique event in the British motorsport
calendar, and it is already proving to be a unique experience
for the RML trio of Mike Newton, Thomas Erdos and Adam Wiseberg.
They have been joined for the weekend by Frenchman Philippe
Hesnault, and while that is perhaps a change from the norm,
it is the unusual qualifying situation they find themselves
in that makes this a truly extraordinary event. Familiar
with a front-row start when racing their MG Lola EX264 in
the Le Mans Series, the Erdos-Newton combination will instead
set out at the beginning of this weekend's Silverstone Twenty-Four
Hours from the back of the grid.
The
Britcar 24 is the only genuine twenty-four hour race in
the UK for serious (and semi-serious) sports, GT and saloon
cars. Last year’s inaugural event was an unqualified
success, despite appalling weather, and the 2006 staging
already looks set to improve on that reputation –
not merely because the forecast is very good. Some 55 cars
are expected to take the start, ranging from out-and-out
racecars, like the Mosler GT3 RS of last year’s victors,
Rollcentre Racing, through to a string of Honda Civic Type
Rs and a diesel-engined Volkswagen Golf. Some are taking
part for the glory of winning an endurance marathon, but
a large number are also present simply because it’s
great fun.
One
of those entrants is Team Vision View (*see footnote);
comprising the driving quartet of Mike Newton, Thomas Erdos,
Adam Wiseberg and Philippe Hesnault under the management
of Dave Beecroft of Xero Competition. Nobody in the team
is quite sure where the Vision View name came from, although
consensus has it that the organisers probably invented it.
Having missed Thursday’s free practice sessions, Friday
Qualifying was the first opportunity for the team to roll
out the Ford V8 Falcon GT in anger following its total rebuild.
(See previous news
item.) It proved to be a highly entertaining day, and with
a fairground set up in the rear of the paddock, the sun
shining, and barbecues being cooked behind the pits, the
whole atmosphere was light-hearted and convivial.
One
face evident during qualifying that, perhaps, should not
have been there, was that of Adam Wiseberg. Although Adam
is set to drive the Falcon this weekend, the Britcar 24
overlaps with one of his regular motorsport commitments;
the Tour Britannia round-Britain race for historic sports
and rally cars. Co-driving with Robin Eure-Maunsell, Adam’s
classic Porsche 911 had risen as high as third overall in
the competition after the first two days, including finishing
an impressive second in circuit races at Oulton and Donington
Parks.
With
a car that was in almost standard trim, sporting normal
road-wheels and tyres and none of the bells and whistles
being employed by some of their competitors, Adam and Robin’s
performance had been impressive, and certainly raised a
few eyebrows. The pair and their Gulf-liveried 911 were
looking set for an excellent result before transmission
problems ended the charge. With the Tour Britannia event
not due to finish until close of play on Friday, Adam should
have been at Mallory Park. Instead he was able to be present
to witness the Falcon’s first run in qualifying.
(Photos
from www.tourbritannia.com)
That began hesitantly. Thomas Erdos
was sent out at the start of the session, but was soon back
in the garage complaining of a misfire. “You put a
Brazilian into the car, and instantly, he breaks it!”
quipped Mike Newton. It was not, however, the Brazilian’s
fault. After the car’s first test following the rebuild
– at Croft last week – it became evident that
the Australian musclecar was not going to be able to meet
Britcar’s stringent noise emission regulations. In
the days since then a new exhaust and silencer system has
had to be fitted to reduce the rorty bellow of the V8, and
while it has been successful in ensuring that the beast
now purrs more quietly, the gas-flow through the engine
had been disrupted. Not until the car was actually on track
again was it possible for the team to address the engine
mapping changes required to match this fundamental change
in combustion. “All the plugs were fouling up,”
explained Erdos.
For
the first hour Erdos was forced to pursue a taxing regime
of out-laps-and-return as changes were made to the settings.
Finally, with perhaps less than half an hour remaining,
the car was deemed fit to complete a few flying laps. Although
running far more sweetly, the engine was still not pulling
as it should, but the progress was sufficient to allow Thomas
Erdos, Mike Newton and Philippe Hesnault to complete three
laps apiece.
Unfortunately,
time ran out on Adam Wiseberg, although he did complete
a simulated driver change right at the end of the session
(below) before declaring the car’s stance to be “very
neutral”, and the handling “stable, predictable,
and very forgiving.”
Philippe,
nephew of the one-time French Grand Prix driver François
Hesnault, who raced for Ligier and Brabham in the mid-Eighties,
seemed pleased by his brief hand at the wheel. “I
enjoyed it,” he insisted. “I’m also delighted
to be here at Silverstone. Everything is very new for me,
and the car is very different.” Philippe came into
the frame for this drive two weeks ago, when he raced in
the Le Mans Series at Donington Park, and also made a guest
appearance in the Radical support race. That car had been
prepared by Dave Beecroft, and when Nigel Smith pulled out
of the Britcar Falcon opportunity due to family commitments,
his LMS co-driver Philippe was the obvious replacement.
“It all happened just two days ago,” said Philippe.
“It was very sudden, but I said ‘yes!’”
The
net result of qualifying, however, did not look promising
for the Falcon crew. Second-to-last is a strange prospect
for Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos, twice Le Mans winners,
and with an unbeaten record in qualifying for the Le Mans
Series this season – five poles out of five races
(including Le Mans 24 Hours) for Thomas Erdos. A best for
the #25 car of 2:32.211 was half-a-minute away from pole,
set on this occasion by last year’s winner, the Rollcentre
Mosler. Strangely, nobody in the Falcon garage seemed in
the least bit perturbed by the change of fortunes. “It
is so pleasant to come to a race meeting and not feel under
any great pressure,” said a very relaxed Thomas Erdos
a little while later, easing back in a chair at the Paddock
Bar and drinking coffee. “This is all about rediscovering
our roots – the reason why we all became involved
in motorsport to begin with. We all wanted to have fun,
and that’s why we’re here this weekend.”
The competitive spirit is still alive and well, however.
“The car is not right yet,” conceded Erdos.
“There’s still a lot more to come from the Falcon,
and I’d be surprised if we can’t get down to
a two-twelve, or perhaps even a little quicker than that.
Perhaps we can shave twenty seconds off that qualifying
time.”
Unfortunately,
even if they were able to do that in the later Night Qualifying
period, it wouldn’t alter the fact that the Falcon
will start Saturday’s race from the back of the grid.
The evening session was purely for experience, with each
of the car’s drivers expected to complete at least
three flying laps in the dark in order to meet the regulations.
That two-hour period began at eight o’clock.
This time it was Adam Wiseberg who
headed out first. In the hours since morning Qualifying,
the final tweaks had been made to the car, and the five-litre
V8 was sounding especially smooth, despite the flames spitting
wildly out of the side exhausts. Wiseberg completed his
required three laps before handing over to Hesnault, who
in turn handed on to Newton. “I’m very disappointed
in Adam’s performance,” said a frowning Thomas
Erdos. “He didn’t spin the car once, and I suspect
he’s not trying hard enough!” Slightly taken
aback, Adam was quick to reply that he’d been too
busy avoiding others, who’d kept spinning in front
of him! “It’s just a bit of a challenge doing
your first laps in the dark,” he continued, “although
the Falcon copes very well with the kerbs. Perhaps that’s
just as well. It’s a bit of a brute. Perhaps I’d
have been better off in a Honda Civic!” The tone underlies
the team’s whole attitude to the weekend, which is,
in itself, delightful. “We’ve come here to have
a bit of fun, and it’s a fun car,” explained
Wiseberg. “It’s actually very forgiving, but
it does have a surfeit of power over grip, and that can
make driving very entertaining. You have to be a little
circumspect with the right foot.”
Philippe,
geting into the car above, had a broad grin across his face
when he stepped out again ten minutes later. “It is
good!” he declared. “The car is fun to drive,
but it is hard – in the dark it is hard – because
I don’t yet know the circuit very well, but the lighting
is good, and I can see perfectly clearly, so it will be
fine for the race.”
Last
into the Falcon was Thomas Erdos, left. It proved to be
a classic Erdos moment. His first flying lap was a 2:06,
immediately setting the lie to his earlier insistence that
“perhaps we can shave 20 seconds” off the qualifying
time. “I told him he’d do a 2:12 or better,”
grinned Wiseberg. Tommy’s next lap was a 2:05.698,
followed by a 2:05.625. “Oh, that’s about it
then,” declared Wiseberg. “He won’t improve
much on that.” It was good enough for 13th overall
and fifth in class, but the Brazilian hadn’t actually
finished yet. The distinctive exhaust note of the Falcon
echoed down the pit straight one more time, and 2:02.592
flicked up onto the screens – eighth overall, third
in class.
There
was a deep sense of satisfaction in the Vision View pit
garage.
With
his laps completed, Erdos brought the car back into the
pitlane, and it was then wheeled backwards into the garage.
Twenty minutes of the session remained, but there was little
point in pressing on. The team had proved that the car was,
despite earlier indications, quick, and they could look
forward to a relatively early night. “The engine really
strong,” nodded a very satisfied Erdos. “The
car’s stable under braking, and the gearbox is superb.
I’m just sorry we lost so much time earlier, but we’ve
all had a good run in the car now, and it’s very encouraging.”
Had he known there was the potential for a two-minute lap
in the Falcon? “Until I drive a car on track, I can’t
tell how quick I’m going to be able to go. After this
morning, I just didn’t think that time was in the
car, but now, well, perhaps in daylight even a fifty-nine
is possible.”
Mike
Newton likes a very hands-on approach to his motor racing,
and even gets closely involved in the MG when he’s
racing at Le Mans Series events. With the Falcon, that’s
even more evident, and he was frequently to be seen head-down
in discussions with Dave Beecroft or another member of the
crew. “I’m very pleased that we’ve discovered
the underlying pace of the car,” he beamed, “especially
considering the zero testing time we’ve done. It’s
clear we actually have a very capable pace now. We just
need to finalise the set-up to ensure that she’ll
run steady in the race. Even with a car that’s just
been rebuilt, with no testing, I can’t see anything
that’s obviously likely to give us too many concerns.”
As for the evening performance from Erdos . . . “Well,
as ever, Tommy, in a minimum number of laps, did a phenomenal
time. That’s Tommy!” Packing up towards the
back of the garage, the man in question still had a beaming
grin across his face, his hair slightly on end having just
pulled off his balaclava. “I really, really enjoyed
that!” he said again. Let’s hope for more of
the same in the race.
Please
note:
Since this Qualifying piece was posted the correct name
for the team has been confirmed as AD NetVu
For the full race report, click here
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