Le Mans Series – Barcelona – Hour 2
Diesel Troubles
© Janos Wimpffen

McNish holds onto his lead under green, with Gene and Sarrazin very close behind. Mücke, still in the Lola-Aston Martin, has dropped several seconds down, but still well clear of Premat, who has not featured much in the second Audi—having written that, Premat sets the car and the race’s fast lap. This puts him well clear of the Creation of Campbell-Walter, who had been gradually catching the leaders.

Philippe Salini in the WR spun at Turn 10 and the car lost all power, requiring a shove off course by the marshals. Sarrazin moved into second place with Gene very close. The No. 41 Zytek of Ojjeh spun, while the Sarrazin 908 began to steadily catch the leading Audi of McNish.

Coming through one of the kinks Sarrazin tried to make a routine lap maneuver on Enge, but the Team Modena Aston Martin driver tagged the right rear of the Peugeot and loosened a big slab of bodywork. The Peugeot had no choice but to make a lengthy stop, that required a push back into the garage and a loss of 10 laps—rejoining in 39th place.

McNish did not get that much of a break from this as it only inspired Gene to pick up the pace, set fast lap, and begin to catch the Audi. In LM P2, Verstappen began to pick up the pace for the van Merksteijn Porsche team, but the car is still second in class some 9 seconds behind the leading Essex Spyder of Elgaard.

Another Zytek powered car is in the gravel, this time Joey Foster in the No. 46 WF01. He seems to have pulled off at Turn 9. He had felt a steering problem at the start of a lap and backed off. The problem immediately got much worse and he retired the car on the spot. The other Embassy entry has been called into the garage to investigate the situation.

Enge is at it again. This time it’s the Aston Martin that gets the worst of it, taking a trip into the marbles after a light tap with the No. 33 Lola-Judd. He scatters a fair amount of gravel onto the racing line at Turn 9.

Westbrook still leads GT2 but Davison is gradually catching him. Lietz is a steady third in class. Amazingly, Enge still leads GT1 by five seconds over Goueslard. The overall standings at 90 minutes are Gene, 5 seconds behind McNish, with the Lola another 17 seconds down in third. The other Audi is another 7 seconds back. In LM P2, Elgaard is some 5 seconds ahead of the No. 34 Porsche.

The second place Peugeot has two lurid moments, one a slight off, then a nasty twitch trying to catch McNish. It was for nought as a lap later the Audi made an unscheduled stop (McNish still aboard – slow puncture) and the Peugeot inherited the lead. Meanwhile the Barazi Zytek has come with damage to the right side and is pushed into the garage. The Epsilon is circulating with damage to its left side. Earlier they had a minor issue with the starter motor.

Premat is now steadily catching the Lola-Aston Martin, a contest that is for second place after the erstwhile leading Audi’s latest stop.

Verstappen has been penalized for twice under yellow. He has to stop twice, once for a 10-second and the second for 20-second penalty. Separately, they will need to change the ‘windscreen’.

The Lola-Aston Martin made its second regular stop and Charouz took over the wheel. The No. 10 team seems to be enjoying better fuel efficiency than either the Audis or Peugeots.

There is drama at the 1:50 mark as McNish comes in and the Audi is pushed into the garage—there is frantic work on the front scoop area (just clearing debris), with even more serious work at the engine end. He had earlier stopped for a punctured left rear. This longer stop was for a broken alternator belt.

Gene inherited the lead, but then a lap later the Peugeot makes a routine call, handing the top spot to Premat just as the No. 2 Audi is handed over to Rockenfeller. This puts Gene back up front. Lapierre (now in the No. 6 Courage-Oreca) has slipped into third place during all this. However, he was then passed on track by Charouz.

John Nielsen is aboard the class leading Porsche, now well clear of the LM P2 rivals. Enge handed to Garcia, giving the GT2 class lead to team owner Luc Alphand. Richard Lietz has a slim lead over Alex Davison in the GT2 battle.

The No. 94 Spyker retired with an exhaust problem. The Lucchini has been porpoising and the suspension on the front has been damaged. Verstappen pitted when the Safety Car was called out but before it actually emerged—losing the team a lap and causing some frustration. The ASM Lola spun just as the No. 1 Audi (Capello aboard) rejoined the race 6 laps down.

Rob Bell: “Mücke came past me in the final turn, which is a very dodgy place to pass. He hit me. The impact wasn’t bad but he pushed me onto the rubbish and we had a puncture.” Despite this problem the Virgo 430 is back up to 4th (then third) in class.

Hour 2 Positions
1 7 Team Peugeot Total GENE Marc MINASSIAN Nicolas Peugeot 908 Hdi-FAP LMP1 ==69== 1:34.859 2 2:25.250
2 2 Audi Sport Team Joest PREMAT Alexandre ROCKENFELLER Mike Audi R10 TDI LMP1 50s 1:35.297 2 2:13.479
3 10 Charouz Racing System MUCKE Stefan CHAROUZ Jan Lola Aston Martin LMP1 0.922 1:35.531 2 2:22.145
4 6 Team Oreca Matmut PANIS Olivier LAPIERRE Nicolas Courage-Oreca Judd LMP1 1:16.735 1:36.750 2 2:28.486
5 16 Pescarolo Sport COLLARD Emmanuel BOULLION Jean-Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 ==67== 1:37.578 2 2:39.398
6 14 Creation AIM CAMPBELLWALTER Jamie HALL Stuart ORTIZ Felipe Creation Aim LMP1 18.172 1:37.094 2 3:25.464
7 31 Team Essex ELGAARD Casper NIELSEN John Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 53.469 1:37.985 2 2:16.175
8 34 Van Merksteijn Motorsport VAN MERKSTEIJN Peter VERSTAPPEN Jos Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 1:21.281 1:37.360 3 3:09.692
9 17 Pescarolo Sport PRIMAT Harold TINSEAU Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 1:29.735 1:37.469 2 2:50.172
10 33 Speedy Racing Team Sebah BELICCHI Andrea POMPIDOU Xavier ZACCHIA Steve Lola Judd LMP2 ==66== 1:37.688 2 2:49.145
11 18 Rollcentre Racing BARBOSA Joao ICKX Vanina SHORT Martin Pescarolo Judd LMP1 27.953 1:39.313 2 3:05.058
12 40 Quifel ASM Team AMARAL Miguel PLA Olivier Lola AER LMP2 50.500 1:39.610 2 2:23.276
13 35 Saulnier Racing RAGUES Pierre LAHAYE Matthieu Pescarolo Judd LMP2 ==65== 1:40.688 2 3:12.572
14 25 RML ERDOS Tommy NEWTON Mike Lola MG LMP2 3.140 1:39.531 2 2:28.396
15 4 Saulnier Racing NICOLET Jacques FAGGIONATO Marc HEIN Richard Pescarolo Judd LMP1 18.625 1:40.266 1 1:28.224
16 1 Audi Sport Team Joest CAPELLO Rinaldo McNISH Allan Audi R10 TDI LMP1 ==64== 1:34.953 3 1:55.096
17 5 Team Oreca Matmut ORTELLI Stephane AYARI Soheil Courage-Oreca Judd LMP1 3:30.907 1:39.297 2 1:27.823
18 27 Horag Racing LIENHARD Fredy THEYS Didier LAMMERS Jan Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 8:18.469 1:37.532 2 7:00.156
19 19 Chamberlain Synergy EVANS Gareth BERRIDGE Bob Lola AER LMP1 ==63== 1:40.297 3 5:42.554
20 72 Luc Alphand Aventures ALPHAND Luc MOREAU Guillaume GOUESLARD Patrice Corvette C6.R LMGT1 2:46.312 1:45.766 2 2:36.188
21 59 Team Modena GARCIA Antonio ENGE Tomas Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 2:57.984 1:45.141 2 2:41.932
22 20 Epsilon Euskadi BURGUENO Angel DE CASTRO Miguel-Angel Epsilon Euskadi Judd LMP1 3:00.375 1:39.375 2 8:50.007
23 50 Larbre Competition MAKOWIECKI Frederic BORNHAUSER Patrick BOUCHUT Christophe Saleen S7R LMGT1 ==62== 1:46.125 2 2:48.047
24 55 IPB Spartak Racing RUSINOV Roman KOX Peter Lamborghini Murcielago LMGT1 2:00.750 1:46.734 2 2:34.872
25 76 Imsa Performance Matmut NARAC Raymond LIETZ RIchard Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 2:11.250 1:49.907 1 1:13.963
26 77 Team Felbermayr-Proton LIEB Marc DAVISON Alex Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 2:14.094 1:50.453 1 1:20.450
27 96 Virgo Motorsport BELL Robert Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==61== 1:49.328 2 2:04.788
28 73 Luc Alphand Aventures BLANCHEMAIN Jean-Luc DUMEZ Sebastien BERVILLE Roland Corvette C6.R LMGT1 21.859 1:46.969 1 1:25.659
29 26 Bruichladdich Radical ROSTAN Marc PETERSEN Jens LUEDERS Jan-Dirk Radical AER LMP2 32.515 1:41.859 3 3:44.447
30 91 Farnbacher Racing NIELSEN Lars Erik WESTBROOK Richard SIMONSEN Allan Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 37.125 1:50.734 2 2:26.328
31 90 Farnbacher Racing EHRET Pierre KAFFER Pierre BELTOISE Anthony Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 52.031 1:50.516 1 1:08.093
32 3 Scuderia Lavaggi LAVAGGI Giovanni Lavaggi AER LMP1 1:17.281 1:42.390 4 8:34.444
33 85 Snoras Spyker Squadron DUMBRECK Peter KELLENERS Ralf VASILIEV Alexei Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R LMGT2 ==60== 1:52.734 1 1:14.769
34 75 Imsa Performance Matmut BALANDRAS Richard LECOURT Michel BELLOC Jean-Philippe Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 23.437 1:51.547 1 1:26.050
35 95 James Watt Automotive DANIELS Paul PALTALLA Markus FORTSEN Mikael Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 38.343 1:52.344 1 1:29.018
36 99 JMB Racing AUCOTT Ben DAOUDI Stephane Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==59== 1:51.844 2 1:09.756
37 8 Team Peugeot Total LAMY Pedro SARRAZIN Stephane Peugeot 908 Hdi-FAP LMP1 1.828 1:34.109 2 18:25.522
38 30 Racing Box DIDAIO Marco FRANCIONI Filippo SAVOLDI Mirco Lucchini Judd LMP2 14.468 1:45.532 2 7:29.920
39 88 Team Felbermayr-Proton RIED Christian FELBERMAYR Horst Jr FELBERMAYR Horst Sr Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==57== 1:53.234 2 3:29.537
40 41 Trading Performance OJJEH Karim GOSSELIN Claude-Yves SCHROYEN Julien Zytek 07S LMP2 8.391 1:42.281 2 3:11.967
41 98 JMB Racing BASSO Maurice McCORMICK Bo CASADEI Mauro Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 30.407 1:56.829 1 1:26.014
42 32 Barazi Epsilon BARAZI Juan VERGERS Michael Zytek 07S LMP2 ==55== 1:39.296 2 1:04.019
43 44 Kruse Schiller Motorsport de POURTALES Jean NODA Hideki Lola Mazda LMP2 ==48== 1:39.750 4 30:58.359
44 45 Embassy Racing HUGHES Warren HABERFIELD Mario WF01 Zytek LMP2 ==43== 1:40.031 2 3:03.022
45 46 Embassy Racing KANE Jonny FOSTER Joey WF01 Zytek LMP2 ==41== 1:40.312 1 2:28.652
46 37 WR / Salini SALINI Stephane SALINI Philippe ROUSSEL Patrice WR Zytek LMP2 ==35== 1:47.109 2 47:58.847
47 94 Speedy Racing Team CHIESA Andrea LEUENBERGER Benjamin Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R LMGT2 ==17== 1:53.703 1 9:19.555