Qualifying
The
GT cars took to the track first for their
dedicated 20-minute qualifying period, a moment
or two after the scheduled 13:45 start, although
for the first five minutes just three of the
expected seventeen cars appeared on the screens.
Even then it was a hesitant beginning, and
we didn't see a single GT1 car until the seventh
minute, and that was the new-for-Silverstone
Gigawave Aston Martin DBR9.
Finally,
with half the session completed, the remaining
cars took to the track, and what had been
a dull start to GT qualifying suddenly came
to life. Tom Coronel, who'd held provisional
GT2 pole for the Spyker squad throughout the
first ten minutes, soon came under the anticipated
pressure. The challenge came from a predictable
quarter, with the top championship contenders
squabbling over pole - first the Felbermayr
Porsche with Richard Leitz, then Gianmaria
Bruni for JMW Motorsport, and Patrick Pilet
in the #76 third . . . and that was how it
ended too. Pole in GT1 went to the #50 Larbre
Saleen, with the Gigawave Aston second and
the new GT1 titleholders, Luc Alphand Adventures'
Saleen, third.
There
was a short break between the two sessions,
but at 14:10:49 the pitlane exit opened, and
the Oak Racing Pescarolo #35 edged out onto
the tarmac. Tommy was still in the garage,
waiting for the tyres to be fitted, but with
four cars out there, the Brazilian was booted
up and sent on his way. His instructions were
to complete four timed laps, and then pit.
If he ran into any problems, the team would
consider their options when they faced them.
The
session followed a similar pattern to the
GT period that preceded it, and eight LMP2
cars had completed flying laps before we saw
the first LMP1 entry. First
to top the screens was Karim Ajlani in the
#35 with a 1:39.998, but it was brief glory,
because Tommy's first flyer was a 1:38.934,
including two out of three fastest sectors
overall. Those kind of statistics wouldn't
last long, but must have been quite encouraging
for the team back on the pitwall, especially
as he followed it immediately with another
batch of quick sectors. His second lap was
a 1:37.280, 2.5 seconds faster than Gommendy,
who was the new second-placed runner at this
early stage.
Twelve
minutes remaining, and the first LMP1 car
entered the fray, in the form of the 008 Aston
Martin Lola. Tommy's third flyer was a 1:37.820,
and no improvement, although satisfyingly
consistent. His third flyer started with an
OK first sector, and then a new faster middle
sector, but crossed the line in 1:37.528 to
consolidate the position. Tommy's final flyer
followed a similar pattern, and at the end
of the lap, Tommy returned to the pitlane,
job done. "Good effort, well done, Very
consistent, especially through the sectors.
Great job Tommy," said Phil as the Lola
Mazda eased to a halt outside the RML garage.
Meanwhile,
other cars were taking to the track, including
the Quifel ASM car, which narrowly missed
being taken out by a spinning Kolles Audi
at Chapel, but escaped unscathed to set a
new fastest time for LMP2, quickest overall,
on 1:36.092. As Phil Barker suggested yesterday,
Olivier Pla is "on a different planet",
or more accurately, a different tyre. Dunlop
is known to have introduced a new compound
this weekend, and as the times set by Pla
suggest, it seems to be working. That belief
is confirmed by the Oak Racing Pescarolos,
which are using the same tyres and have also
been quick around Silverstone.
Several
cars spun off in the later stages of the session,
including the #15 Kolles Audi and the #16
Pescarolo, neither of which would then set
times, although Boullion would get the Pescarolo
out for a lap, alberit untimed. Another car
missing from the screens was the Strakka Racing
Ginetta-Zytek, which had been one of the pre-event
favourites for pole in LMP1.
In
LMP2, with five minutes remaining, Jonny Kane
moved through to second in LMP2, setting 1:37.128
to deny Tommy a front-row slot. With yellow
flags around several segments of the track
times should not have improved in the final
minutes, but as happened at the Nurburgring,
a number of drivers chose to ignore the warning
flags, and pushed as hard as ever.
With
a minute to go, the yellow flags were withdrawn,
but nobody of significance would make an improvement
during the last dash for the chequered flag.
Fastest overall was Nicolas Lapierre on 1:32.798
for Oreca, with Astons 007 and 009 second
and third. In LMP2, Pla's time was more than
a second to the fore in the class, with Kane
second and Erdos third. Fourth fell to Philipp
Peter in the #41 GAC Zytek, and a strong return
from Warren Hughes in the #45 WFR Zytek claimed
fourth.
LMP2
Qualifying Times
Pos |
No. |
O/all |
Team |
Driver |
Car |
Best
Lap |
1 |
40 |
8 |
Quifel
ASM |
Amaral/Pla |
Ginetta-Zytek
GZ09S |
1:36.092 |
3 |
33 |
10 |
Speedy
Sebah |
Pompidou/Luenberger/Kane |
Lola
B08/80 Coupé |
1:37.128 |
3 |
25 |
11 |
RML
AD Group |
Erdos/Newton |
Lola
B08/86 Coupé |
1:37.280 |
4 |
41 |
12 |
GAC
Racing Team |
Ojeh/Gosselin/Peter |
Zytek 07S |
1:38.210 |
5 |
45 |
13 |
Team
WFR |
Manning/Firth/Hughes |
WF-01
Zytek |
1:38.810 |
6 |
37 |
14 |
WR
Salini |
Salini/Salini/Gommendy |
WR
Zytek |
1:39.096 |
7 |
35 |
15 |
Oak
Racing |
Ajlani/Lahaye |
Pescarolo
Mazda |
1:39.396 |
8 |
24 |
16 |
Oak
Racing |
Nicolet/Hein |
Pescarolo
Mazda |
1:40.116 |
9 |
28 |
17 |
Ibanez
Racing |
Ibanez/da
Rocha/Cavailhes |
Courage
AER |
1:41.922 |
10 |
26 |
18 |
Bruichladdich |
Bruneau/Greaves/Sini |
Radical
SR9 AER |
1:42.340 |
11 |
43 |
19 |
Q8
Oils Hache |
Jorda/Cortes/Nieto |
Lucchini
Judd |
1:43.470 |
12 |
38 |
20 |
Pegasus
Racing |
Schell/Thiron/Metz |
Courage
AER |
1:44.486 |
Radio
& On-line: Full coverage
of all the weekend's events and happening's
was broadcast live by Radio Le Mans, including
Practice and Qualifying. Articles and features
about the Le Mans Series, including a podcast
of the Lola Cars preview to the weekend, are
also available from the RLM website. Click
the button below for access.
Live
timing can be found by following the appropriate
highlighted link here.
A
gallery of high and medium-resolution images
from Silverstone can be viewed here.
Sometimes
the camera does lie . . . and creates some
strange effects all by itself! The shot below
appeared on the flashcard after Saturday's
third Free Practice session, along with half
a dozen other similar views. All we've done
is add a "pastel" filter.