RML
AD Group in disciplined approach to Paul
Ricard Test
 Following
on from the confirmation on Friday (March 6th,
here)
that Chris Dyson would be the third driver in
RML AD Group’s Lola-Mazda Coupé for
Le Mans 2009, the team took a very disciplined
approach to the ACO’s official Le Mans Series
Paul Ricard test.
Under
the direction of Phil Barker, Team Manager at
RML, the team embarked on a clearly-defined structure
for the two-day test, concentrating on set-up
and balance throughout Sunday’s two daylight
sessions. The aim was to amass as much data as
possible in the first day, to be analysed and
employed in the team’s preparation for the
24 Hours in June. Then, on Monday, the emphasis
was on addressing the issue of driver comfort
in the Lola-Mazda’s cockpit – a challenge
made more acute by Chris Dyson’s 6’2”
(1.88m) frame, which contrasts somewhat with that
of Thomas Erdos at 5’6” (1.67m).
“It’s
not really a major issue,” insists the Brazilian,
who carried out all but a small handful of the
car’s eighty-lap Sunday run. “Chris
is used to the Lola, since he races the same basic
chassis in the States, but there is a height differential
between us. This has been the first opportunity
for us to address the question of seat and pedal
positions. Looking ahead to Le Mans, where we
may be expected to complete double or triple stints,
it will be even more important that we are all
100% comfortable in the car. It’s worth
taking the time now to ensure that’s the
case.”
“Although
taking away a lot of the potential running time
on Sunday, it was invaluable to be able to validate
the initial seating position for both Chris and
myself,” said Mike Newton, CEO of AD Group.
“We already have a car that the two of us
can share without seat inserts or belt changes,
which is a huge bonus. We have completed the optimisation
of the pedal positions, so that just leaves the
task of building a suitable insert for Tommy.”
Sunday
went especially well, with the red, white and
blue Lola (now sporting a new shade in concession
to Mazda’s involvement in the project) third-fastest
in LMP2 in the opening session, and then second
quickest in the afternoon. “It’s been
a good day’s work,” suggested Erdos.
“We had a series of options that we needed
to work through in order to achieve a good base
set-up, and we can then build on that, knowing
that the car is already settled, solid, and behaving
exactly as it should. Towards the end of the day
it all came together very nicely, and we moved
second quickest in P2. It’s a shame there
aren’t more of our class of cars here this
weekend, so that we can gain a better understanding
of where we stand, but some of the front-runners
are present, and that’s offered us a useful
benchmark to work against. To be as close to the
pace as we appear to be, when we’re not
working on a set-up specifically for this track,
is encouraging.”
The
team had concentrated on attuning the car to the
circuit’s mile-long Mistral Straight and
fast right-hand Signes curve, which closely mimic
the conditions they will encounter at Le Mans.
Knowing that they will never race at Paul Ricard
allowed them to compromise the car’s balance
through some of the other sectors, so outright
lap times were never on the agenda. “All
round, it’s been very successful,”
was Phil Barker’s assessment. “We’ve
made considerable progress with the base handling
of the car and satisfied our intention of establishing
a good low-downforce setting for Le Mans in June.
We tried various changes during the course of
the first two sessions, and we’re now very
happy with where we’re at.”
 Having
devoted the Monday to seat fitting and ergonomics,
the Lola-Mazda B09/86 only completed a further
25 laps, with Mike Newton and Chris Dyson taking
turns at fine-tuning their seating positions.
“Despite the very limited running, Chris
and I were both encouraged by the immediately
very respectable times, endorsing the excellent
progress made in set-up on the Sunday by Phil
and Tommy. It was our first opportunity to work
together with Chris directly, and we all enjoyed
the experience and immediately meshed well as
a team. The two days leaves us hugely encouraged
for both the season ahead and Le Mans."
In
the light of last year’s less than auspicious
start to the 2008 season, when the team's MG EX265
blew two engines during the same pre-season test,
Paul Ricard 2009 has been a complete contrast.
“The Mazda engine has been perfect. It’s
run faultlessly throughout,” said Erdos.
“The whole package remains very new to us,
of course, and there’s so much still to
learn, but we couldn’t have had a more encouraging
start to our season.”
The
team plans several further tests before Le Mans
in June, but is now concentrating on preparation
for Round 1 of the Le Mans Series in Barcelona
next month.
Please
click on any of the images above to access higher
resolution versions. Photo credit: Marcus
Potts/CMC
Further
information please contact:
RML: Rupert
Manwaring, Sponsorship & Marketing Director
Telephone: +44 (0)1933 402440
AD Group: Pauline
Norstrom, Director of Worldwide Marketing.
Telephone: +44 (0)1928 706 449
Dyson
Racing Website
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