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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

 

Le Mans Series 2010

Round 1, Paul Ricard
April 8th - 11th 2010

Saturday 10th April

RML AD Group | Paul Ricard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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