The van Merksteijn Porsche on the way to a class win
Porsche
Pescarolo
RML
Team Modena
Shell
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Porsche
LE MANS, France - The 24 Hours of Le Mans premiere for the Porsche RS Spyder could not have gone better as, at the world's toughest long distance race, the sports prototype from Weissach celebrated a one-two finish in the LMP2 class. After a trouble free run without a single technical problem, Jos Verstappen, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Peter van Merksteijn (all from The Netherlands) crossed the finish line first. The trio from the Van Merksteijn Motorsport team held an eight lap advantage at the finish over the second-placed RS Spyder of John Nielsen, Casper Elgaard (both Denmark) and Porsche works and Penske Racing driver Sascha Maassen (Germany).
Starting the sports car marathon from first and second on the grid, the two teams controlled the race with their 476 hp RS Spyder right from the start. In contrast, the three teams with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the production-based GT2 category experienced bad luck. After qualifying on the pole and running first and second at the beginning of the race, an accident and technical trouble robbed all hopes of repeating last year's class victory.
"I'm thrilled that the expectations of our customer teams, Van Merksteijn Motorsport and Essex, have been fulfilled. The RS Spyder has proven that it's not just fast but also particularly reliable in its first 24 hour race. The professional work of the teams was also an important key to success," said Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. "The performance of the GT3 RSR was also excellent but unfortunately they lost their chance through an unlucky accident with two of the cars early on in the race."
"This success is something very special in my racing career," said an ecstatic ex -Formula 1 pilot Jos Verstappen. "Winning at Le Mans means you go down in racing history. For me it was also important as I'd never competed in a 24-hour race before. The car was unbelievably reliable and fantastic to drive. It was great fun right from the first to the last minute."
His team mate, Peter van Merksteijn, who also owns the Dutch team, was ecstatic. "This is crazy," said the 52 -year-old Dutch businessman. "Every team member has worked untiringly. Above all, Jos drove like a young stud. My job was actually only to bring the RS Spyder back to the pits without injuries and not to lose too much time to Jos and Jeroen. This worked. Porsche's support was excellent and the co-operation couldn't have been better."
The team had just one unscheduled repair disturbing their run - the underbody had come loose through cutting over the raised curbs on the track and had to be reattached. For the second-place Essex pilots, a touch of wistfulness was mixed with their joy over second place. In the first third of the race, the Danish team had led for some time and hopes had justifiably grown for a Le Mans win. Two slow punctures and an additional pit stop due to electronic problems robbed them of this chance.
"It's incredibly moving to secure second at our very first24 hour race as a team," said John Nielsen, who acts as driver and team boss and who claimed overall victory at the long distance classic in 1990.
Sascha Maassen, who competes in the American Le Mans Series in a similar RS Spyder, and has won Le Mans in GT3 class 911s, also had positive feedback about his Essex team. "Right from the start I felt great in my guest team and I was surprised at the level of engagement and determination at which they worked," said the Porsche works driver.
"It was a highlight to drive the RS Spyder here in Le Mans. Thanks to the unusually good balance and road holding of the car you always had total trust in the vehicle even in the ultra fast passages."
The teams in the production-based GT2 class also started the race with their Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs showing great promise. In qualifying, the Porsche works driver Patrick Long (USA) had broken the magical four-minute mark with a lap time of 3:58.152 minutes in the sports car category for the first time and with his German works driver team mate Wolf Henzler, claimed the first two positions on the grid as a result. In the race, two Porsche 911 GT3 RSR held a clear lead over the rival Ferraris. After two hours an unlucky collision between Long and his compatriot Seth Neiman (USA) robbed them of any chance to win. For the French IMSA Performance Matmut team with Long, works driver Richard Lietz (Austria) and Raymond Narac (France) this signaled the end of their race.
The 911 of the Flying Lizard Motorsports team could rejoin the race, but sat more than 30 laps behind to secure sixth at the flag with drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Neiman and Johannes van Overbeek (USA). With this, Bergmeister turned the fastest race lap by far in the GT2 category in 3:59.887 minutes.
Fifth place in the GT2 class went to Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany), Alex Davison (Australia) and Horst Felbermayr (Austria). Until midnight, the trio delivered a spirited fight for the lead against a Ferrari, but fell far back due to a one-hour stop for repairs in the night. "Apart from this technical defect our 911 ran like clockwork. But the competition in our class is so close that it's very difficult to make up any lost time," said Henzler.
Pescarolo
Although condemned to observe the diesel fight from a distance, and awaiting for the evolution of the technical regulations, Pescarolo Sport after three podiums in a row in Le Mans, still had to demonstrate its capacity to be a challenger.
With 5 cars entered in the race, Pescarolo Automobiles was one of the best represented manufacturer on the starting grid (excepting Lola with 6 entries) and was the best represented manufacturer on the finish line!
Because of an engine problem on car #16 driven by Bouillon, Collard and Dumas, one car is missing at the end. Still the manufacturer from La Sarthe has demonstrated the reliability and competitivness of its chassis.
Harold Primat, Christophe Tinseau and Benoît Treluyer win the much appreciated but non official "petrol engine" category. The competition was due to be fierce since the Courages Oreca, the Lolas with the strong Lola Aston Martin, the Dome, and the Creations were all up against us. The Pescarolos #16 and #17 have always been in the top performers.
Unfortunately, the Collard/Bouillion/Dumas #16 after loosing 6 minutes for an engine control unit replacement finally had to retire because of an engine problem at 06.24 (quite unusual from our engine supplier Judd).
Under particularly difficult race conditions, #17 took over with brio. Intermittent rain showers made it very difficult for the drivers on the track. The Team managers together with the Michelin engineers had a hard time selecting the tyres and the mechanics were busy with the numerous pit stops. It was a 100% success for everyone.
Moreover, thanks to the brilliant performance of Saulnier Racing having its brand new LMP2 driven by three young guns on the podium and having the LMP1 driven by three gentlemen drivers reaching the finish line, Jacques Nicolet and Henri Pescarolo may be proud of the encouraging results achieved by the Groupe Pescarolo Automobiles they have created.
Pescarolo-Judd #17: 7th overall classification / LMP1
1st non official "petrol engine"
Harold Primat/Christophe Tinseau/Benoît Treluyer
RML
RML MG Lola flies out of Le Mans 24 hour
Exactly one hundred years ago the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, made history in Le Mans by demonstrating their amazing flying machine for the first time in Europe. Their flights were relatively brief by today's standards, but a splendid monument rises high in the centre of the town to celebrate the association between Le Mans and those pioneers of aviation.
In 2008, RML's hopes of repeating the team's class-winning successes of 2005 and 2006 ended late on the Saturday evening, after nearly eight hours of racing, when the team's MG Lola EX265 took to the skies. In terms of height and distance the car's flight did little to challenge the achievements of the Wright brothers, but for Mike Newton, driving the car at the time, it would leave a lasting impression. As Ray Mallock, founder of RML remarked, "We joined the flying club this weekend," and in doing so became one of a string of prototype teams to see their cars leave the ground in recent weeks.
The 76th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours had actually started with great promise for the Wellingborough-based squad. Thomas Erdos, taking the start in RML MG Lola EX265, had been rising steadily though the LMP2 class order. From a relatively lowly grid position of sixth, Tommy had picked off the MG's rivals one by one, and inside the first twenty minutes had risen to third. His pace appeared consistently good, and the British-domiciled Brazilian commented on how stable and inspiring the car's handling had been. Then, almost on the half-hour, and just moments after he had moved through to capture another overall position, he and the LMP1 car he'd just passed made contact. The MG lost grip with the road and buried its nose in the barriers.
The impact was full-frontal and heavy, but Erdos managed to coax the stricken car back almost five miles to the pitlane, where the RML engineers effected a full repair in under thirty minutes. That was some achievement in itself, and Tommy was soon lapping even quicker than he had previously, but there was a considerable amount of ground to make up. Co-drivers Mike Newton and Andy Wallace continued the trend, each completing faultless double-stints, and by nine o'clock the MG had regained seventeen places overall.
The drivers began their second round of stints in the cockpit; Erdos the first to return, and then Newton. The CEO of AD Group had been in the car almost an hour when he came through to the famous Porsche Curves. His approach to the sweeping curve was nothing unusual, but the result was. The car snapped suddenly to the right, side-on to the direction of travel, and as the air pressure built up under the edge, the car lifted clear of the ground. It kept on rising, and revolving. "I can recall looking across, and seeing the ground coming in towards me," said Newton later. Almost at the point when the car was upside down, the front corner dug in, spinning the car violently back the other way, until the left rear hit the ground in turn. The car bucked again before finally settling back on its wheels. Miraculously, Mike was able to bring the MG slowly back to the pitlane and into the garage. Thanks to AD Group's video recording technology, installed in the MG Lola in the form of the RML X-PRO Recorder, Mike was able to show Phil Barker, RML Team Manager, exactly what the car - and driver - had just experienced. This assisted Phil in directing the team to focus the repair work on the areas of impact and subsequent damage as the RML pit crew stripped down the MG and then put it all back together again.
This second rebuild took two hours, but when Andy Wallace took the car out again he reported problems with the handling. Three times the team made adjustments, but it soon became apparent that there was additional underlying damage that was compromising the team's capacity to achieve a driveable set-up for the chassis. The team also faced a second dilemma. In order to achieve a classified finish a car must complete 70% of the winning car's distance, and time was running out.
At 1:58 on Sunday morning the decision was reached that the team had done as much as was humanly possible, but the challenge was simply too great. "The truth is, we simply can't achieve a classified finish from this position," said Adam Wiseberg, Motorsport Director of AD Group. "Even if we could get the car to handle properly again, there are insufficient hours left in this race for us to complete the minimum number of laps required to meet the 70% rule. Accepting that has been a very difficult decision."
Ray Mallock, founder of RML, was in the garage to witness the final hours. "Although the team did a remarkable job in getting the car back together again, we have been unable to recover the chassis settings that would enable our drivers to race competitively, or safely. Sadly, there is nothing to be gained by pressing on."
And so, with the race on the point of entering its eleventh hour, the shutters came down on the #25 RML MG Lola. Tommy Erdos was already resting, unaware of what was taking place. Andy Wallace, last to drive the car, was preparing to head back to "an early night", if two in the morning could ever be called that. Later, after analysing the video footage of his crash alongside the telemetry data, Mike could see that he had been travelling at over 270 kph when the car took flight. Not only did the video recorder survive the crash, but the spectacular footage also took the breath away from all who saw it in the RML control room, leaving Mike pondering on his lucky escape.
The team now has a two-month break before Round 4 of the 2008 Le Mans Series at the Nurburgring in Germany. It will be plenty of time for reflection, and recovery.
Team Modena
Finish
Team Modena brought their Aston Martin DBR9 successfully to the end of the 2008 Le Mans 24-Hours race having overcome major gearbox problems in the night that cost the team a strong finish in the classic race. Two hours in the pits, the car only emerging as dawn broke over the French circuit dented their hopes, but a superb team performance to get the car back on the track was backed up by strong driving from Terry Borcheller, Christian Fittipaldi and Jos Menten to see the car take the chequered flag.
The car was an unrepresentative 30th overall, having run as high as 22nd during the night before problems struck, and eighth in the LM GT1 class when a top finish was looking possible. Rapid yet careful work from the crew saw the gearbox stripped down and rebuilt in the pit garage as the click ticked, losing the car 30-laps on its rivals. The race finish continues the run of Le Mans finishes for the team's DBR9, making its third consecutive finish in the world's most testing event, a superb tribute to the team's professionalism, preparation, and race engineering skills.
"The team did a great job," said Team Principal Graham Schultz, "you can't do this event without a team, it is really as simple as that, and we knew that we could do the job and bring the car home. The gearbox was a bit of a tester, but we have done it before and we have brought the car home again in its third Le Mans. It has to be the most famous and well-campaigned Aston Martin out there."
"It's fantastic to have come to Le Mans three times with this car and to have finished very time," said Sporting Director Rik Bryan. "Once again we were unlucky with the gearbox, we need to investigate in the next few days and find out what went wrong, and without that we could have been fourth in class. Le Mans is always ups and downs, without the problems we could have finished higher.
"The spirit of the team shone through in the early hours of the morning when they had to rebuild the internals of the gearbox. I'd also like to take the opportunity to congratulate team regular Antonio Garcia - who won in the factory Aston Martin."
"It was a long 24-Hours for the car and the team," said Team Manager Hans Muelhbauer, who orchestrated all of the 33 pit stops, "the car was perfect, sadly the gearbox wasn't, but once again we got the car to the finish."
The team's youngest driver - 27-year-old Jos - had the honour of bringing the car across the line at the end of the 24-Hours, the car completing 302 laps, an amazing 2561 miles of high-speed racing despite losing over two hours in the pits. As the marshals flagged the car over the finish line, the team and supporters lined up on the pitwall and gave an emotional reception greeting to the car and driver.
"It was a new experience for me at the end bringing the car across the line," said Jos, "totally different from other 24-hour races. The track started wet in my final stint but a dry line was soon there so it was ok, You can have mechanical issues in racing, it can be sometimes the drivers fault, sometimes the car, a million things can go wrong but the guys did a good job and we are happy."
All the drivers contributed hugely to the result, lapping the car rapidly in the night and pushing to the end in what were often very tricky track conditions. Though disappointed by the overall result, they proved a strong combination and a well-balanced driver line-up.
"The result was not exactly what we expected," said Christian, "but that is the way it goes sometimes in racing. We were unfortunate to lose almost the whole first day of practice, and had to play catch-up from that point on.
"We had a good start to the race but then mechanical problems started kicking in, we blew up a tyre and then the gearbox lost us two hours. It is hard to finish this race but we have done it."
"Whenever you have a problem that costs you so much time it is frustrating," said Terry, "but as a whole, I have made some good friends and had a lot of fun with a good group of people. The result is frustrating but it was a great effort by the team and everyone involved - we had fun."
Next Race for the Team Modena Aston Martin DBR9: Le Mans Series, Nurburgring, Germany, August 17th
Shell V-Power Diesel fuel technology powers a third win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race
For the third consecutive year Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel has powered the Audi Sport team to victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. This latest victory demonstrates again the power and performance of Shell V-Power Diesel technology embodied in the winning fuel.
Following on from historic wins in 2006 and 2007, the Audi R10 TDI once again took the chequered flag in a thrilling race that saw a dramatic fight between the diesel competitors in mixed conditions.
The power, efficiency and performance of Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel assisted Audi drivers Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo "Dindo" Capello to complete the historic French circuit in 381 laps.
Shell demonstrated its commitment to fuels innovation and the development of sustainable, low-carbon fuels with the blending of BTL (Biomass to Liquids) into its Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans race. A small amount of this new, second-generation biofuel was blended into the Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel together with the established GTL component, which is already being produced at a commercial scale and has been used in the Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel since 2006.
This diesel fuel technology, supported by Shell Helix motor oils, helped Audi Sport to sustain its gasoline-beating diesel performance throughout the race. Over 24 hours, the team completed just 34 pits stops, several less than the opposition.
Shell and Audi Sport are pioneers in the modern diesel revolution and have proved that the combination of Audi TDI engineering and Shell V-Power Diesel fuel technology has set a new standard for success on the Le Mans track.
Shell V-Power Diesel is a high-performance diesel fuel already available at about 7,000 service stations across Europe. Shell scientists have used the same fuel technology behind Shell V-Power Diesel to create this special racing fuel for Le Mans.
Richard Karlstetter, Shell Global Technology Manager, Racing Fuels commented, "Shell and Audi Sport have demonstrated yet again the gasoline-beating diesel performance behind Shell V-Power Diesel. Three consecutive wins at Le Mans is a landmark victory, not just for Shell but for diesel fuel technology as a whole. The technical partnership with Audi Sport is testament to this, reinforcing that Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel has the power and performance required to win an epic endurance race such as Le Mans."
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Sport, commented "A key part of the success of the Audi R10 TDI at Le Mans lies in ensuring we have the right fuel to provide the car with more power for longer. Shell V-Power Diesel is essential to Audi Sport's success at Le Mans."