LMS – Spa 1000 Km – Hours 2 & 3 We have lost all timing in the media centre – and TV pictures. The #8 Peugeot leads everyone by a lap, after everyone’s first stops. The #7 has dropped out of the top 20, a wheel bearing problem. The chase back might be fun. P2 after the first stops has Embassy behind #40, Erdos, de Castro and Hughes all still at the wheel. Timing back on at 70 mins. elapsed. JC-W pits for a second time from fourth, five seconds behind the Zytek. Shimoda is now third. The lead has changed in GT2 after the first stops there, Simonson ahead of Pompidou,.these two 23 seconds ahead of Lietz. #61 Saleen is in trouble, an oil leak, shedding oil on the track round most of the lap, and into the pits. GT1 has Bouchut catching Ayari, the gap here is ten seconds – and Bouchut is two seconds a lap faster. Shimoda has been off, probably on the Saleen’s oil: damage front and rear. Rear left puncture for the second-placed ASM Lola, just as he was being caught by the Embassy Radical. As Shimoda makes it back to the pits with substantial front right damage, the #7 Peugeot rejoins in 39th position with Gene still behind the wheel. In LMP2 Erdos now leads Hughes by around thirty seconds. The impressive Buncombe is 25 seconds behind the Radical. These three are 5th, 6th and 7th overall. Alan Simonsen hauls his Ferrari GT2 round 2.24.6 on lap 30 but still only 1.5 seconds ahead of Pompidou. Meanwhile the #90 Farnbacher Racing Porsche gets a stop go penalty, this car running 4th in Gt2 at the moment but with Pierre Ehret now having replaced Dirk Werner at the wheel. Paul Daniels spins at Bruxelles in the #96 JWA Porsche and Lichtner –Hoyer has another rotation in the JetAlliance Aston – is there still oil on the circuit? Joao Barbosa has now grabbed third overall from Christophe Tinseau as the three LMP1 Pescarolos run 2-3-4 with Thomas Erdos just 38 seconds behind the Pescarolo train – Boullion though has a 90 second advantage over the 3rd placed Rollcentre car. The GT1 battle meanwhile is hotting up considerably with Bouchut now just 4 seconds behind Ayari, as we approach the 90 minute mark. The #7 Peugeot, which had been mounting a recovery drive is pushed into the pit garage once again, engine cover off and more worried faces at Peugeot Sport. It becomes a retirement. Lamy meanwhile is still in the 2:05s, a full 5 seconds a lap, on race pace, faster than the second placed Pescarolo, Boullion is way quicker than the remainder of the LMP1 field with the exception of Jamie Campbell-Walter, the Creation man is in 7th but has visited the pits twice – the dsc Ed is on the case! “He thought he had a puncture at the first stop – he definitely did at the second.” Stefan Mucke at least has the satisfaction that he is now ahead of both of the factory Courages, the Charouz Lola is now 46th. Lamy pits from the lead at the 90 minute mark, 42 laps under the wheels of the #8 car. Fuel, tyres and Stephane Sarrazin are installed and the 908 is sent on its way after a slick stop. The #94 Speedy Club Spyker, Andrea Chiesa now at the wheel, is in trouble smoke pouring from the right rear of the car, seemingly from fouling bodywork, the car has rear damage. Simonsen made contact with it. Boullion is pressing on hard, consistently the fastest petrol powered man, 2:09s and 2:08s , the Peugeots having the intellectual property rights to 205, 206 and 207! Chris Buncombe gets by Warren Hughes at the start of Lap 43, Hughes though battles back and goes up the inside of the Binnie Motorsports man but outbrakes himself (see below) at Bruxelles, the #45 car is in the gravel but is pushed back out of the kitty litter to rejoin. He will though lose a lap to Buncombe, and has lost position to Moseley and van de Poele too. Warren is struggling with the car, perhaps a stone in the brake caliper? The GT1 battle is still only 4 seconds but then Bouchut is handed a stop/go penalty, he takes it immediately but then continues down the pit lane to make his routine pit – surely another penalty beckons? It does – disaster for Larbre Embassy have the rear cover off the #45 car, this is a long stop now and the Radical is now behind the lead GT1 runner. Trouble again for the Pilbeam, Simon Pullan is getting out of the car at turn 12, it looks like the #20 car’s race is run. Boullion out and Collard in at the 105 minute mark as all three Pescarolos pit together. JCW is now catching Erdos fast for 5th overall. Gardel stepped aboard the #50 Aston Martin on its penalised stop and that means he’s only 25 seconds ahead of Goueslard in #72 Corvette. Modena’s Aston is fourth. Warren Hughes (not happy at all after such a good run); “The throttle was sticking intermittently. It had been for ten laps. That time I braked early but it only came off about 30% and I slid off.” After a few moments, Hughes added that “it’s an internal engine problem with the butterflies – the manifold has got to come off.” The Arena Zytek repair was expected to take at least half an hour. “Rear floor, tail, nose and splitter,” reports Tim Holloway. “I went off on the oil,” said Shimoda. “I turned in at La Source and I got hit pretty hard,” said Stefan Johansson, of the lap 1, corner 1 incident. “****! It’s a 1000 Km race….” Graham Nash is looking into the Lavaggi engine problem. Hour 2
1 8 Team Peugeot Total LAMY PedroSARRAZIN Stephane Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 ==55== 2:03.316
2 16 Pescarolo Sport COLLARD EmmanuelBOULLION Jean-Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 ==54== 2:07.865
3 9 Creation Autosportif CAMPBELL WALTER JamieORTIZ FelipeNAKANO Shinji Creation CA07 Judd LMP1 ==53== 2:09.033
4 18 Rollcentre Racing BARBOSA JoaoHALL StuartSHORT Martin Pescarolo Judd LMP1 46.777 2:10.213
5 17 Pescarolo Sport PRIMAT HaroldTINSEAU Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 59.701 2:09.762
6 25 RML ERDOS ThomasNEWTON Mike MG Lola EX264 AER LMP2 ==52== 2:10.881
7 31 Binnie Motorsports BINNIE BillTIMPANY AllenBUNCOMBE Chris Lola B05/40 Zytek LMP2 58.183 2:11.285
8 21 Bruichladdich Radical MOSELEY StuartGREAVES Tim Radical SR9 AER LMP2 1:26.462 2:12.428
9 40 Quifel ASM Team AMARAL MiguelDE CASTRO Miguel AngelBURGENO Angel Lola B05/40 AER LMP2 1:33.898 2:11.529
10 19 Chamberlain Synergy EVANS GarethBERRIDGE BobOWEN Peter Lola B06/10 AER LMP1 ==51== 2:12.556
11 27 Horag Racing LIENHARD FredyTHEYS DidierVAN DE POELE Eric Lola B05/40 Judd LMP2 7.148 2:13.916
12 55 Team Oreca ORTELLI StephaneAYARI Soheil Saleen S7-R LMGT1 2:24.549 2:16.992
13 35 Saulnier Racing NICOLET JacquesFILHOL AlainJOUANNY Bruce Courage LC75 AER LMP2 ==50== 2:14.211
14 32 Barazi Epsilon BARAZI JuanVERGERS MichaelOJJEH Karim Zytek 07S Zytek LMP2 35.405 2:13.097
15 50 AMR Larbre BOUCHUT ChristopheGARDEL GabrielGOLLIN Fabrizio Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 39.449 2:16.851
16 72 Alphand Aventures POLICAND JeromeGOUESLARD PatriceALPHAND Luc Corvette C6.R LMGT1 1:10.321 2:18.842
17 73 Alphand Aventures BLANCHEMAIN Jean-LucDUMEZ SebastienVOSSE Vincent Corvette C5-R LMGT1 ==49== 2:20.746
18 51 AMR Larbre FISKEN GregorZACCHIA SteveFRANCHI Gregory Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 3.188 2:20.907
19 59 Team Modena GARCIA AntonioFITTIPALDI Christian Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 34.854 2:17.913
20 96 Virgo Motorsport BELL RobertSIMONSEN Allan Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==48== 2:24.664
21 77 Felbermayr-Proton LIEB MarcPOMPIDOU Xavier Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 5.756 2:24.803
22 65 Jetalliance Racing LICHTNER-HOYER LukasWENDLINGER KarlGRUBER Thomas Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 19.881 2:21.080
23 76 Imsa Performance NARAC RaymondLIETZ Richard Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 28.736 2:25.754
24 78 Scuderia Villorba CAFFI AlexZARDO Denny Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==47== 2:27.701
25 90 Farnbacher Racing WERNER DirckEHRET PierreNIELSEN Lars Erik Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 1.676 2:26.360
26 97 GPC Sport BONETTI AlessandroDE SIMONE FabrizioHERNANDEZ Sergio Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 14.494 2:26.994
27 83 GPC Sport DRUDI LucaMOWLEM JohnnyROSA Gabrio Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 21.055 2:27.459
28 85 Spyker Squadron JANIS JarekKOX Peter Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R LMGT2 1:03.310 2:28.274
29 98 Ice Pol Racing Team LAMBERT YvesLEFORT ChristianLEMERET Stephane Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 1:40.719 2:28.074
30 80 Prospeed Competition PENDERS RudiLAMOT FranzCOUWBERGHS Bart Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==46== 2:29.492
31 82 Team LNT TOMLINSON LawrenceDEAN Richard Panoz Esperante GTLM LMGT2 12.525 2:29.801
32 88 Felbermayr-Proton RIED ChristianFELBERMAYR Horst JrBASSENG Marc Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 15.080 2:26.682
33 94 Speedy Racing Team BELICCHI AndreaCHIESA AndreaKANE Jonny Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R LMGT2 22.371 2:28.008
34 99 JMB Racing BASSO MauriceMcCORMICK BoKUTEMANN Peter Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==45== 2:32.065
35 79 Felbermayr-Proton FELBERMAYR Horst SrRIED GeroldCOLLIN Philip Porsche 996 GT3 RSR LMGT2 38.330 2:34.303
36 81 Team LNT KIMBER-SMITH TomWATTS Danny Panoz Esperante GTLM LMGT2 1:54.252 2:28.976
37 84 Chad Peninsula Panoz HARTSHORNE JohnMcINERNEY Sean Panoz Esperante GTLM LMGT2 2:02.982 2:30.346
38 45 Embassy Racing HUGHES WarrenMANNING Darren Radical SR9 Judd LMP2 ==43== 2:11.575
39 95 JWA DANIELS PaulCOX DaveCAMATHIAS Joel Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==41== 2:27.715
40 15 Charouz Racing MUCKE StefanCHAROUZ Jan Lola B07/17 Judd LMP1 ==39== 2:09.505
41 20 Pierre Bruneau ROSTAN MarcBRUNEAU PierrePULLAN Simon Pilbeam MP93 Judd LMP2 ==37== 2:16.546
42 10 Arena Motorsport JOHANSSON StefanSHIMODA Hayanari Zytek 07S Zytek LMP1 ==33== 2:08.473
43 7 Team Peugeot Total GENE MarcMINASSIAN Nicolas Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 ==32== 2:03.979
44 26 Ranieri Randaccio RANDACCIO RanieriCOLLINI Gianni Lucchini McLaren LMP2 ==30== 2:21.047
45 61 Racing Box PERAZZINI Pier GiuseppeCIOCI MarcoMOLLEKENS Kurt Saleen S7-R LMGT1 ==29== 2:18.590
46 44 Kruse Motorsport DE POURTALES JeanSIEDLER Norbert Pescarolo Judd LMP2 49:26.491 2:13.766
47 89 Markland Racing THIIM KurtTHYRRING Thorkild Corvette C6 Z06 LMGT2 ==25== 2:35.789
48 13 Courage Competition GOUNON Jean-MarcMOREAU GuillaumePETROV Vitaly Courage LC70 AER LMP1 ==23== 2:09.074
49 12 Courage Competition FREI AlexanderCOCHET Jonathan Courage LC70 AER LMP1 ==6== 2:13.995 The #7 Peugeot is a confirmed retirement, as is the #61 Saleen (engine) and #13 Courage (clutch). David Addison has an interesting fuel mileage theory: that on the current pattern, the Pescarolo #16 will need one fewer stop than the lead car – but by then the 908 will be far away anyway. Rob Bell: “We gained three seconds at the first stop and got out ahead of the #77. Allan then pulled it out by about three seconds, but he tapped a Spyker, and lost the three seconds.” Simomnsen has since been pulling away from Pompidou and just after two hours the gap is nine seconds. Also in the 2:25s is Lietz in #76, catching Pompidou, 17 seconds behind at the moment. These three are way clear of the rest.
The JWA Porsche has been in for a replacement rear wing support. The #73 Corvette, the C5, has been lapping quite slowly, and pits for the third time, Fisken taking fourth in GT1. #73 was damaged on lap 1, and might have to retire. LMP2 is through its second stops: Newton leads in #25, from Allen Timpany in the Binnie Lola. De Castro has taken Tim Greaves for third. Stuart Moseley: “That was the strangest start I’ve ever seen. Instead of grid formation it was single file and flat out. I gained a place immediately but got cut up by an LMP1 and had a grandstand view of the same car tagging the Barazi Zytek. The tyres have been fantastic, lasting really well over a double stint: in fact they were better at 2 hours than at 60 mins.” Frei in #12 goes off on his out lap, after the long, long delay for this Courage. Simonsen pits at 2 hours 13, but Pompidou doesn’t. Rob Bell gets back in #96. The Binnie Lola is in the garage, from second in P2, so Tim Greaves is second, 90 seconds behind Mike Newton. The Horag Lola (Lienhard) is third, Miguel Amaral is fourth and Bill Binnie’s Lola rejoins in fifth (Timpany). #94 Spyker has a 3 min. penalty. Lieb back in the #77, and Bell leads GT2 by…. waiting for the cars to come by….. 20 seconds. Narac is third in GT2, 15 seconds behind Lieb, lapping two seconds slower. A sprinkling of rain…… The GT2 Corvette breaks a driveshaft. The lead Peugeot pits at 65 laps, Sarrazin stays in. Ortelli is in the top ten, still leading GT1 (by 90 seconds from Gardel in #50), lapping in 2:16/17, only Garcia in fourth, two laps down, is lapping in similar times. Gardel is lapping in 2:20s. Lieb sets a 2:25 against Bell’s 2:27 – great race in GT2, as expected. Bell then extends the lead – a bit. Then they both lap in 2:25. At the front, Sarrazin is lapping in 2:06. Stuart Hall has had a string of quick laps and is closing on Collard ahead. arrazin – 1 lap – Collard – 1 lap – Hall – 12 seconds – Primat. The Creation is a minute behind #17 Pescarolo.
The #95 JWA 997 gets a stop go penalty. Stuart Hall is probably about to unlap himself…. from Collard. Amaral in #40 is about to pass Lienhard in #27 for third in P2, eighth overall. Ojjeh is the fastest man in P2, in fifth. 2 hrs. 37 mins. elapsed and Graham Nash has the Lavaggi running…. #81 LNT Panoz has pitted with front bodywork missing…. while the Kruse Pescarolo pits after an off. Amaral has passed Lienhard. We hear that it is raining hard 20 mins. away. 2 hrs. 40 mins. Safety Car – maybe for debris on the track. Panoz bodywork we think. Collard has just pitted #16. The bodywork might well be the rear panel from the #84 Panoz. Mucke pits the #15 Lola from miles behind, rear bodywork off. #82 Panoz is a retirement. Sarrazin pits under the SC, as do Hall and Primat. We’ll sort the order out in a few minutes….. But the Rollcentre car has a starter motor problem and is still in the pits. The Virgo Ferrari has gained a large part of a lap on the #77 Porsche, we think – presumably the Peugeot was between them when the SC came out. There’s a wave by going on. 7 mins before 3 hours and it’s green flag racing – with drops of rain falling. A spin for the Creation has dropped it behind Mike Newton, who still leads P2, fourth overall. He’s a lap and 25 seconds ahead of #40. The #94 Spyker goes off at the No Name corner. The Embassy Radical is racing again – the #10 Zytek isn’t. The surviving Courage, #12, is treating the rest of the race as a test session. Both LNT Panozes are out, broken cam chain on #82 and #81, which was recovering well after an early stop to solve rising engine temps. (rubber build up in the intakes), then encountered an LMP car which “stopped dead in front of me on the apex of a corner,” says Danny Watts. Hour 3
1 8 Team Peugeot Total LAMY PedroSARRAZIN Stephane Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 ==80== 2:03.316
2 16 Pescarolo Sport COLLARD EmmanuelBOULLION Jean-Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 ==79== 2:07.865
3 17 Pescarolo Sport PRIMAT HaroldTINSEAU Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 ==78== 2:09.762
4 25 RML ERDOS ThomasNEWTON Mike MG Lola EX264 AER LMP2 ==77== 2:10.881
5 9 Creation Autosportif CAMPBELL WALTER JamieORTIZ FelipeNAKANO Shinji Creation CA07 Judd LMP1 ==76== 2:09.033
6 40 Quifel ASM Team AMARAL MiguelDE CASTRO Miguel AngelBURGENO Angel Lola B05/40 AER LMP2 37.501 2:11.529
7 27 Horag Racing LIENHARD FredyTHEYS DidierVAN DE POELE Eric Lola B05/40 Judd LMP2 ==75== 2:13.916
8 55 Team Oreca ORTELLI StephaneAYARI Soheil Saleen S7-R LMGT1 ==74== 2:16.920
9 32 Barazi Epsilon BARAZI JuanVERGERS MichaelOJJEH Karim Zytek 07S Zytek LMP2 0.556 2:12.885
10 21 Bruichladdich Radical MOSELEY StuartGREAVES Tim Radical SR9 AER LMP2 5.554 2:12.428
11 19 Chamberlain Synergy EVANS GarethBERRIDGE BobOWEN Peter Lola B06/10 AER LMP1 1:48.597 2:12.556
12 31 Binnie Motorsports BINNIE BillTIMPANY AllenBUNCOMBE Chris Lola B05/40 Zytek LMP2 1:58.343 2:11.285
13 50 AMR Larbre BOUCHUT ChristopheGARDEL GabrielGOLLIN Fabrizio Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 2:05.828 2:16.851
14 72 Alphand Aventures POLICAND JeromeGOUESLARD PatriceALPHAND Luc Corvette C6.R LMGT1 ==73== 2:18.842
15 35 Saulnier Racing NICOLET JacquesFILHOL AlainJOUANNY Bruce Courage LC75 AER LMP2 7.496 2:14.211
16 59 Team Modena GARCIA AntonioFITTIPALDI Christian Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 ==72== 2:17.530
17 18 Rollcentre Racing BARBOSA JoaoHALL StuartSHORT Martin Pescarolo Judd LMP1 ==71== 2:10.213
18 51 AMR Larbre FISKEN GregorZACCHIA SteveFRANCHI Gregory Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 17:40.093 2:20.907
19 65 Jetalliance Racing LICHTNER-HOYER LukasWENDLINGER KarlGRUBER Thomas Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 17:46.582 2:18.758
20 96 Virgo Motorsport BELL RobertSIMONSEN Allan Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 17:48.209 2:24.446
21 77 Felbermayr-Proton LIEB MarcPOMPIDOU Xavier Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 19:51.916 2:24.803
22 76 Imsa Performance NARAC RaymondLIETZ Richard Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==70== 2:25.754
23 78 Scuderia Villorba CAFFI AlexZARDO Denny Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==69== 2:27.701
24 97 GPC Sport BONETTI AlessandroDE SIMONE FabrizioHERNANDEZ Sergio Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 14.583 2:26.994
25 90 Farnbacher Racing WERNER DirckEHRET PierreNIELSEN Lars Erik Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 21.117 2:26.360
26 85 Spyker Squadron JANIS JarekKOX Peter Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R LMGT2 2:15.707 2:27.612
27 98 Ice Pol Racing Team LAMBERT YvesLEFORT ChristianLEMERET Stephane Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==68== 2:28.074
28 83 GPC Sport DRUDI LucaMOWLEM JohnnyROSA Gabrio Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 14.037 2:26.443
29 88 Felbermayr-Proton RIED ChristianFELBERMAYR Horst JrBASSENG Marc Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 25.798 2:26.682
30 99 JMB Racing BASSO MauriceMcCORMICK BoKUTEMANN Peter Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==66== 2:32.065
31 80 Prospeed Competition PENDERS RudiLAMOT FranzCOUWBERGHS Bart Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 0.644 2:29.492
32 94 Speedy Racing Team BELICCHI AndreaCHIESA AndreaKANE Jonny Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R LMGT2 4.260 2:28.008
33 79 Felbermayr-Proton FELBERMAYR Horst SrRIED GeroldCOLLIN Philip Porsche 996 GT3 RSR LMGT2 28.123 2:34.303
34 84 Chad Peninsula Panoz HARTSHORNE JohnMcINERNEY Sean Panoz Esperante GTLM LMGT2 ==64== 2:29.178
35 95 JWA DANIELS PaulCOX DaveCAMATHIAS Joel Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==61== 2:27.715
36 15 Charouz Racing MUCKE StefanCHAROUZ Jan Lola B07/17 Judd LMP1 1:07.320 2:08.982
37 82 Team LNT TOMLINSON LawrenceDEAN Richard Panoz Esperante GTLM LMGT2 ==58== 2:29.801
38 81 Team LNT KIMBER-SMITH TomWATTS Danny Panoz Esperante GTLM LMGT2 3:31.520 2:28.224
39 73 Alphand Aventures BLANCHEMAIN Jean-LucDUMEZ SebastienVOSSE Vincent Corvette C5-R LMGT1 ==53== 2:20.746
40 26 Ranieri Randaccio RANDACCIO RanieriCOLLINI Gianni Lucchini McLaren LMP2 ==49== 2:21.047
41 45 Embassy Racing HUGHES WarrenMANNING Darren Radical SR9 Judd LMP2 ==48== 2:11.575
42 44 Kruse Motorsport DE POURTALES JeanSIEDLER Norbert Pescarolo Judd LMP2 ==45== 2:13.766
43 20 Pierre Bruneau ROSTAN MarcBRUNEAU PierrePULLAN Simon Pilbeam MP93 Judd LMP2 ==37== 2:16.546
44 10 Arena Motorsport JOHANSSON StefanSHIMODA Hayanari Zytek 07S Zytek LMP1 ==33== 2:08.473
45 7 Team Peugeot Total GENE MarcMINASSIAN Nicolas Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 ==32== 2:03.979
46 61 Racing Box PERAZZINI Pier GiuseppeCIOCI MarcoMOLLEKENS Kurt Saleen S7-R LMGT1 ==29== 2:18.590
47 89 Markland Racing THIIM KurtTHYRRING Thorkild Corvette C6 Z06 LMGT2 ==25== 2:35.789
48 13 Courage Competition GOUNON Jean-MarcMOREAU GuillaumePETROV Vitaly Courage LC70 AER LMP1 ==23== 2:09.074
49 12 Courage Competition FREI AlexanderCOCHET Jonathan Courage LC70 AER LMP1 ==15== 2:13.995
50 3 Scuderia Lavaggi LAVAGGI GiovanniKAUFMANN Wolfgang Lavaggi LS01 Ford LMP1 ==9== 2:14.953 | 
