The Van Merksteijn Porsche was again the class of the P2 field
Van Merksteijn
Horag
RML
Speedy Sebah
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Van Merksteijn
Van Merksteijn Motorsport round off the season in style with victory at Silverstone
SILVERSTONE - Van Merksteijn Motorsport by Equipe Verschuur rounded off its campaign in the 2008 Le Mans Series in style by winning the LMP2 class in the fifth and final round of the season, the "Autosport 1000 Kilometres of Silverstone". Driving the team's Porsche RS Spyder, Jos Verstappen and Peter van Merksteijn led their class all the way in the 195 lap race which was held in bright and sunny conditions. For the team, it was the fourth win of the season, in which it already had secured the titles in the LMP2 drivers' and teams' championships and helped Porsche claim the title in the LMP2 manufacturers' standings. In the debut season of the Porsche RS Spyder sports prototype in Europe, Van Merksteijn Motorsport also scored a commanding class win in the Le Mans 24 Hours. "Winning the final race is a great way to end this season, in which we have enjoyed tremendous success", said Jos Verstappen, the 2008 LMP2 drivers' champion in the Le Mans Series. "I am very proud of all we have achieved. Everybody involved has been doing a great job", said driver cum team owner Peter van Merksteijn.
Starting from pole position in class, Jos Verstappen had quite an easy run in the first part of the race, being in the car for three stints until Peter van Merksteijn took over during the second safety-car intervention of the race on lap 78. At that time, the Porsche of the Dutch team had a margin of two laps while leading the LMP2 category. The only hiccup was a one-second stop-and-go-penalty for allegedly having used an external battery to fire up the engine of the car on the starting grid. "In fact, we didn't use the battery at all, we just had put it on the car as a precaution", said team manager, Frans Verschuur. "However, the stewards decided otherwise and we had to accept this." The slight delay didn't affect the team's position as Jos Verstappen remained in the lead as he got back onto the track again.
After Peter van Merksteijn's two stints, Jos Verstappen got back into the car on lap 152 and went on to drive the car across the finish line for the last time this season. "I have had a great first season in sportscar racing", said Verstappen. "I have learned a lot in this discipline, which was entirely new to me. Working with this team was a great experience and I rate our victory at Le Mans and the titles in the Le Mans Series among the biggest achievements in my career." Peter van Merksteijn commented: "For our team, the season could hardly have been any better. For me, it was a very nice experience as well and I have really enjoyed every minute of it. Jos has shown that he is an outstanding driver and lets also not forget the performance of Jeroen Bleekemolen who contributed to our victories at Le Mans and the Nurburgring."
Whether and how the team will continue its activities with the Porsche RS Spyder remains yet to be seen. "I am proud that we have been able to contribute a little bit to Porsche's great racing heritage in the first season with the RS Spyder in Europe. Now we will consider all the options and will decide on future activities in due course", said Peter van Merksteijn.
Horag
Horag Racing Finishes Second in LMP2 In Sunday's 1,000 Kilometers of Silverstone; Also Finishes Third in Championship And Wins Michelin Energy Endurance Challenge
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, England, -- Fredy Lienhard said that Sunday's 1,000 Kilometers of Silverstone Le Mans Series season finale would be his last race as a driver, and he wanted to go out at the top of his game.
He certainly did.
As a crowd of 53,000 and a live television audience watched, Lienhard celebrated his 61st birthday on the podium at the historic circuit 80 miles north of London after he and co-drivers Didier Theys and Jan Lammers finished second in the LMP2 class with their Horag Racing Lista Office Porsche RS Spyder No.27.
In the process they earned enough points to regain third place in the Le Mans Series' LMP2 championship for the season, recording three podium finishes in the five-race series.
Horag Racing's entry also topped every other car in the series to win a separate championship called the Michelin Energy Endurance Challenge, which is awarded to the team that makes the best use of fuel during the season. The ranking is based on the Energy Efficiency Index (EEI), which is the ratio between a car's average speed, excluding pit stops, and its average fuel consumption.
Part of the prize is an official entry into the 200924 Hours of Le Mans, which possibly could be enough to draw Lienhard out of retirement.
But that's a question for another day. After Sunday's race Lienhard and the team were delighted to finish second in a very tough 14-car LMP2 class. The 2008 LMP2 champions, the Van Merksteijn Porsche RS Spyder team, won the class on Sunday, but the Horag team finished second in class and ninth overall in the 46-car field. Its Lista Office No.27 had a two-lap advantage over the third-place LMP2 car, the Quifel ASM Team's Lola MG, after five hours and 40 minutes of torrid competition on the 5140.11-meter/3.194-mile, 14-turn road course.
Lammers, of Katwyk, the Netherlands, qualified sixth in class and 17th overall on Saturday.
Theys, a native of Belgium who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., in the United States, drove the first stint. He battled an understeer that disappeared after he got a new set of Michelin tires prior to the start of his second stint. The team also dodged a bullet at that point because the pit stop was made before a slow leak in the car's right-rear tire caused any real trouble.
Since this race was the last chance to earn points for 2008, some drivers took more chances than usual. Theys avoided any skirmishes, and ran in fifth place in class during the early stages of the race before moving into fourth before 50 of the 195 laps were in the books.
Casper Elgaard was running third when he lost the left-front wheel of his Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder right before Theys' second stint was over. That put Theys in third place when he turned the car over to Lienhard around the two-hour mark.
Lienhard, of Niederteufen, Switzerland, moved into second place right before the three-hour mark when the Embassy Racing WF01 Zytek pitted so Warren Hughes could replace Jonny Kane.
Lienhard was still in second place when he pitted for Lammers to take over shortly thereafter. The entry dropped to fifth due to the pit stop, and Lammers got to work to bring his charge back up the monitor.
He was fourth with three hours and 18 minutes on the clock. Ten minutes later he took third by passing Miguel Amaral in the Quifel ASM Lola AER. Then he set his sights on second, held at the time by the Embassy WF01 Zytek No.45.
Shortly thereafter that car stalled at the end of pit lane following a pit stop. The problem cost it a lap and allowed Lammers to retake second place around the three-hour-and-45-minute mark. He stayed in that position until the end even as some positions shifted behind him.
Horag Racing owner Markus Hotz also saved time by not changing Lammers' tires on his last pit stop, which gave the team even more padding over third at the checkered.
Lammers set the car's fastest lap of the race with a 1:36.319 (192.149 kilometers per hour), which was the second-fastest lap posted among the LMP2 entries. It was also faster than the 1:36.338 he ran in qualifying.
All of the teams had limited practice time here in the dry this weekend due to rain and some caution flags. Qualifying was held in the dry on Saturday, as was Sunday's race.
Additional information is available at Horag Racing's Web site at horag- racing.com and the series' Web site at lemans-series.com.
Post-race quotes follow:
Didier Theys: "It's always enjoyable to come to Silverstone. It has fast corners where the driver really makes a difference, and I always enjoy racing here. There's a fast corner called Becketts that you take flat out in sixth gear, and every lap it's `Wow!'
"After the Nurburgring we were a bit frustrated because we needed to get third place in the championship back. We did that today, and were able to give Fredy a good birthday present. I want to dedicate this podium to him, for all of the good times that we've had racing together.
"Winning the Michelin Energy Challenge championship was also important to us. We're not 25 anymore, and we need to have something else to win! It's very valuable, as it gives us an entry at LeMans next year.
"As for the race, the car had an understeer at the start; we were on the same set of tires we used for qualifying. When I came in for new tires at the second stint, from that point on I had no complaints. The car was perfect.
"That second stint was a bit frustrating because when I came out of the pits I was running with a pack of three LMP1 cars. They were faster than me on the straights but slower than me in the corners. But that was the only frustration of the race for me. I didn't have any offs, and everything went fine. The team, Fredy and Jan all did a great job."
Fredy Lienhard: "I've been racing for 40 years, and there were so many good experiences and challenges. It is my 61st birthday today, and the present I got from my team couldn't have made me happier. It is just so valuable. I would like to thank everyone involved in this series and at this track and of course our team.
"I have to say yes, this is my happiest birthday ever. I celebrated my birthday at Mont-Tremblant the year Didier and I won with my son as a co-driver, but my birthday was on Saturday that year and the race was on Sunday.
"Winning with my son was very special. I have to say that my top three races ever were the Rolex 24 victory at Daytona; that win at Mont-Tremblant, and this race today.
"I played it safe during my stint. Markus [Hotz, the team owner] told me to be consistent, and I did that. I followed his instructions. And I don't think I ever enjoyed driving so much as I did today. The car is just wonderful to race here."
[Note: Fredy Lienhard Sr., Didier Theys, Mauro Baldi and Max Papis won the 2002 Rolex 24 at Daytona on Feb.3, 2002 in the Doran-Lista Dallara Judd. Fredy Lienhard Jr., Fredy Lienhard Sr. and Didier Theys won the Six Hours of Mont-Tremblant at Mont-Tremblant, Quebec on Sept.15, 2002 in the same car, recording the largest margin of victory in Grand-Am Rolex Series history.]
Jan Lammers: "The Porsche RS Spyder is a fantastic car to drive. The team did a great job, as usual. I feel like I'm a lucky guy to be able to share this podium with Fredy. I'm grateful to him for the experience; it was a nice season.
"Fredy did a great job today. He matched the times of the Van Merksteijn driver during his stint, and sometimes he was even quicker."
[About not changing tires on the last pit stop]: "I was worried about it for a little while, but Markus told me it would be OK so I just lived with it and he was right; it was OK. The Embassy car had a problem and wasn't on our lap at the end, which gave us some breathing room."
Markus Hotz (team owner): "Today was better than expected. We couldn't expect to win unless the Van Merksteijn car had a problem. On Thursday I told the team that we'll hope for the best, but be realistic and take whatever happens. I told them that we'll just all do our best. I think everybody did that, and that's why we're here.
"Didier had an understeer at the beginning. Then we discovered that the right-rear tire had a slow puncture. We watched it with the sensors, because we couldn't bring him in too early. We were just lucky to make that and get him into the pits in time.
"The Michelin Energy Challenge was a goal that we wanted to win. It was a nice thing to pack this energy challenge into the series. We won for the entire series; it covers all the classes, and we won it even over the efficient diesel cars.
"On the last pit stop we were very careful to fill the car with exactly what was needed to go to the finish. It wasn't as easy as it looked."
RML
RML MG Lola Coupe Fourth on Race Debut
Just a few days after its first roll-out, the fully upgraded RML MG Lola EX265C completed a faultless run to fourth place in the final race of the 2008 Le Mans Series. In a six-hour endurance that was punctuated by dramatic incidents and thrilling nose-to-tail racing, the much-admired new coupe performed without a hitch, rewarding the team's hard work and meticulous preparation with a reliable and extremely competitive performance.
"I'm delighted -- chuffed to bits!" said a smiling Mike Newton, co-driver of the EX265C and CEO of AD Group, principal sponsors to RML's sportscar programme. "The guys have done an amazing job to put this car together so quickly, and to achieve a trouble-free run is an exceptional achievement." The team had always approached the Silverstone 1000 Kilometres as an extended, if very public, test session, but poor weather on the previous two days had severely curtailed their on-track development. "When you compare this to where we might have been, after the events of the last couple of days, this has got to be an excellent result," he added.
The only issue the team encountered during the course of the race was a rise in engine temperature that, if left unaddressed, might have threatened the unit. "The engine was running a little too hot," said Thomas Erdos, who drove the opening three stints in the MG Lola, and was first to detect the problem. "We were able to de-tune it enough at the next pitstop to ensure it would run the distance, but it meant we were perhaps forty or fifty horsepower down for most of the race. In that respect, fourth is a great result."
Despite the reduction in power, which restricted the car's straight-line speed, the lap times remained competitive throughout - a testament to the aerodynamic work carried out by Lola Cars of Huntingdon, designers of the car. "I was very pleased with the pace," admitted Mike Newton. "Even after the de-tune, our times were still very fair." Before climbing into the cockpit for his first stint, Mike had only managed five laps in the car, so came to the coupe very raw. He admits to missing the "wind-in-your-hair" experience of the open-topped car, but his first lap proved to be four seconds faster than he'd managed before.
Adam Wiseberg, Director of Motorsport for AD Group, was well satisfied. "We said all along that we were making this an extended test session, and as with most tests, it just got better and better," he said. "All in all, a very pleasing first race. We made no unscheduled stops, the car ran cleanly, the build was clearly excellent, and given some more time with it, I think we'll achieve the kind of performance we're asking for."
Phil Barker, Team Manager for RML, had praise for his crew of engineers and mechanics. "To have got to the chequered flag in a six-hour race with a newly-built car is an achievement that I'm very pleased with. All credit to the guys, they did a tremendous job. It's a great start to the life of the new car, and a good basis from which we can look forward to next year."
The team now has several months of development work ahead of them in order to prepare the EX265C for a full and very competitive season in 2009.
Speedy Sebah
After a strong qualifying session on Saturday with the third best time in the LMP2 category, the team was looking forward to the race on Sunday.
Xavier Pompidou started the race. With a consistent first stint Xavier elevated the SPEEDY RACING TEAM SEBAH Lola-Judd into second place in LMP2 and in the top ten overall.
At the end of his first stint Xavier had worked his tyres very hard due to his pushing in the early stage of the race. For10 laps he had to battle with the Essex Porsche #31 racing nose to tail.
After 26 laps Xavier came into the pits for refuelling and tyres change. He was quickly back into the podium battle and on the 30th lap he retook second place behind the #34 Porsche. Only a few laps later Xavier was 11 seconds behind the same Porsche #34 driven by Jos Verstappen who had had to serve a short Stop & Go penalty.
On lap 44 a big collision between Peugeot #7 and Porsche #76 put the Safety car on the track.
The SPEEDY RACING TEAM SEBAH Lola-Judd initially stayed out on the track, but the Team Manager called the car to the pit for an early stop so as to take advantage of the Safety Car and gain a few precious seconds. Xavier stayed in the car and was sent back to race for the third stint. The #33 Lola Michelin shod car had a quick respite from the pressure of the #31 Porsche when that car lost a wheel and had spend a few laps into the garage for repairs.
With 11/2 lap gap with the new third car in LMP2 classification and fifth place overall, the last part of the was set to be more relaxing...
But only three laps before the next scheduled pit stop for a driver change (Steve Zacchia was ready to climb into the car) Xavier was forced out of the track by #55 GT1 class Lamborghini when Xavier tried to overtake him once again in the race.
The #33 SPEEDY RACING TEAM SEBAH Lola-Judd crashed into the wall on the start/finish straight, causing the retirement of the car and the end of the hoped for podium result for the team.
Xavier Pompidou : "I don't understand why he did not let me overtake him. I flashed the light for half a lap but he was ignoring the blue flags, he touched me 4 times before we arrived on the straight lane. And then something broke at he rear and I lost the car. I am really disappointed, It's really a shame, we were heading for a very good result and we were still able to put some pressure on the leading car. It's hard to finish the season like this."
Team Manager Bart Hayden : " We were really on the pace to climb a least onto the second spot of the podium. The performance of the car was great during all week- end and we were confident with the gear box management system we installed before the race to solve the problems we experienced at Nurburgring. The hard work of the team during all season was not rewarded, but motorsport is sometimes like this.
Andrea Belicchi, Xavier Pompidou and Steve Zacchia drove very well all season, so it`s a shame for everyone. I would like to say that Lola that supported us very well for this first season of the Coupe and want to thank all their designers and engineers. I have a special thanks for our sponsors and partners. They were with us this week end, this programme with the new Lola B08/80 Coupe and the new Judd DB has only been made possible with their fantastic support and enthusiasm. We will study the new A.C.O regulations for next season to offer them the best package for a successful 2009 season."