Van Merksteijn can enjoy Silverstone, having already wrapped up the P2 crown
Pescarolo
Charouz
Van Merksteijn
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Pescarolo
Teams are already concentrating on 2009.
Saturday next, the Automobile Club de L'Ouest (ACO) will unveil the new technical regulations on equivalences and all teams equipped with fuel engines, among which Pescarolo Sport, may legitimately think that they will be in a position to compete with diesel engines again in the future. This is the reason why teams have new ambitions and already started to develop new cars.
Still, the season is not over yet. Pescarolo Sport is about to finish the 2008 championship in third position behind Peugeot and Audi. Once again, Pescarolo Sport is the best "fuel-engined team" just behind diesel engines.
Following the problems at the Nurburgring, where we only scored one point with car # 17 finishing 8th, the whole team is particularly motivated to conclude the season with a good result.
In order to do so, two practice sessions were organised, one in Le Mans on the Bugatti circuit, the other one in Dijon where new aerodynamics and mechanical evolutions were tested. The chassis has been improved in view of Silverstone, a very fast circuit requiring a lot of downforce.
Emmanuel Collard being entered in a GT race for Porsche on that day, he will not be part of the team at Silverstone. Romain Dumas, another Porsche driver will be at the wheel of Pescarolo # 16, teamed up with Jean- Christophe Boullion. Romain last drove the car at Le Mans but he is particularly right on form, fighting to maintain his first position in LMP2 against Acura in American Le Mans Serie.
On Pescarolo # 17, Harold Primat and Christophe Tinseau, were in charge ot the last developments; they will do their best to offer Pescarolo Sport a double in the " fuel-engine category "
That would be the best conclusion for a frustrating campaign where Pescarolo Sport, although still one of the best endurance teams, watched the diesel-engine cars parading the whole year in front of them!
Classifications prior to the last race speak for themselves :
Manufacturer Classification: 22 points for Pescarolo Sport, thanks to regularity, far ahead of Lola (11 points), Creation (10 points), and Oreca (9 points)
Team per category: 10 points for Pescarolo # 17, one point behind the Charouz, and equally placed with Creation.9 points for # 16 despite two retirements
Driver Classification:
7th equally placed for the drivers of Pescarolo # 17 with 10 points
9th equally placed for the drivers of Pescarolo # 16 with 9 points
Seven drivers of fuel-engine cars are fighting in between 5th and 10th position with only a difference of 2 points.
Charouz
Charouz Racing System ready for final
The Charouz Racing System team is ready to fight for fourth place in the 2008 Le Mans Series standings in the final and decisive race of the season, the Autosport 1000 km of Silverstone. Proven drivers, Jan Charouz and Stefan Mucke, will be looking to build on their fifth place finish in the previous round at the Nurburgring and once again demonstrate the ability of the Aston Martin-powered LMP1 prototype to lead the petrol-engined cars' charge against the more powerful diesels.
The Nurburgring result was the third point-scoring race and second best result of the season so far for the Czech team, which works in close cooperation with Aston Martin Racing. Both drivers and team are currently fifth in the overall standings and have their sights set on the stretching target of finishing the season one place better, in fourth.
Stefan and Jan are looking forward to Silverstone. The Czech driver has been living in London since his high school studies and it is basically a home race for him. The young Berliner has fond memories from last year when he was third in qualifying, a feat he just recently repeated at this year's Nurburgring round.
Race History/Highlights
The first six-hour race at Silverstone (www.silverstone.co.uk) was held in 1976 and was won by John Fitzpatrick and Tom Walkinshaw in a BMW 3.5 CSL.1980 saw the first race win by a female driver, when South African, Desire Wilson took victory with Briton, Alain de Cadenet in the De Cadenet Lola-Ford. The six-hour race format was changed to a 1000 km race in 1983, to mark the beginning of what many regard as a golden era of Group C car racing (1983-1988). In subsequent years , sports cars raced for 480 km, 430 km or 500 km.
The current system of a 1000 km race with a six-hour limit returned with the Le Mans Series in 2004. The series has been racing at Silverstone every year since then, with the sole exception of 2006.
Jan Charouz: "We are heading to the last race of the Le Mans Series 2008 season. I am looking forward to it and I want to enjoy it. I have been living in London since my high school studies and I therefore consider the 1000 km of Silverstone as my home race. After all, I live only 100 km from the racetrack. Our aim for the last race is the same as before - be the best petrol powered car in a highly competitive field. Anything more would be an added bonus. The fight for fourth overall is a big challenge and will be a tough fight."
Stefan Mucke: "Following our good performance and result in the 1000 km Nurburgring race I am looking forward to Silverstone and hope that Jan and I can achieve a similar result there also at. I would also like to repeat my qualifying performance, which put us third on the grid in Germany. However, the whole team knows that the season final will be very difficult. We can get fourth place overall in both driver and team standings, so I hope that we will have also a bit of luck."
George Howard-Chappell, Technical Director Aston Martin Racing: "Obviously with this race only a few miles from our base in Banbury and being the last race of the season, we will have a lot of Prodrive and Aston Martin Racing staff watching, so it will be doubly important to try and do well. Out- qualifying the Audi's at the last race was a great experience and we will be trying very hard to get among the diesels again here. We will also have to see what the UK weather decides to throw at us! The car is unchanged from the last race and I am optimistic it will work well on this circuit. It has been a great experience competing in the LMP1 class this season and I think we have proved what we are capable of."
Van Merksteijn
Van Merksteijn Motorsport with Porsche RS Spyder as champions to Silverstone
SILVERSTONE - This weekend, the British circuit of Silverstone will be hosting the fifth and final round of the 2008 Le Mans Series. During the "Autosport 1000 Kilometres of Silverstone", as the event is called officially, Jos Verstappen and Peter van Merksteijn will be racing the Porsche RS Spyder entered by Van Merksteijn Motorsport by Equipe Verschuur. The team are coming to Silverstone as champions because in the previous race at the Nurburgring, the teams' and drivers' titles in the LMP2 class could already be secured. The achievements of the Dutch team also contributed to Porsche winning the manufacturers' title in the LMP2 class. The race at the 5.141 kilometres long Silverstone Grand Prix circuit will start on Sunday at 11.20 am local time (12.20 pm CET). Eurosport will be broadcasting the first hour of the race live and will provide a replay in the evening. Motors TV will be broadcasting live for most of the race and audio reports from qualifying and the race can also be heard live on the internet at www.radiolemans.com
With victories at Barcelona, Spa-Francorchamps, Nurburgring and a second place after a great recovery at Monza, the season in the Le Mans Series has been running particularly well for Van Merksteijn Motorsport. On top of that, victory in the LMP2 class in the Le Mans 24 Hours for Jeroen Bleekemolen, Peter van Merksteijn and Jos Verstappen with the Porsche RS Spyder was the highlight of the season. Now that the titles in the Le Mans Series have been secured as well, the team are getting ready for a thrilling finale at Silverstone.
"We want to win", says Jos Verstappen, leaving no doubt whatsoever about his ambitions. "We know that the car can do it and we want to end the season in style." Verstappen is looking forward to the Silverstone circuit, which he knows very well from his days in Formula 1. "The circuit has some fast sections that really suit me and where I expect our Porsche to do well", he says. Peter van Merksteijn is also looking forward to the upcoming race. "At the Nurburgring, I wasn't able to take part because I was competing in a World Championship rally that weekend, but now I am really eager to get back into the Porsche again. Silverstone is a circuit with a great tradition." The team's third driver, Jeroen Bleekemolen, will be racing in the final round of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup at Monza this weekend. Last week, he already claimed the title in that series.
On Friday, September 12th, there are two free practice sessions at Silverstone from 11.15 till 12.15 and from 15.45 till 16.45 h. On Saturday, September 13th, there is one more free practice session from 9.00 till 10.00 h, followed by qualifying for the LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes from 13.40 till 14.00 h. The race of 195 laps (1002.495 km) will start on Sunday, September 14th, at 11.20 h and will have a maximum duration of six hours (all times local, CET is one hour later).