Le Mans Series, Estoril - Race Preview
Part One - The GT Classes Estoril this weekend will see one of the weakest LMS fields in several years for the multiple title deciding Series finale. That’s not to decry the efforts and the quality of those 28 cars that will line up in Portugal, but rather to continue the debate about the future prospects for the Le Mans Series as a new look Championship looms for 2012 in the shadow of the World Endurance Championship. GTE-Pro 51 AF CORSE M Ferrari F458 Italia Giancarlo Fisichella/ Gianmaria Bruni
66 JMW MOTORSPORT D Ferrari F458 Italia Rob Bell/ James Walker
70 KESSEL RACING D Ferrari F458 Italia Michael Broniszewski/ Philipp Peter
71 AF CORSE M Ferrari F458 Italia Jaime Melo/ Toni Vilander
75 PROSPEED COMPETITION M Porsche 911 RSR (997) Marc Goossens/ Marco Holzer
76 IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT M Porsche 911 RSR (997) Patrick Pilet/ Wolf Henzler
77 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON M Porsche 911 RSR (997) Marc Lieb Richard Lietz
79 JOTA D Aston Martin Vantage Sam Hancock/ Simon Dolan
89 HANKOOK TEAM FARNBACHER H Ferrari F458 Italia Dominik Farnbacher/ Allan Simonsen
90 JMB RACING D Ferrari F458 Italia Manuel Rodriguez/ Pascal Ballay/ TBA Ten GTE pros will duke it out in the season finale – AF Corse though have already secured the teams and drivers titles (Bruni and Fisichella) courtesy of a masterclass of reliability and pace. Four wins out of five is difficult to counter, particularly in a year when the Porsches have struggled. JMB Racing return with a Ferrari 458 for Manuel Rodriguez/ Pascal Ballay – That car is unlikely to feature in the overall reckoning for a podium slot though, and neither is the returning Kessel Racing 458 of Michael Broniszewski/ Philipp Peter. On season form the other car that looks likely to struggle to match the top group here over a full race distance is the Jota Aston Vantage. The team should be proud though of the application and resilience they’ve shown in a debut season at this level of GT racing. That leaves seven – and every single one of them is capable of bringing home a podium finish or better on pace. The Porsche camp have had their backs to the wall all season but all three 997 RSR squads feature quality driver line-ups and any of the three could make the 458 Squadra’s lives very difficult. In particular the Pilet/Henzler and Lieb/ Lietz combos will be looking to remind Maranellos finest that they are still forces to be reckoned with, and Silverstone showed that the Porsches are far from a busted flush just yet. Lieb and Lietz can still clinch second in the drivers and team standings this weekend – the points below the Champions are very tight indeed. This one will likely come down to the dropped score rule introduced after the Paul Ricard start procedure fiasco. With form such as we have seen from the #51 car you’d be an idiot to count them out as race favourites here – but the title is won and others will be keen to have their day in the (hopefully!) sun. JMW had an awful Silverstone courtesy of bad luck and odd stewards’ decisions and will be looking to add to their Paul Ricard win with the Dunlop shod 458 – there’s a minor placing in the overall standings available if things go their way this weekend. Hankook Farnbacher need a shot in the arm after a lackluster late season thus far, their early form has fizzled out of late – Expect them to come out punching in defence of their second place in the drivers points standings. And never (ever!) count out the #71 car, it may be the second AF Corse car but you simply can’t argue on qualitative grounds with the words Ferrari, 458, AF, Corse, Melo and Vilander against the same entry! GTE-Pro Points before Estoril Teams 1 AF Corse 61 - CHAMPIONS
2 Hankook Team Farnbacher 32
3 Team Felbermayr - Proton 29
4 JMW Motorsport 28
5 Prospeed Competition 23
6 Jota 16
7 IMSA Performance Matmut 15 Drivers 1 Giancarlo Fisichella 60 - CHAMPIONS
1 Gianmaria Bruni 60 - CHAMPIONS
2 Allan Simonsen 32
2 Dominik Farnbacher 32
3 Marc Lieb 29
3 Richard Lietz 29
4 James Walker 28
4 Rob Bell 28
5 Jaime Melo 27
5 Toni Vilander 27
6 Marc Goossens 23
6 Marco Holzer 23
7 Sam Hancock 16
7 Simon Dolan 16
8 Patrick Pilet 15
8 Wolf Henzler 15 Manufacturers 1 Ferrari 112
2 Porsche 69
3 Aston Martin 12 GTE-Am 61 AF CORSE M Ferrari F430 Piergiuseppe Perazzini/ Marco Cioci/ Stéphane Lémeret
67 IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT M Porsche 911 RSR Raymond Narac/ Nicolas Armindo
82 CRS RACING M Ferrari F430 Klaas Hummel/ Adam Christodoulou/ Phil Quaife
88 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON Porsche 911 RSR Horst Felbermayr Jr/ Christian Ried Four cars for Estoril but it’s a high quality field. In the points standings The Nicolas Armindo/ Raymond Narac combo in the #67 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche hold sway and it will need misfortune and a mathematical miracle involving the dropped score for the #61 AF Corse Ferrari to grab the drivers and teams titles from the Porsche. The #67 car has scored three wins and three pole positions in the class this season to the Ferrari’s three minor placings, its points chase hurt badly by a system that sees ILMC cars take points from LMS cars but not vice versa! The dropped score rule after the disaster at Paul Ricard could secure second in the team standings for Felbermayr Proton if the AF Corse 430 stumbles though any challenge for second in the driver standings looks less likely. CRS Racing will be looking to bring home a real result in the team’s last LMS appearance – Third in the standings is within reach for the Adam Christodoulou/ Phil Quaife/ Klaus Hummel combo - It’s been fun boys! GTE-Am Points before Estoril Teams 1 IMSA Performance Matmut 58
2 AF Corse 48
3 Team Felbermayr - Proton 32
4 CRS Racing 23 Drivers 1 Nicolas Armindo 58
1 Raymond Narac 58
2 Marco Cioci 48
2 Piergiuseppe Perazzini 48
2 Stéphane Lemeret 48
3 Horst Felbermayr Jr. 32
4 Christian Ried 23
5 Adam Christodoulou 23
5 Phil Quaife 23
6 Klaas Hummel 9
7 Bryce Miller 9 GG | 
