LMS Spa – Second Free Practice Session

First up some telling numbers from the timing analysis from session one.  The speed trap revealing a yawning gap between the fastest LMP1 car (the #7 Peugeot) 306 km/h, and the #1 Audi R10 at 296 km/h.

Fastest petrol-fuelled car was the #16 Pescarolo at 290 km/h but even more telling was the mark set by the #34 Porsche RS Spyder with a peak speed of 277 km/h, losing fully 10% on top speed to the fastest LMP1s but outpacing many ultimately faster cars, again underlining the capability of the LMP2 Porsche in braking and handling.

The other two RS Spyders were the next fastest in LMP2 but the #46 Embassy WF01 matched the 267 km/h attained by the Horag Spyder with the second WF01, the RML MG Lola, the #35 Pescarolo Judd, Kruse Schiller’s Lola Mazda and the #73 Luc Alphand Corvette back on 265 km/h.

The GT2 figures too tell a story, the five fastest cars are all Porsches with the pace setting Virgo Ferrari a full 14 km/h slower in a straight line than the #76 IMSA Performance 997.   

Alexander Wurz will have made himself popular with sportscar afficienados by opining in an afternoon press conference that he “always though sportscars looked like racing cars for real men!”  He also revealed that the one surprise for him out on track in the 908 after several year back in single seaters was that he had to crane his neck to see where Eau Rouge went because of the restrictions imposed by the Peugeot’s roof.

The problem for the Epsilon this morning was broken rear suspension, the gorgeous black coupe was out and running strongly again in the second session.

It was a rather disjointed second 60 minute session with a couple of red flag interruptions to recover stranded cars, first the #88 Felbermayr Proton Porsche impacted the wall on the right hand side of the car, Christian Ried at the wheel and then the WR, Stephane Salini on board was stranded in a dangerous position out on track.

Allan McNish made the early running in the #1 Audi R10, a 2:01.618 good enough to fend off both Wurz and Villeneuve who spent much of the session aboard the 908s.  First Wurz and then Villeneuve though bettered the Audi’s time, all three though in the 2:01s, with the Canadian ending the session on top with a 2:01.133.

The Audi meanwhile sports a revised rear wing arrangement here.  “It is a small development towards Le Mans in our rear bodywork section.” Ralf Juttner

Impressive progress was the headline from the Courage Oreca squad, Nicolas Lapierre making steady progress throughout the session, and a 2:02.514 was enough to claim fourth fastest, splitting the Audis with the Charouz Lola Aston back in sixth fastest.

Another 2:05 was enough to secure the fastest LMP2 time for Verstappen again, ahead of the #16 Pescarlo and the Epsilon with the Horag RS Spyder filling out the top ten.

A much better session from RML left the #25 MG Lola third fastest in LMP2, the RML car heading a train of three Lolas, ahead of the #33 Speedy/ Sebah Coupe and the #40Quifel ASM car with the #45 and 46 Embassy WF01s next up.  The team Essex car though was well down the order, John Nielsen ruefully examining a broken rear section post session: “We were hit twice by the Horag car, I’m sure it wasn’t deliberate, I wouldn’t like to think that, but it has cost us a lot of track time.

No time from the Team Modena Aston (rebuilding the gearbox after a problem during the earlier session) left a surprise leader of the GT1 pack, Peter Kox posting a 2:17.053 in the #55 IPB Spartak Lamborghini.

“This car is very sensitive to change and everything has to be right if we are going to set a good time.  We’ve just hit a sweet spot but there is more to come, we did a 2:15 here in the Lamborghini in FIA GT.”

GT2 looks more and more like a dogfight here meanwhile, Rob Bell and Gianmaria Bruni headed the session early on but were bettered first by Marc Lieb and then by Richard Lietz, the #76 IMSA Performance car finishing the session fastest in class.

The #94 Spyker suffered an oil leak, prematurely ending their session.

At Rollcentre Racing meanwhile Mikael Forsten was viewing cockpit video with Martin Short: “I’m enjoying myself but it is quite difficult to sort out the braking and turn-in points after getting used to them in a GT car, it’s a different feeling completely and it is taking some time.”