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Le Mans Series –
Silverstone – Friday Report Just one report from the track today – although with a specific GT2 section to it further down, thanks to the presence here of Paul Truswell, helping dsc out this weekend. Part of the reason for the single report is the Embassy press conference, the details of which you will have seen already – the other reason is that the Ed. spent a large part of the morning stuck in very slow moving traffic on the M25. Morning
Session The other Pescarolo fourth and the Charouz Lola fifth were no surprise – but sixth was the LNT Zytek, Danny Watts setting the fastest P2 time, a 1:38.734.
This was Watts’ first run in the Zytek, but Lawrence Tomlinson explained his speed so soon with the comment that “he’s done a lot of downforce racing”. “We only saw the car for the first time on Wednesday,” added Richard Dean, “and we waved our magic wand over it.” The Creation team was collectively disappointed with a best lap in the 39s, but engineer Ian Smith oversaw a lot of changes between the sessions. “Dampers, springs, ride height – I’m a bit worried that we might have gone too far with the changes, but we had to do something pretty drastic.” The Creation was quicker than the Arena Zytek though – where Max Chilton is making his international debut in the P1 car. “The tyres were too soft, the car was rolling around too much. We’re switching to the medium compound for this afternoon. It’s my first time in traffic like this, and I was quite surprised at how quickly I was catching the slower cars. I thought I had clear track ahead of me, and then three corners later, I’d caught them.” Max suggested that “hopefully after a year or two of driving cars like this, I’ll be faster than Tom!” There was 2.1 seconds between them this morning – but Max definitely didn’t enjoy a clear lap.
Jacob Greaves is making his Le Mans Series debut too, and he was pleased with a best lap of a 1:44 in the first session – which put him in the same bracket as Mike Newton and Simon Pullan. “I’m aiming to be in the 1:40s by race time,” said the 18 year old. “I’ll be finding more time under braking and by carrying more speed into the corners.” The Binnie and RML Lolas both suffered contact in the first session, but there was no significant damage to either. “The Charouz Lola tried to go between me and the Horag car,” commented Bill Binnie. “There was only a little bit of damage.” The same applied to the RML MG Lola, after contact from one of the Felbermayr Porsches, after Bridge Corner. Second in P2 was Warren Hughes in the Embassy Radical, in a run that he called “a baseline run, but I didn’t get a clear lap. We’re confident that we’ll be in the 1:38s once we’ve made a few changes.” His best so far was a 1:39.3, so they’re there or thereabouts already. GT1 saw a different car topping the times, and that was very pleasant to see. It was the Team Modena Aston Martin, Antonio Garcia setting the 1:47.2, with Darren Turner a second slower. Ollie Gavin didn’t go out in the Alphand Corvette this morning: the C6.R was third quickest, behind the Oreca Saleen. We still don’t know what the Oreca announcement is going to be, later today. With a round-up of GT2 at the foot of the page, that’s a quick account of this morning’s session. Afternoon
Session Among the petrol-powered LMP1s, there seemed to be a general lack of grip. JC-W, after all the changes to the Creation, reckoned that “it’s better in some areas and worse in others”. Ian Bickerton walked past making ‘slashing his own wrists’ gestures. Before Felipe Ortiz went out to try the car with its revised settings, more rear wing angle was being applied. Stuart Mosleey was happy enough with the speed of the Bruichladdich radical, which was second fastest in P2, four-tenths behind the Erdos RML time. “No, it wasn’t a clear lap – but it was a clearer lap. I passed a Porsche at Beckets and the ASM car at Abbey.” Traffic seems to crop up in every conversation here.. … but in a slightly different context for Tom Kimber-Smith in the LNT Zytek (still trying to get used to writing LNT with something after Panoz after it). “Instead of holding everyone up, I’m getting held up! I was fastest in P2 when I pitted, then Erdos and Moseley went quicker. It’s hard (driving the P2), I haven’t driven a downforce car for three years.” But second time in the car he was into the 1:38s, joining partner Danny Watts in that bracket. “Out of ten laps I got one clear one, where I didn’t have to move off line.”
Our spy in the press room reckons that Watts is one seriously quick racing driver, based on his exploits in F3 – which seems to suggest that TK-S is too (which is what we’ve thought all along). The lack of grip is apparent with the Chamberlain-Synergy Lola, Gareth Evans finding that he couldn’t follow Warren Hughes this afternoon, “especially through Stowe – I just couldn’t stay with him.” Both Evans and Bob Berridge have had a spin today. Peter Owen will be here tomorrow. Jonathan Cochet was working the times down in the lone Courage LC70, fifth fastest this afternoon. The absence of the other Courage certainly wasn’t for want of an engine (as suggested in Autosport), which AER delivered to Le Mans last Friday. “It was actually three hours later than we promised – 6 o’clock rather than 3 o’clock,” remarked AER’s Mike Lancaster.
In GT1, Antonio Garcia went faster in the afternoon, and was fastest again. Ollie Gavin went out for the first time, with a longish run, the best laps coming at the beginning and end (traffic in the middle) – and he was second fastest, in the session and on the day, but just about a second slower than the grey Aston Martin. He was faster than old pal Darren Turner too. With the Oreca press conference at 18.30, apart from Paul Truswell’s GT2 tales, that’s as far as we’re going to get for the moment. GT2 Now I have a confession to make here. I am normally the kind of guy who looks at overall positions, and although class battles are very interesting, I normally only notice them when they have become interesting and never try and work out how they became interesting in the first place. The story of GT2 in the 2008 Le Mans series has been one of unpredictability, close racing, excitement and strategy. So I am looking forward to the opportunity to be able to concentrate purely on the GT2 race at this year’s Silverstone 1,000kms. The first Free Practice session, then, this morning from 10:30 until 11:30 was the first opportunity for drivers to see the track. For some it has been some time since they have been here - the last time the 1,000kms was here was the rainy, dark race in 2005. For others, they have had only two weeks to recall the track since the Britcar 24 hours. And no real dramas for anyone in the class. A new engine to run in for the Virgo team, leading the championship standings in GT2 by a mere three points coming into the weekend. A new driver too, with Gianmaria Bruni joining Rob Bell in the Ferrari F430 GT. ‘Gimmi’ went very well too, the team pronouncing themselves very happy with their new pilot. Virgo team boss Chris Warne was upbeat after the session. “We’ve got the fastest car, on the best tyres, and two very quick drivers,” he said. The Ferrari finished the session just over half-a-second quicker than the rest of the GT2 field, the time achieved by the Italian on a new set of Dunlops.
Second after first practice, the car that lies second in the championship, the #77 Felbermayr-Proton Porsche of Xavier Pompidou and Marc Lieb. Norbert Singer, the team Technical Director, said that the team hadn’t been going for times. “We were trying out new tyres,” he said, “and testing front suspension settings with different compounds” (of Pirelli tyre). However, he foresaw an uphill struggle for the team: “the Porsche is fundamentally slower than the Ferraris,” he said, “especially here at Silverstone!”. Third fastest in the morning session was the IMSA Performance Porsche 997, in the hands, as always, of Raymond Narac and Richard Lietz. The team certainly deserve a slice of good fortune this weekend, having started the season as one of the favourites, but only amassing three championship points thus far this season, courtesy of a sixth place at the opening round at Monza. The afternoon saw the heavy cloud (and a hint of rain?) blown away for sunny, if somewhat blustery conditions to greet the cars for the second hour of Free Practice. The Virgo Ferrari was out doing full tank testing from the outset, with Rob Bell at the wheel. Afterwards he said “That was a good run for us”, and it was clear from his expression that he was well content with the set up. Meanwhile others were going faster. Initially, it was the #77 Felbermayr Porsche, with Marc Lieb again at the wheel, doing the fastest laps of anyone (in the class) at 1m 51.346. A notable performance, though from Mike Hezemans, in the #85 Spyker C8 Spyder – a 1m 54.301 seeing him 4th fastest at the time, although an improved time from Dumbreck saw the car drop back to fifth by the end. The other Spyker was going well too, Jonny Kane, having sat out the morning session, getting a new set of Dunlops and going third fastest (1:52.014) during the second half of the afternoon session. He got another new set before the flag, but was unable to improve. He was one of many GT2 drivers to complain about traffic. “It’s surprising, because it’s such a long track,” he said, “the trouble is that the speed differential is so great between the cars.” Gimmi Bruni didn’t complain about the traffic, but he did mention that he “had contact with one of the Peugeots, twice! The same Peugeot, at the same place!” However, the Ferrari that topped the times in the morning session was left languishing in 4th in the second session, although the team was not overly concerned. Indeed, Hugh Hayden, managing the Lieb/Pompidou Felbermayr Porshce, which finished the session quickest, faster even than the Virgo Ferrari had gone this morning, wasn’t about to rest on his laurels: “It’s a little bit of a surprise to be quickest,” he said. “But the Ferrari could have gone quicker, I’m sure.” Hugh also complained of traffic: “Our car was hit three times,” he commented, “twice by prototypes and twice by GT2 cars”. Er… Disappointment for Piers Masarati, in the Farnbacher Racing Porsche. Although he did the Silverstone 24hour race last week ago and a British GT race last year, he declared himself “race-rusty; those cars were pretty slow.. this is just such a fast car. I’m enjoying the driving again, but I’m just trying to get consistent in my driving. But the car is lacking some balance, too…” So ended two relatively uneventful sessions for the GT2 cars. However, nothing is clear for what tomorrow might bring. Another Free Practice session in the morning, and then twenty minutes of qualifying. After that, a plan for the race will crystallise for the leading protagonists. Then it will be a case of seeing who can react quickest to the events of the race, as it unfolds. As Hugh Hayden says: “We have a plan, but we will be constantly adapting it when we see what the others are doing.” Strategy in the GT2 class
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