Le Mans Series – Barcelona – Friday Morning
Three Diesels – Then Verstappen The first practice session of the 2008 Le Mans Series got underway just before midday at a steamy Circuit de Catalunya with 45 of the 49 cars present showing their faces on track during the 60 minute session. There seemed to be no major dramas for the (so far absent on the track) WR, Team Modena Aston, Trading Performance Zytek or Lavaggi, all expected to be out and running later, the Lavaggi crew still working their way through a job list after a late invitation to run here, the car not having run at all yet with its new AER engine. Only one Creation is present, so Stuart Hall joins JC-W and Ortiz. The timing system at the track seems to have lost the cars from places 18-34 so it was a difficult task to track progress amongst the leading GT runners and the middle pack of LMP2. That didn’t affect the top of the timesheets, the #6 Peugeot finishing the session fastest, a 1:33.250 from Stephane Sarrazin bettering Allan McNish’s best time by four tenths. The #1 Audi split the 908s with the #7 car next fastest, just a tenth shy of McNish’s mark, with the second R10 over a second slower. The Audi though wasn’t the fourth quickest: that slot went to a remarkable lap of 1:34.008 from the #34 Van Merksteijn Porsche RS Spyder, the LMP2 Porker showing clear intent at the first time of asking, in the hands of Jos Verstappen. The Porsche’s time was almost two seconds faster than the next fastest petrol powered car, that being the Charouz Aston Martin powered Lola Coupe, Stefan Mucke lapping just inside the 1:35s (in the now blue and white Lola) and just ahead of the solo Creation, Jamie Campbell-Walter setting the time. Second quickest in LMP2 was the Quifel ASM Lola, Olivier Pla though was almost 2.5 seconds shy of the Dutch run Porsche, but ahead of the two other RS Spyders. There’s plenty of new car problem chasing up and down the pitlane with the Embassy WF01s both making it out during the session, thanks to some frantic troubleshooting. The Speedy Racing team Sebah LMP2 Lola coupe is giving the team, and particularly its drivers, plenty to smile about. “It’s done precisely 812 km so far,” said Hugh Hayden post session, the #33 car is still a very new machine. Xavier Pompidou though was grinning like a man in a blazer in a knocking shop having given the car a right good spanking. “Compared to cars I have driven recently this is fantastic, the levels of grip, and the speed through the corners, are wonderful. I’m just now beginning to explore the real limits.” GT1 was headed up by Peter Kox’s 1:46 dead in the IPB Spartak Lamborghini with the 2007 GT2 Champions Virgo Motorsport topping that class once again despite a last minute niggle with a minor electrical fault, and a week long rush to install much of the 2008 upgrade kit on the now very yellow #96 Ferrari 430 GT2. The team has installed the step 3 engine and new single unit fuel tank but has not yet installed the new front and rear aero package. Virgo do however seem to have an advantage in one key area, their Dunlop development rubber seeming to be in rather a contrast to the Michelin runners, all of whom in GT2 seem to have, for today at least, customer spec tyres, easily identifiable by the blue colour flashes on the sidewall rather than the white of the development items. The Virgo car was almost a full second faster than Richard Lietz’s best effort in the quicker of the two IMSA Performance Porsches. Below is the brand new, JWA Aston Martin, and then one of the new Spykers.
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