Saturday
at Paul Ricard
It's
t-shirt and shorts weather here on the plateau
at Le Castellet, with a cloudless sky and
a fair-to-middling crowd of spectators. They
have arrived in numbers to watch the final
practice session for this weekend's Paul Ricard
8 Hours and witness a closely-fought qualifying
period, scheduled for early afternoon.
The
day's first action was Formula Ford qualifying,
starting at nine. It is a very mixed field
for the FF support races, with cars varying
in age and specification from the latest chassis
to several that might, perhaps be better placed
in a museum. 49 are taking part. They were
cleared from the track after their 25 minute
session to allow the top-billing Le Mans Series
competitors out onto the circuit, with sixty
minutes of practice and the last chance for
the teams to perfect their set-up ahead of
Qualifying.
Thomas
Erdos was one of the first to show in LMP2,
and his pace displayed a distinct improvement
over his Friday best. Evidently the Brazilian
was enjoying his first taste of some new tyres!
He and Danny Watts (in the Strakka Racing
HPD) were nose-to-tail for several laps, trading
times, but try as he might, Erdos couldn't
quite match the black car's best lap, although
he was able to hold his own with apparent
ease along the Mistral. "It was very
interesting," said Erdos later, "being
able to follow Danny around the circuit. I
could see how the Acura (sic) was
balanced through the corners, and where Danny
had a slight edge, but the two cars seem very
evenly matched." They certainly should
be in the engine department, since the cars
share the same HPD LM-V8, but the aerodynamics
of the enclosed Lola enable it to out-pace
the open-cockpit ARX-01c along the 1.8 kilometre
Mistral Straight.
Happy
with the set-up, Tommy completed 17 laps before
being brought back to the pitlane to hand
over to Mike Newton, who remained in the #25
for the rest of the session. Diligent work
overnight, examining the on-board video footage
and telemetry, was translated into a personal
improvement for Mike and a best lap of 1:51.929.
"The back-end of the car feels very well
balanced now," he said, "and that
gave me the confidence to push in places where
previously I might have backed off a little,
particularly through Signes." The CEO
of AD Group was evidently quite pleased with
his improvement.
Mike
had time for seven laps before the end of
the session, leaving Andy Wallace to watch
the timing screens in the garage. There was
no opportunity him to add to his tally of
ten laps, completed on Friday, but Andy's
experience will see him more than ready for
his designated stints on Sunday.
"We're
happy to take the car through to qualifying
now," said Phil Barker. "All three
drivers have spent time in the car and we've
achieved a balance that will see us in a good
position for the race tomorrow. It doesn't
really matter where we qualify, but anywhere
in the top four or five would suit us well.
We're planning for an eight hour race here,
and achieving a car that the drivers feel
comfortable with, and will go the distance,
is more important than a few positions on
the grid."
Qualifying
takes place this afternoon, at 14:10.
Third
Session - LMP2 Times
|
# |
o/a |
Team |
Car |
Drivers |
Session
3 |
1 |
42 |
8 |
Strakka
Racing |
HPD
ARX -01c |
Leventis,
Watts, Kane |
1:45.878 |
2 |
25 |
10 |
RML
AD Group |
Lola
HPD Coupé |
Erdos, Newton, Wallace |
1:47.106 |
3 |
41 |
11 |
Bruichladdich |
Ginetta-Zytek
09S |
Ojjeh, Greaves, Ebbesvik |
1:47.646 |
4 |
40 |
12 |
Quifel
ASM |
Ginetta-Zytek
09S |
Amaral,
Pla, Hughes |
1:48.106 |
5 |
35 |
13 |
Oak
Racing |
Pescarolo
- Judd |
Hein, Moreau |
1:48.539 |
6 |
24 |
14 |
Oak
Racing |
Pescarolo
- Judd |
Lahaye, Nicolet |
1:49.422 |
7 |
30 |
15 |
Racing
Box |
Lola
Coupé B09 Judd |
Geri, Piccini, Piccini |
1:50.498 |
8 |
29 |
16 |
Racing
Box |
Lola
Coupé B09 |
Cioci, Perazzini, Pirri |
1:50.600 |
9 |
37 |
17 |
WR
Salini |
WR-Zytek |
Salini,
Salini, Gommendy |
1:52.049 |
10 |
39 |
18 |
KSM |
Lola
B08/47 Judd |
de Pourtales, Noda, Kennard |
1:52.233 |
11 |
27 |
19 |
Race
Performance |
Radical SR9 - Judd |
Frey, Meichtry, Dueck |
1:53.006 |
12 |
48 |
20 |
Hope
PoleVision |
Formula
Le Mans |
Beche,
Pillon, Capillaire |
1:54.558 |
13 |
44 |
21 |
DAMS |
Formula
Le Mans |
Stirling, Hines, Piscopo |
1:54.600 |
14 |
45 |
22 |
Boutsen
Energy |
Formula
Le Mans |
Kraihamer, de Crem, Delhez |
1:54.651 |
15 |
47 |
23 |
Hope
PoleVision |
Formula
Le Mans |
Zacchia,
Moro, Kaufmann |
1:55.315 |
16 |
43 |
24 |
DAMS |
Formula
Le Mans |
Barlesi,
Cicognani, Chalandon |
1:59.639 |
17 |
36 |
25 |
Pegasus
Racing |
Courage-Oreca
AER |
Schell, Metz, Da Rocha |
1:55.476 |
18 |
49 |
26 |
Applewood
Seven |
Formula
Le Mans |
Toulemonde,
Zollinger, Zampatti |
1:56.406 |
19 |
46 |
46 |
JMB
Racing |
Formula
Le Mans |
Kutemann,
Basso, Hartshorne |
2:01.407 |
Qualifying
GT
qualifying began at 13:40, with the red and
black Spyker the first to take to the track,
and the first to set a representative time
(1:59.476), but it wasn't long before the
class favourites were into their strides.
Bruni, in the #56 Ferrari, heading the pack
from Rob Bell in the JMW Aston Martin Vantage,
and then Tim Mullen in the first of the CRS
F430s.
With
three minutes remaining, Richard Leitz moved
into second, now just ahead of Mullen, with
Bell demoted to fifth by Villander in the
#95, and that was how the session ended, with
the #96 AF Corse F430 on pole, from the Felbermayr
Porsche #77 second, and the #91 CRS F430 third.
Rob Bell will start from fifth, and the erstwhile
pole-setting Spyker will take up position
from ninth in GT2.
Through
all this, the solo GT1 entry, Larbre's Saleen
with Gardel at the wheel, completed enough
laps to ensure the S7-R would be ahead of
the GT2 pack, and rightly positioned for the
start.
A
few moments for the officials to draw breath,
and then it was time for the prototypes to
take to the circuit, 14:10 local time. First
to emerge, Dindo Capello in the Audi R15,
followed by a whole gaggle of cars, including
the #6 Oreca Matmut AIM and Greg Mansell in
the #5 Ginetta Zytek. Thomas Erdos was third
to take to the track in LMP2, just behind
the #24 Oak Pescarolo and one of the FLM Orecas.
The
first flyer from Capello set the benchmark;
1:42.320. Holding back in traffic, Tommy's
opener was a conservative 1:56.003.
First
to top LMP2, Lahaye in the #24 Oak, with the
WR Salini second. In LMP1, Capello shaved
a second off his first flyer to clock 1:41.632
to hold the top slot from the #6 Oreca AIM,
and the Signature Lola third.
Tommy's
second flyer was more in keeping with expectations,
and 1:47.491 was good enough to top LMP2 and
also lay claim 5th overall, but several of
the major players had yet to show their hands,
including Strakka, ASM and Bruichladdich.
Lahaye, however, had not yet finished, and
his next was a 1:47.474 to reclaim provisional
pole.
14:18
and Danny Watts finally emerged from his garage
to take to the track in Strakka's HPD. His
first flying sector, a 30.9, was the fastest
to date in LMP2, and he immediately looked
set for a good time. Elsewhere, Tommy was
experiencing difficulty in finding space amid
the traffic, and with Danny's first flyer
clocking a 1:44.989, the RML Lola was down
to third. Running short of fuel, Erdos pitted
with seven minutes remaining.
Optimistic
that he could find the extra tenth that might
regain a place over the Oak Pescarolo, the
crew refuelled the Lola and sent Erdos out
for two more timed laps. The #25 was still
in third, but both Pla in the ASM Ginetta
Zytek and Ebbesvik in the #41 might be expected
to improve in the final five minutes.
In
LMP1, Capello was still holding provisional
pole, from the #6 Oreca and the #009 Aston,
now third ahead of the #5 Mansell Beechdean
Ginetta Zytek, and the first of the Rebellion
Lolas.
As
anticipated, Pla's next flyer was a 1:47.112,
and the ASM Ginetta Zytek took second from
Lahaye, demoting Tommy to fourth in class.
Simultaneously, the late-starting #4 Oreca
Peugeot snatched provisional pole from Audi
with a first-flyer 1:41.195.
The
chequered flag fell at 14:30 with Tommy on
his last chance lap, but it wasn't going to
be a clear one, and he crossed the line with
another 1:47 time, and had to be content with
fourth in class. Pole then to the Strakka
Racing HPD ARX by nearly three seconds from
the #40 ASM Ginetta Zytek, then the #24 Pescarolo,
and Tommy fourth.
In
LMP1, a first scalp of the year for Peugeot,
in the guise of the privateer Oreca entry,
with Audi second and Aston Martin third.
Qualifying
- LMP2 Times
|
# |
o/a |
Team |
Car |
Drivers |
Qualifying |
1 |
42 |
9 |
Strakka
Racing |
HPD
ARX -01c |
Leventis,
Watts, Kane |
1:44.989 |
2 |
40 |
10 |
Quifel
ASM |
Ginetta-Zytek
09S |
Amaral,
Pla, Hughes |
1:47.112 |
3 |
24 |
11 |
Oak
Racing |
Pescarolo
- Judd |
Lahaye, Nicolet |
1:47.474 |
4 |
25 |
12 |
RML
AD Group |
Lola
HPD Coupé |
Erdos, Newton, Wallace |
1:47.491 |
5 |
41 |
13 |
Bruichladdich |
Ginetta-Zytek
09S |
Ojjeh, Greaves, Ebbesvik |
1:48.439 |
6 |
30 |
14 |
Racing
Box |
Lola
Coupé B09 Judd |
Geri, Piccini, Piccini |
1:48.635 |
7 |
37 |
15 |
WR
Salini |
WR-Zytek |
Salini,
Salini, Gommendy |
1:49.567 |
8 |
29 |
16 |
Racing
Box |
Lola
Coupé B09 |
Cioci, Perazzini, Pirri |
1:49.931 |
9 |
39 |
17 |
KSM |
Lola
B08/47 Judd |
de Pourtales, Noda, Kennard |
1:50.913 |
10 |
27 |
18 |
Race
Performance |
Radical SR9 - Judd |
Frey, Meichtry, Dueck |
1:52.612 |
11 |
44 |
19 |
DAMS |
Formula
Le Mans |
Stirling, Hines, Piscopo |
1:52.936 |
12 |
48 |
20 |
Hope
PoleVision |
Formula
Le Mans |
Beche,
Pillon, Capillaire |
1:53.090 |
13 |
36 |
21 |
Pegasus
Racing |
Courage-Oreca
AER |
Schell, Metz, Da Rocha |
1:53.418 |
14 |
49 |
22 |
Applewood
Seven |
Formula
Le Mans |
Toulemonde,
Zollinger, Zampatti |
1:53.447 |
15 |
45 |
23 |
Boutsen
Energy |
Formula
Le Mans |
Kraihamer, de Crem, Delhez |
1:53.850 |
16 |
43 |
24 |
DAMS |
Formula
Le Mans |
Barlesi,
Cicognani, Chalandon |
1:54.187 |
17 |
47 |
25 |
Hope
PoleVision |
Formula
Le Mans |
Zacchia,
Moro, Kaufmann |
1:54.305 |
18 |
46 |
46 |
JMB
Racing |
Formula
Le Mans |
Kutemann,
Basso, Hartshorne |
2:00.775 |
19 |
35 |
- |
Oak
Racing |
Pescarolo
- Judd |
Hein, Moreau |
No
Time |