Sunday
- Raceday
Two
days of intense practice and qualifying come
to a head late on Sunday morning with the
start of Round 1 of the 2009 Le Mans Series,
but the day starts earlier than that with
official warm-up at nine. That's followed
by some support races, a paddock walkabouts
for the public, autograph sessions and, in
the case of the RML drivers, introductions
and briefings with the AD Group guests in
hospitality.
Warm
Up
Peter
Hardman in the (perhaps unexpectedly) pole-sitting
Strakka Racing Ginetta-Zytek LMP1 lead the
stream of cars out onto the track for the
twenty-minute warm-up session. Tommy wasn't
far behind, nosing his way into the queue
and then accelerating out onto the tarmac.
One
of the GT2 Ferraris, fresh out of the pits,
promptly beached into the gravel at Turn 2,
bringing out the yellows, and then the reds.
It was a brief pause, and then everyone was
back out again. The team made a very minor
adjustment to the car while Tommy waited,
and then he was off again for a single lap.
Having lost time through the red flag Tommy
was prevented from setting a flying lap, and
returned straight away to carry out a full
driver-change with Mike, simulating a typical
pitstop.
All
went perfectly, and Mike was soon out there
and mixing it with the rest. Then, with three
minutes remaining, the team confirmed a second
simulated driver change to round-off the session,
with Tommy swapping back for MIke.
Lap
times in warm-up are rarely meaningful and
while Mike's time of 1:42.510 was the best
of the session for the #25 Lola, it was hardly
representative. The succession of interruptions
due to yellow or red flags and popping in
and out for driver changes wasn't conducive
to fast times, but did establish a mind-set
for the race ahead.
Quickest in LMP2 was Amaral in the ASM Zytek,
with the #30 Lola second and #33 third. Fastest
overall was the #16 Pescarolo, with Olivier
Panis second in the #13 Oreca. There was then
the novelty of a seeing Prost in third, Senna
in fourth, and Mansell down in 35th place.
There
was just time for a quick de-brief before
Mike and Tommy headed out into the paddock
to sign autographs and give out copies of
the new team HeroCard.
LMP2
Times - Warm Up
Pos |
No. |
Overall |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Time |
1 |
40 |
15 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/Pla |
Ginetta
Zytek GZ09S |
1:39.538 |
2 |
30 |
16 |
Racing
Box |
Ceccato/Francioni/Piccini |
Lola
B08/86 Coupé |
1:39.794 |
3 |
33 |
12 |
Speedy
Sebah |
Belicchi/Pompidou/Zacchia |
Lola
B08/80 Coupé |
1:39.985 |
4 |
29 |
13 |
Racing
Box |
Ceccato/Francioni/Piccini |
Lola
B08/86 Coupé |
1:42.251 |
5 |
25 |
14 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
Lola
B08/86 Coupé |
1:42.510 |
6 |
39 |
18 |
Kruse
Schiller |
Marsh/Noda
/Sini |
Lola
B05/40 |
1:43.448 |
7 |
41 |
17 |
GAC
Racing Team |
Ojeh/Gosselin/Peter |
Ginetta
Zytek GZ07S |
1:39.425 |
8 |
35 |
20 |
Oak
Racing |
Ajlani/Lahaye |
Pescarolo
Mazda |
1:43.948 |
9 |
26 |
19 |
Bruichladdich |
Bruneau/Moseley/Greensall |
Radical
SR9 AER |
1:44.650 |
10 |
24 |
22 |
Oak
Racing |
Nicolet/Hein |
Pescarolo
Mazda |
1:46.009 |
11 |
38 |
24 |
Pegasus |
Schell/Thirion |
Courage
AER |
1:47.323 |
12 |
43 |
39 |
Q8
Oils Hache |
Moncado/Cortez/Armetta |
Lucchini
Judd |
1:47.951 |
13 |
28 |
28 |
Ibanez
Racing |
Ibanez/da
Rocha/Cavailhes |
Courage
AER |
1:50.920 |
14 |
42 |
25 |
Ranieri
Randaccio |
Randaccio/Giammaria |
Lucchini
McLaren |
1:51.337 |
15 |
37 |
21 |
WR
Salini |
Salini/Salini/Gommendy |
WR
Zytek |
1:51.676 |
The
Race
Race
coverage is created "live" starting
from approximately one-hour into the event,
and then driver quotes and additional observations
are added later. This can lead to some inconsistency
with tenses, for which we apologise in advance.
Race
Start
11:30
The race gets under way, with the pole-setting
Strakka Racing Ginetta Zytek, Peter Hardman
taking the rolling start, appearing to slow
before the line. The three cars behind pounce
immediately, and the black car is swamped
by a wave of orange and pale blue as the first
of the Astons romps by, followed eagerly by
the #13 red and silver Speedy Lola. The Zytek
enters the first corner in fourth.
No
such problems in LMP2, although Olivier Pla
in the #40 Ginetta Zytek is through to the
class lead as they barrel along the main straight.
That sets the Racing Box Lola #29 into second,
the #33 third and the #30 Lola fourth. Tommy
is squeezed out on the left hand side through
Turn 1, and the #41 Zytek forces the gap and
takes fifth. There's a moment too when the
WR Salini noses up on Tommy on the run into
Turn 3, but the Brazilian slams the door shut,
and the leading LMP2 pack heads away for the
opening lap.
11:40
The race has quickly settled down into a series
of individual tussles, with Tommy now latched
onto the tail of the #41 Zytek. There seems
no doubt that he could go quicker, if only
he could get ahead. The top six in LMP are
separated by only a matter of seconds, but
the gaps are steadily lengthening all through
the pack.
For
now the three Aston Martin powered cars lead
overall with the Strakka Racing Ginetta-Zytek
fourth, but with less than a quarter-hour
gone, the #16 Pescarolo moves ahead of Peter
Hardman to demote the black car to fifth.
The
order in LMP2 is #40 leading from #29 and
#33, with the third #30 Lola in fourth. These
are pretty evenly spaced, before a short gap
to the #41, with Tommy right on his tail.
11:50
Tommy is still battling to get passed the
#41 car, but no matter how hard he tries,
and no matter where, the opening he needs
is denied him. Meanwhile, the top four are
pulling steadily clear.
12:00
The #40 leads LMP2 by a generous margin, maybe
eight to ten seconds, over the #33, which
has moved into second ahead of the #29. There's
another lengthy gap to the #30, while Tommy
continues to nibble away at the heels of the
#41.
12:07
SAFETY CAR
The #14 Audi R10, with Michael Krumm at the
wheel, has gone off into the gravel with some
damage, after contact with the Signature Plus
Oreca Judd. Tommy misses his first chance
to pit, but takes it on the next tour, and
at 12:11 he's trundling down the pitlane for
some fresh tyres and a top-up of fuel.
It's
a quick pitstop, and he gets out just ahead
of the safety car. Many other cars have pitted,
and for some while it's hard to determine
an order.
The
#40 ASM Ginetta-Zytek leads LMP2 from 8th
overall.
12:16
RACING RESUMES
Hour
2 (12:30-13:30)
12:30
Tommy holds sixth in LMP2, but is closing
fast on the Racing Box Lola in fifth. The
full order in LMP2 is:
1
(9th overall) #40 Quifel ASM Ginetta-Zytek
(Olivier Pla) 34 laps
2 (10th) #30 Racing Box Lola B09/86 (Thomas
Biagi ) 33 laps
3 (12th) #35 Oak Racing Pescarolo - Mazda
(Matthieu Lahaye) 33 laps
4. (13th) #41 GAC Racing Zytek 07S - Zytek
(Philipp Peter) 33 laps
5. (15th) #29 Racing Box Lola B09/86 Coupé
- (Filippo Francioni) 33 laps
6. (16th) #25 RML Lola Mazda B09/86 Coupé
(Tommy Erdos) 33 laps
7. (17th) #26 Bruichladdich Bruneau Radical
SR9 (Nigel Greensall) 32 laps
12:34
The RML Lola Mazda is now right under the
tail of the Italian car, and challenging for
the position.
12:46
SAFETY CAR
Karim Ojeh in the #41 Zytek and the #35 Oak
Racing Pescarolo are stranded on track requiring
recovery.
12:50
Reporting from now on was uploaded "live",
and coverage from first hour of the race was
added subsequently.
The
Oak Racing LMP2 Pescarolo which had spun across
the track and lost power has now been recovered,
so we expect the race to go green" again
shortly. Tommy reports that the safety car
is not yet letting anyone through, and the
leader (#13) is currently behind Tommy, so
a lot will have to be waved by before the
race can resume.
Directly
ahead of Tommy, on track, are two LMP2 prototypes,
and they are "for position". Immediately
ahead of the RML Lola is the #29 Racing Box
Lola, with Francioni in the cockpit, and he's
tailing Phillip Peter in the #41 Ginetta Zytek.
The
leader is LMP2 remains the Olivier la in the
#40 ASM Zytek, with a safety car's six seconds
between him and Biagi in the #30 Racing Box
Lola second.
12:56
Tommy is waved by the pace car. The #13 Speedy
Lola Aston Martin currently leads overall.
The organisers appear to have adopted a new
system whereby the race restarts as soon as
the safety car has collected the leader, irrespective
of where anyone else is on the track.
12:58
RESTART
The lights go green and we're racing again.
Tommy is nose-to-tail on the cars ahead of
him, with three seconds separating Peter,
Francioni and Erdos.
13:02
Tommy moves ahead of Francioni, passing the
Racing Box Lola and moving into fourth place.
13:07
LMP2 leader, the ASM Zytek #40, pits. It's
a slow stop, and the car starts to fall down
the order.
13:09
Tommy into the pitlane for a fuel-only pitstop.
Phil confirms that the tyres from the last
pitstop reveal that it's good to double-stint
the Michelins. It's a brief pause only, and
the RML Lola is back out again before 13:10.
Despite
the pitstop, Tommy moves ahead of the #40
Zytek to take third in LMP2. He rejoins the
track some distance behind Peter, who's still
in the #41 Zytek and holding second. Amaral
in the #40 rejoins, but now in a class fifth,
15th overall.
13:15
Overall, the 007 Aston Martin has now regained
the lead, from the #16 Pescarolo and the 009
Aston. The #13 Lola has dropped to 7th after
a pitstop.
Only
thirty seconds cover the top five, and any
error, or any pitstop, will result in many
positions lost.
13:18
Tommy up to second in LMP2, now ahead of Peter,
who's just made a standard pitstop. The Zytek
returns to the track just six seconds behind
the Lola.
13:24
Tommy appears to be easing clear of Peter,
and has opened out the gap to nearly 12 seconds.
13:25
The LMP2 leader, the #30 Racing Box Lola,
is into the pits for what appears to be a
routine stop and driver change, with mateo
Bobbi climbing into the cockpit.
13:27
Tommy heads past the pits and into the lead,
gaining 15 seconds over Bobbi. It's a great
way to round off the second hour.
Moments
later Peter Kox in the leading GT1 Lamborghini
nurfs the side of the #41 GAC Zytek. The prototype
with Phillip Peter had just moved up into
second, having also passed Bobbi. The Lambo
appears to be damaged, but the #41 presses
on
Hour
3
(13:30-14:30)
13:32
Order in LMP2 is now RML first by 30 seconds
from the #41 Zytek, and then the #37 WR Salini,
narrowly ahead of the first of the two Racing
Box Lolas, Bobbi's #30 car in fourth.
13:41
Cavailhes in the Ibanez Courage is so distracted
by the battle for the overall lead that he
ploughs straight on at Turn 4 and buries the
#28 in the deepest area of gravel. The leaders
press on regardless, but there may be a safety
car.
That
battle is becoming more intense as Tinseau
in the #16 Pescarolo narrows the gap on Charouz
in the leading 007 Aston to less than half
a second.
13:45
Tommy is maintaining his half-minute lead
over the second-placed car, although this
is now Bobbi in the #30 Lola. The #41 Ginetta-Zytek
has fallen back to third.
13:46
Charouz pits from the lead, handing the position
to Tinseau . . . . who has Tommy chasing him
along the main straight.
13:50
Tommy has opened out his lead to forty seconds,
but is aware that there's a scheduled pitstop
coming up shortly. The RML Lola is holding
10th overall.
14:00
Exactly on the hour, Tommy enters the pitlane
for a full driver change, refuel and fresh
tyres. Apart from a TV cameraman getting in
the way of the refuelling hose, it all goes
well, and Mike is soon being strapped into
the cockpit. Then, just as Mike's about to
leave, the Ferrari in the pit alongside comes
in to pit as well, but a small fire develops.
The crew is fast to apply the extinguisher,
but the cloud of white powder delays Mikes
departure.
14:02
Mike back out onto the track, but is soon
complaining of a misfire. He hasn't got half-way
round the track before a cloud of smoke starts
to envelop the rear of the car. He confirms
the misfire is getting worse, but the team
advises him to press on and try to get back
to the garage. The telemetry reveals problems
with the engine, but as yet undetermined.
14:04
Mike has pulled over to the side of the track.
The car's race is over.
15:00
A full explanation for the engine failure
is unlikely to be forthcoming until the unit
can be fully dismantled and examined, but
the previously suspected crankcase or piston
failure remains the most likely. Comment from
Thomas Erdos and Mike Newton to follow - see
press
release.
There
are high resolution images posted in the
Barcelona Gallery.
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