The Man Behind the Mask
The classic tale of The Man in the Iron Mask was one of mystery and intrigue - Who was the prisoner in the Bastille whose face was always hidden, either by a black velvet hood, or encased in a rivetted iron mask? Was he, as Voltaire suspected, the illegitimate brother of Louis XIV, or could he have been the more romantic figure of the King's twin, as depicted by Alexandre Dumas in his final installment of The Three Musketeers. We shall never know. What we do know, and with some certainty, is that the man in the white suit and full-face racing helmet known enigmatically for the last seven years simply as The Stig is actually none other than our own Ben Collins.
In truth, his identity has been widely known, certainly within the motorsport fraternity, for several years, so it is hard for some of us to understand the furore that has surrounded the High Court revelation on September 1st. The decision to deny the BBC an injunction opens up the opportunity for Ben to publish the autobiography that he's been working on for the last year or so, and will be released later this month as The Man in the White Suit. No doubt there will be more media interest in the story over the coming weeks, but this page is not an appropriate venue to discuss the whys and wherefores of the case. However, it has been a difficult few months for Ben, and he will arrive at Silverstone hoping to be able to concentrate on his role as an RML AD Group sportscar driver.
Having grown used to viewing The Stig more as a merchandising opportunity than a human being for the last seven years, the BBC's reaction to the Court's decision has been predictable. Although an official statement may never be made (if hopes of maintaining some semblance of The Stig's mystique are to be perpetuated) it seems almost certain that Ben's career as The Stig is now over. Fortunately, Ben has many strings to his bow, not only as a stunt and racing driver, but also as a TV presenter and motoring journalist. One thing's for certain, as a top-flight racing driver Ben is looking to rebuild his career and will be keen to round off his return to sportscars with a strong finish at Silverstone.
LMP2 CHAMPIONSHIP
TABLE
| 1 |
Tommy ERDOS |
BRA |
65 |
| 1 |
Mike NEWTON |
GBR |
65 |
| 2 |
Jonny KANE |
GBR |
52 |
| 2 |
Nick LEVENTIS |
GBR |
52 |
| 2 |
Danny WATTS |
GBR |
52 |
| 3 |
Matthieu LAHAYE |
FRA |
47 |
| 3 |
Jacques NICOLET |
FRA |
47 |
| 4 |
Richard HEIN |
FRA |
42 |
| 4 |
Guillaume MOREAU |
FRA |
42 |
| 5 |
Thor EBBESVIK |
NOR |
41 |
| 5 |
Karim OJJEH |
SAU |
41 |
| 6 |
Andy WALLACE |
GBR |
39 |
|
To that end, his arrival with RML AD Group is timely, not only for Ben, but also for the team. Mike Newton and Tommy Erdos have enjoyed a remarkable change in fortunes since the end of their disappointing 2009 season, when the team's Lola Mazda suffered more engine failures than anyone cares to recall. The new partnership between Lola and Honda Performance Development (HPD), combined with Dunlop rubber, has rewarded the squad with a third place at Le Mans, a string of podium finishes, and a strong position in the LMP2 championship. They enter the final round of the 2010 season with a thirteen point lead in both the drivers' and team standings.
Their closest rivals, Strakka Racing, are on a roll at the moment after an outright victory in Hungary and a class win at Le Mans in June. The team's trio of drivers; Danny Watts, Nick Leventis and Jonny Kane, is strong, and the HPD chassis shares the same engine as RML's Lola, and is powerful and reliable. These elements combine to create a potent package that frequently gives the LMP1 cars a run for their money, but as was shown in the Algarve and in Spa, outright pace is not always enough. Strakka needs to win in order to wrest the title from RML, whereas Mike and Tommy (with Ben's help) just require a good points finish to clinch the crown. It's three years since RML last held the LMP2 title, and for a team that has been so consistently at the top of their game, perhaps 2010 could be their year again.
While Ben shared the glory of a win in the Algarve, and fourth last time out in Hungary, he only joined the squad for the second half of the season. He lies 12th in the drivers' table with 26 points, while RML's first-half driver, Andy Wallace, holds sixth place with 39.
LMP2
If the emphasis of interest in LMP2 rests on the duel between RML's #25 Lola and the Strakka Racing HPD #42, that's not to say that there won't be others gunning for the podium places. There's a rich variety of body styles, engines and manufacturers in LMP2, and this is reflected in a depth and intensity of competition. It might be easier, but less diplomatic, to pick out those entries with little or no chance of fighting for points, but more than half the field stands a real chance of ending the day on one of the podium steps. Anyone who runs cleanly, without incident or mechanical issue, and follows a wise strategy on tyres and refuelling, is almost guaranteed to be in contention at the finish.
However, the ones to watch include the Quifel ASM Ginetta-Zytek #40 of Amaral and Pla (right), who took the title in 2009 and finished second last time out in Hungary. Also showing strongly this year - thanks largely to the efforts of young Thor-Christian Ebbesvik - is the Bruichladdich Ginetta-Zytek #41 (left), co-driven by Karim Ojjeh and Tim Greaves. On recent trends, though, it will be the two Oak Racing Pescarolos that are likely to offer the stiffest challenge to the championship contenders. Both cars, #24 and #35 (below right), have shown great form this year, with strong runs throughout the season and at Le Mans, but Guillaume Moreau has been the most consistently impressive of the French team's squad of drivers in 2009.
It would be impossible to consider LMP2 without mention of the two open-topped Lola chassis entered for Silverstone. The KSM example is back on the entry list, but was listed for Hungary too, and then didn't show. Personnel and driver problems were cited as reasons for the last withdrawal, but there are hopes we can see the #39 Lola again for the final round of 2010.
The other Lola is the #31 Team RLR MG EX265, for which everyone at RML has a particularly soft spot. This was the car that gave Mike and Tommy some of their best results, a few years ago, so it is a delight to see the familiar livery back on track again (pictured right). The team's debut in Hungary ended with a class 8th at the flag, but a strong mid-race stint from Warren Hughes promised better. Regrettably, problems earlier in the race, and a few minor technical issues, cost the MG several laps, but the potential is undeniably still there. Warren is not in the line-up this weekend (see below), and his place is taken by Simon Phillips. Simon's experience at this level is somewhat limited, so the burden of responsibility may fall on Rob Garofall, but the team will still hope to achieve a competitive result to round off their debut year.
Full LMP2 entry list for Silverstone:
With perhaps only a couple of exceptions, the seven Formula Le Mans cars have demonstrated a surprising turn of pace this season, and have been a welcome addition to the grid. The sub-class to P2 was always envisaged as a feeder for young up-and-coming drivers, or teams looking for a foothold in international sportscar racing, and to some extent, that ambition has been realised. However, such has been the appeal of this cost-cutting category that several experienced teams and drivers have made appearances.
The result has been a marked variation in talent, ability and performance, with the faster squads consistently battling with the LMP2 mid-fielders, while one or two others have struggled to hold onto the tail-end of the race. This weekend sees the return of Warren Hughes to the #44 DAMS entry, sharing the Oreca chassis with Jody Firth. The duo dominated FLM in the Algarve, winning comfortably, and Firth looked set to repeat the win in Hungary, partnered there by Darren Manning, before mechanical failure stopped his charge. Clearly the car to watch, the #44 will face stiff competition from the Applewood Seven #49, and the second DAMS car, #43.
LMP1
After such a dire performance in Hungary, when only five LMP1 cars took part and all were comprehensively beaten by the top six in LMP2, the tables look likely to be turned at Silverstone. Those same few are back again, but their numbers are bolstered by the return of the works teams from Peugeot, Audi and Aston Martin, as well as the arrival of an entry from Ginetta-Zytek in the shape of Team LNT.
Doubling-up as both the first round of the new Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the final race in the 2010 Le Mans Series, Silverstone was always going to attract a good turnout from the factory squads. Two 908 HDi-FAPs from Peugeot, added to the Oreca privateer, mean a total of three of the French coupé diesels, while Audi brings along two of the open-topped R15 diesels that took a top-three clean-sweep at Le Mans in June. Aston Martin will also be running two of their Gulf-liveried Lolas, making up another threesome with the similar Signature Plus chassis.
Having watched his sons, Leo and Greg, take the class win in Hungary (above), and probably regretted his decision to give racing duties a miss that weekend, Nigel Mansell will be back in the cockpit of the Beechdean Mansell Ginetta-Zytek #5. It's unlikely that the team can repeat their Hungarian success, but the fans will enjoy seeing Nigel back on track at Silverstone, and in a half-competitive car to boot. It will be interesting to see how they match up to the works-entry from Team LNT.
The final ingredient in what should be a fascinating LMP1 mix is the appearance of the Drayson Racing Lola Judd. Shared by Lord Paul Drayson and talented youngster Jonny Cocker, the distinctive British Racing Green coupé will be arriving at Silverstone on a high, having recorded a memorable win in Road America two weekends ago. The team will be keen to prove that their Stateside success was not a flash in the pan, and they can hack it with the European crowd, most particularly against the two Rebellion Lolas,which share similar mechanicals.
LMGT
In some respects this weekend will be a sad occasion for sportscar fans. The Silverstone 1000 Kilometres is to be the swansong appearance for GT1; for so many years the bedrock of
GT racing. Every few seasons the regulations are changed, and GT1 is always the class that seems to suffer most, and the root cause is invariably the same: spiralling costs. Two years ago Strakka Racing announced that they were abandoning their Aston Martin GT1 programme in favour of campaigning a prototype, simply because it was the cheaper option. At that time we were being regularly enthralled by the sight of the works DB9s battling with the GM Corvettes, at Le Mans, in America, and in the Le Mans Series, but it took manufacturer involvement to maintain such a high level of competition. Without that support - and few others could match their financial commitment - grids diminished and GT1 faced a dilemma.
Next season GT1 will be dropped from the Le Mans rulebook. Elsewhere, attempts to re-regulate GT1 to make it more affordable have been made, but don't look rock-solid, and so the future of the class remains uncertain. Equally uncertain is whether or not there will even be a race, as such, on Sunday. Only two GT1 cars are listed on the entry, but one of those is the Atlas eFX Saleen (above), which suffered a devastating head-on crash in Hungary a few weeks ago and was declared a right-off. That could leave just one Saleen S7-R, entered by Larbre Competition (right), to contest the category, win the race, and take the title.
Such a situation certainly does not exist in GT2, where competition is fierce and surprisingly equally balanced. Although Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz (Team Felbermayr Proton Porsche #77, below) lead the series by fifteen points from Jean Alesi, Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander (AF Corse Ferrari 430 #95) a victory by either squad is never a foregone conclusion. There are at least five other competitors capable of rising to the challenge, so another nail-biting six hours are assured.
For
medium resolution images of most of the
cars entered, please see our All
Teams Gallery.
Support
Races
Having witnessed the bizarre sight of eight Ford Transit vans racing round the Autodromo do Algarve in July, the Le Mans Series was supported by some far more appropriate and at times spirited racing from the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo series in Hungary. They won't be at Silverstone, but the Radical Masters will be back again with their mini-prototype entertainment. They have races on Saturday and Sunday.
In addition, Silverstone will see the welcome return of the Classic Endurance Series, offering spectators the privilege of seeing rare and historic sports and GT cars from the sixties and seventies battling it out over the course of an hour-long enduro. The third support package for the final round of 2010 comes from the Speed Racing championship, and is another highly appropriate and welcome addition to the schedule.
Twenty four of the Speed Racing regulars will be lining up on the Silverstone tarmac to demonstrate Britain's only home-grown Le Mans style racing series. The cars will have the familiar look of LM prototypes, if a little smaller, and the grid will include chassis from Radical, Juno, Norma, Ligier, Wolf, Mosler, Porsche and even Arachnid. If some of those names aren't too familiar, a few of those driving will be, including Martin Short, Warren Hughes, Jody Firth, Sam Hancock and Alex Caffi. Should be an entertaining package.
The
Circuit
The "Home of British Motorsport" has had a facelift this last twelve months, and is still under the surgeon's knife even now. Phase one of a major overhaul of the Silverstone circuit is nearly complete, and it's the drivers who'll notice the difference in the form of a modified layout that has extended the overall lap length to just over five kilometres.
Nearly all the old favourites are still there - Beckets, Maggots, Copse, Luffield, Stowe, Vale, Chapel, but there have been some changes, at Abbey, which is now a right-hander, and the flat out dip under Bridge, which is no longer part of the Grand Prix route. Priory has gone too. Instead the track heads back up through a new sequence of corners between Abbey and what is now called "Arena", before heading west along the old Club straight to rejoin the original circuit at Brooklands.
There have been changes to the services and surrounding buildings, but the bulk of the works, which include a brand new pit complex between Club and Abbey, won't be finished until next year. In the meantime, some of the trackside looks a little raw, but at least the future of the circuit is now assured, and the British Grand Prix has a home for the foreseeable future.
The Le Mans Series 1000 Kilometres will run to 170 laps of the new layout, or six hours, whichever is achieved first. Silverstone is traditionally one of the faster circuits on the calendar, so could go the distance, but heavy rain or a succession of safety car periods could slow down the overall pace, and send the race to time.
Weekend
Schedule
The
following schedule is subject to change
and the circumstances and events of the
day
CHE
