Le Mans Series – Silverstone – Hours 2 & 3
It's Unfolding The second hour begins with a wave of regular pit stops – for those who didn’t stop under the SC. Lieb hands over to Pompidou, Collard stays in for a double, Chilton Snr. hands over to Max, Gavin stays in the C6.R. The Peugeot drivers pit and stay in their cars – so who leads? Stefan Mucke does. Cochet is second, 15 secs back, but is due a stop, JC-W is third – and fourth is Marc Gene, 33 seconds behind Mucke. The odd start to the race means it’s not a 908 walkover – for now. Bouchut leads GT1 from Garcia (-5 secs), these two having made their stops under the SC. Gavin and Ortelli are third and fourth after their stops on the hour. 69 mins., 37 laps and all the prototypes have stopped once, except for Buncombe who has made two stops. Lietz, second in GT2, hasn’t stopped yet, and he is 13 seconds behind the flying Bell. Pompidou is third, well over a minute down. Cochet pits so JC-W goes second, 20 secs behind Mucke, ten ahead of Gene. Hall and Berridge are next after their early SC stops, both ahead of Sarrazin. Max Chilton laps in 1:41, which is quicker than almost everyone. The Berridge Lola has some damage to the left/rear (the aero box behind the wheel is missing), while the LNT Panoz has a left/rear puncture. 75 minutes elapsed and Mucke and JC-W are lapping in the 1:40s, the same time that Gene is lapping in. Gene then laps in 1:38.8, but JC-W sets a 39.8. The Peugeots don’t seem to have that yawning advantage today. Traffic? Mowlem pits from fourth, so Masarati goes fourth in GT2, before his stop. Mucke stops – and JC-W leads ! The first time a Creation chassis has led a race. Sarrazin passes Berridge for fifth. Mucke stays at the wheel, with more rubber, and rejoins in sixth. JC-W’s lead is only 1.8 seconds after 43 laps, 80 mins. elapsed. The gap closes very quickly, but keeps the 908 behind through the complex – and down to Copse – but Gene passes before Becketts… and the gap between them swells alarmingly. This is Peugeot domination. Hall is third for Rollcentre – but he’s about to be Peugeot’d by Sarrazin. He is, at the complex. We have a Peugeot 1-3, the two diesels separated by 39 seconds. Bouchut still leads GT1, by 7 secs. from Garcia, then Gavin, Ortelli and Vosse. Ortelli in the Saleen seems to be the fastest man, the Modena Aston Martin not having a speed advantage at this stage of the race. With everyone in GT2 having stopped once, Bell leads by 90 seconds. P2 sees Jouanny leading in the Saulnier Courage: he must have stopped under the safety car, because he stops at 90 minutes, for stop no. 2.. JC-W pits just before 90 minutes, from second, and stays in the car. He drops to ninth. With the stops out of sequence thanks to that silly SC period, the race is a little fragmented. So are lap times: it’s rare for a car to lap in under 1:40 – because of the dreaded traffic. The Chamberlain-Synergy Lola pits for attention to the left/rear, and the missing aero box thing. The Peugeots are 1-2, from Mucke, Collard, Cochet, JC-W and little Max Chilton. De castro is next, the P2 leader, who has Erdos two spots behind him, these two split by the Rollcentre Pescarolo. Cox spins into the gravel at Abbey in the JWA Porsche, while Pompidou has a half spin in the third placed #77 F-P Porsche. Bell pits, after a short stint then a full stint, and hands over to Bruni. Perfect stop. Bruni should resume in the lead. This is Peugeot-like domination. Watts has pitted the LNT Zytek, having hauled it up ahead of all the GT2s. Ortelli, second in GT1, 17 secs behind Gavin (these two didn’t stop under the SC) has a big flappy bit of rear bodywork on the Saleen – above and behind the right/rear tyre. He doesn’t pit though – and still laps in 1:49. Erdos is less than 2 secs behind de Castro for the P2 lead, with Tinseau right behind the Brazilian. But Erdos has his left/rear boxy thing behind the wheel hanging loose – and he pits, virtually on schedule. He was hit by an Aston Martin, at Brooklands. He drops t fifth in P2, where the order is de Castro, Hughes (a great run), van de Poele (ditto for another Judd-powered car) and Barazi – who pits, for Vergers to take over (earlier than usual for him). In GT2, Bruni, with two stops completed, leads Lietz (1 stop) by 20 seconds. Pompidou is another 26 seconds back in third, then Dumbreck and Kane in the Spykers, going very well, then Bobbi and Drudi in the GPC Ferraris. The Farnbacher Porsche is next. Just before two hours, Gene pits from the lead, Minassian taking over on new rubber. Sarrazin follows in Gene, Lamy taking over. Collard pits too. Mucke can’t grab the lead this time, but he and JC-W are second and third on their different strategy. Ortelli pits, and lots of tape is applied to the rear of the Saleen. No retirements at two hours – all 45 still running. De Castro has a spin in GT2 traffic in the complex, on his in lap. Vergers is ahead of the Horag Lola after these cars’ second stops, so the best-placed P2 Zytek is third in class – no, make that second. Darren Manning leads P2 in the Embassy Radical, from Vergers and Erdos. The ASM Lola has had a long stop, the louvres over the front wheels being changed. Simon Pullan comes past the pits slowly – and pulls off after Copse. Manning and Vergers are right together for the P2 lead, these two on the same pit stop schedule (one hour, two hours etc.,). These two are lapping in the 44s, Erdos in third is in the 42s, 20 seconds behind them. Nearly 2 hours 15 and Turner passes Gollin in #50 for the GT1 lead, as this pair of early stoppers has its turn in 1-2. Policand and Ayari are third and fourth for now. #17 Pescarolo is stationary with a long delay for a starter replacement. Manning and Vergers are glued together for the P2 lead – and Vergers goes through at Stowe, leaving Manning stuck in traffic. Suddenly, ‘Verge’ leads the class by 3.5 seconds. Erdos is only 10 seconds behind Manning, the P2 race toing and froing in fascinating style. Vergers is ninth overall – so obviously the top eight cars are P1s, in the order
Minassian
Lamy
JC-W
Barbosa
Charouz
Boullion
Frei
Chilton. Erdos gains five seconds on Manning in one lap, the gap down to seven, with 2 hours 22 elapsed. JC-W pit from third, so now it’s a close race between Barbosa, Charouz and Boullion for third overall. Ortiz takes over in the Creation. Bruni leads Lietz by 30 seconds in GT2, with Lietz due the 76 car’s second stop soon. Charouz passes Barbosa for third, round the outside at Brooklands. Erdos passes Manning for second in P2. Vergers is 15 seconds up the road. Amaral is sixth in class, behind Lienhard in his Lola, and the Saulnier Courage. The patterns and orders in each class are starting to become clearer now. The Farnbacher Porsche has stopped at Copse with collapsed left/rear suspension. Gollin pits fronm second in GT1, so Turner, leading, should be about to stop, and Policand and Ayari will take over first and second. GT2 sees the Spykers running strongly in fourth and fifth – behind the Virgo Ferrari and IMSA and F-P Porsches. Narac and Lieb are in these two now, after a double stint from Lietz, and a single from Pompidou. Lieb is half a minute behind narac – and oddly enough, doesn’t seem to be closing. Danny Watts lost six laps to the overall leaders with that early stop – so although he is now seven behind the lead Peugeot, he is only three laps behind the LMP2 leader, Vergers in the other P2 Zytek. He’s ahead of the Bruichladdich Radical now. Lamy is 85 seconds behind Minassian, at 2 hours 40 minutes. Charouz is a lap behind Lamy, but only six seconds ahead of Boullion. Greaves Jnr. and Amaral spin in the Becketts sweepers. Policand and Ayari do take over the GT1 lead, these two just 17 seconds apart. Heaven knows how the pit stops for the top four GT1 cars will coincide with the duration of the race. Garcia is back in the Modena Aston, after one stint from Darren Turner: Gollin stayed in #50 for a double stint. Danny Watts: “I got into a very good rhythm, then we had that problem early on, then we had another niggly pronblem which slowed me up a bit for the last half hour. There’s a massive amount of debris out on the circuit and something got lodged under the front.” Chilton Jnr. has a spin, pits – and with big bro. in the car, it is wheeled into the garage. Something went wrong at the back of the car, apparently. Erdos pits at 2 hours 52, and we think that’s a bit early. Amaral passes Lienhard for third in P2. Vergers pits at 2 hours 53 minutes, and the P2 lead will go back to the Embassy Radical, which has dropped a minute on the Zytek. Minassian stops mid-way through a double stint. Boullion also pits. Bell is back in #96, and retains the GT2 class lead by over half a minute, despite the third stop (second full stop). Manning stops half way through his double stint, so Vergers will lead P2 again, from Manning, Amaral, Lienhard, Timpany and the Saulnier Courage. Kimber-Smith is only two seconds behind the Courage, after Watts’ recovery drive. TK-S passes 35 and 31 just after the hour. After 3 Hours
1 7 Team Peugeot Total GENE MarcMINASSIAN Nicolas Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 ==102== 1:35.563
2 8 Team Peugeot Total LAMY PedroSARRAZIN Stephane Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 ==101== 1:37.931
3 15 Charouz Racing MUCKE StefanCHAROUZ Jan Lola B07/17 Judd LMP1 0.828 1:38.730
4 16 Pescarolo Sport COLLARD EmmanuelBOULLION Jean-Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 ==100== 1:39.424
5 18 Rollcentre Racing BARBOSA JoaoHALL StuartSHORT Martin Pescarolo Judd LMP1 2.043 1:40.680
6 9 Creation Autosportif CAMPBELL WALTER JamieORTIZ FelipeKUROSAWA Haruki Creation CA07 Judd LMP1 27.721 1:38.338
7 12 Courage Competition FREI AlexanderCOCHET Jonathan Courage LC70 AER LMP1 37.744 1:40.351
8 32 Barazi Epsilon BARAZI JuanVERGERS MichaelOJJEH Karim Zytek 07S Zytek LMP2 ==98== 1:40.865
9 45 Embassy Racing HUGHES WarrenMANNING DarrenCUNNINGHAM Neil Radical SR9 Judd LMP2 ==97== 1:41.309
10 40 Quifel ASM Team AMARAL MiguelDE CASTRO Miguel AngelBURGENO Angel Lola B05/40 AER LMP2 ==96== 1:40.614
11 27 Horag Racing LIENHARD FredyTHEYS DidierVAN DE POELE Eric Lola B05/40 Judd LMP2 44.392 1:42.102
12 10 Arena Motorsport CHILTON TomCHILTON Max Zytek 07S Zytek LMP1 ==95== 1:39.983
13 31 Binnie Motorsports BINNIE BillTIMPANY AllenBUNCOMBE Chris Lola B05/40 Zytek LMP2 3.088 1:40.974
14 35 Saulnier Racing NICOLET JacquesFILHOL AlainJOUANNY Bruce Courage LC75 AER LMP2 4.819 1:42.069
15 46 Team LNT KIMBER-SMITH TomWATTS Danny Zytek 07S Zytek LMP2 7.743 1:38.626
16 19 Chamberlain Synergy EVANS GarethBERRIDGE BobOWEN Peter Lola B06/10 AER LMP1 23.053 1:41.116
17 25 RML ERDOS ThomasNEWTON Mike MG Lola EX264 AER LMP2 47.375 1:40.653
18 72 Alphand Aventures POLICAND JeromeGOUESLARD PatriceGAVIN Oliver Corvette C6.R LMGT1 ==94== 1:45.791
19 59 Team Modena GARCIA AntonioTURNER Darren Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 51.678 1:46.529
20 50 AMR Larbre BOUCHUT ChristopheGARDEL GabrieleGOLLIN Fabrizio Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 1:00.014 1:46.707
21 55 Team Oreca ORTELLI StephaneAYARI Soheil Saleen S7-R LMGT1 ==93== 1:46.387
22 21 Bruichladdich Radical MOSELEY StuartGREAVES TimGREAVES Jacob Radical SR9 AER LMP2 46.436 1:41.737
23 73 Alphand Aventures BLANCHEMAIN Jean-LucDUMEZ SebastienVOSSE Vincent Corvette C5-R LMGT1 1:13.242 1:48.200
24 51 AMR Larbre FISKEN GregorZACCHIA SteveFRANCHI Gregory Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 ==91== 1:49.399
25 96 Virgo Motorsport BELL RobertBRUNI Gianmaria Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 18.907 1:51.523
26 76 Imsa Performance NARAC RaymondLIETZ Richard Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==90== 1:51.453
27 77 Felbermayr-Proton LIEB MarcPOMPIDOU Xavier Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 19.959 1:53.024
28 85 Spyker Squadron HEZEMANS MikeDUMBRECK Peter Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R LMGT2 1:35.633 1:53.607
29 94 Speedy Racing Team BELICCHI AndreaCHIESA AndreaKANE Jonny Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R LMGT2 ==89== 1:53.334
30 61 Racing Box PERAZZINI Pier GiuseppeCIOCI MarcoTAVANO Salvatore Saleen S7-R LMGT1 23.226 1:47.500
31 83 GPC Sport DRUDI LucaMOWLEM JohnnyROSA Gabrio Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==88== 1:54.168
32 97 GPC Sport BONETTI AlessandroDE SIMONE FabrizioBOBBI Matteo Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 12.838 1:54.730
33 78 Scuderia Villorba CAFFI AlexZARDO Denny Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 1:20.517 1:55.172
34 82 Team LNT TOMLINSON LawrenceDEAN Richard Panoz Esperante GTLM LMGT2 ==86== 1:55.830
35 98 Ice Pol Racing Team LAMBERT YvesLEFORT ChristianKELDERS Christian Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==85== 1:56.627
36 99 JMB Racing BASSO MauriceMcCORMICK BoDA CRUZ MARTINS Francisco Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 7.846 1:56.517
37 88 Felbermayr-Proton RIED ChristianFELBERMAYR Horst JrSTUCK Johannes Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==84== 1:54.696
38 92 Thierry Perrier HESNAULT PhilippeBARFF RobNEVOA Pedro Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==83== 1:55.965
39 89 Markland Racing THIIM KurtSORENSEN Henrik Moller Corvette C6 Z06 LMGT2 ==81== 1:58.826
40 95 JWA DANIELS PaulCOX DaveCAMATHIAS Joel Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 13.339 1:55.268
41 84 Chad Peninsula Panoz HARTSHORNE JohnMcINERNEY SeanMcINERNEY Michael Panoz Esperante GTLM LMGT2 ==79== 1:58.897
42 90 Farnbacher Racing MASARATI PierEHRET PierreNIELSEN Lars Erik Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==72== 1:54.830
43 17 Pescarolo Sport PRIMAT HaroldTINSEAU Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 ==67== 1:40.683
44 79 Felbermayr-Proton FELBERMAYR Horst SrRIED GeroldCOLLIN Philip Porsche 996 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==59== 1:59.801
45 20 Pierre Bruneau ROSTAN MarcBRUNEAU PierrePULLAN Simon Pilbeam MP93 Judd LMP2 ==57== 1:44.054 | 
