Saturday at Silverstone

At a well-attended presentation ceremony on Friday evening, Oak Racing's #24 Pescarolo was presented with the Michelin Green X Challenge trophy for their performance at the Hungaroring - second overall, yet achieved with remarkable fuel economy. In a roundup of the Challenge - which is gaining significance with every race - RML's overall position, second behind the Oak entry, was also commended.

Lord Paul Drayson, co-driving the #11 Drayson Racing Lola with Jonny Cocker this weekend, also spoke eloquently about the important part that motorsport can play in promoting the use of alternative technologies in a time when Climate Change has become such a significant issue in World thinking. At the cutting edge of developing these new technologies, motorsport's role in demonstrating the effectiveness of alternative energies and hybrid systems makes this a pivotal period in the sport's history, and something we should embrace and welcome.

A fabulous array of cordon bleu appetisers, washed down with a glass or two of champagne, certainly helped to get the message across. Winning the Michelin Green X Challenge is a worthy target for the teams in the Le Mans Series, since it not only brings prestige, but also a guaranteed entry to the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2011. For a full listing of the current standings, please check out the Michelin Green X Challenge results table PDF.

The teams were back at the track again early on Saturday morning,with the weekend's third Free Practice scheduled fort a nine o'clock start. No major news items to report overnight.

Third Practice

More of the same in the weather department from Northamptonshire at nine on Saturday, after a night of persistent drizzle, so no blistering laps from those early on track. Danny Watts, making his first appearance this weekend after giving Friday to his co-drivers, was straight to the top, overall, and well up on Nic Minassian in the opening minutes.

Two P2 cars missing from the field as the session reached ten minutes - no signs of the #35 Oak Racing Pescarolo, and also the #39 KSM Lola.

Tommy was out and second quickest (11th overall) with a 2:04.949, compared to Watts, making steady improvements, on a 1:57.932, but being chased down by Tom Kristensen in the #7 Audi, fastest sector times all round the track and clocking 1:56.325 at the line.

Little mention yesterday of Formula Le Mans, where Warren Hughes has, once again, been setting the pace. There's no substitute for experience, and the former RML driver, a class-winner at Le Mans with Mike and Tommy in 2005, has that in spades.

With the #25 RML Lola lying third in P2, narrowly bettered by Olivier Pla in the #40 Quifel ASM Ginetta Zytek,. Tommy returned to the pitlane for a few adjustments.He was back out again moments later, completed another trio of laps, and then returned once more. Fine tuning can be a fiddly business.

One car showing strongly under the damp conditions was the #31 Team RLR MG Lola. The car was always good in the wet, as Tommy proved on many occasions when the open-topped Lola was RML's front-line contender. Pole seven times out of seven in 2007 proved that point. Combined today with Rob Garofall, who probably has more experience than most of this new Silverstone configuration, was running fourth in class for most of the first half-hour.

With Danny Watts fifth quickest overall, the Strakka HPD fronting the petrol-powered contingent, the activity in the pitlane suggested that the track had dried sufficiently for some cars to move to intermediate tyres, at least. Both MIK Racing Lolas, on inters, then demonstrated that the Pirelli tyres were evidently better suited to the conditions, the two Italian cars popping up in second and third in P2. Further significant improvements by P1 cars and the leading GT2 contenders confirmed that the tarmac was moving towards cut or even pure slicks.

Mention of GT2 - two significant additions to the grid for this weekend. The #78 Team Schnitzer BMW is back for this weekend's race, and will be a challenger for pole this afternoon in the hands of Jorg Muller and Dirk Werner. At the other end of the pace race, for now anyway, the other new arrival is the Gulf Team First Lamborghini LP560. Bearing the number 99 and a distinctive Gulf-inspired colour scheme, the Lambo has come to the Le Mans Series from FIA GT, although issues yesterday, and more today, suggest that this Italian stallion is just a little bit tricky to sort out. Slowest in GT2 on Friday, the #99 was bringing up the rear again on Saturday morning. Pretty though.

With fifteen minutes remaining, most of the top runners had migrated onto slicks. With Tommy content with the car's set-up, Ben Collins was taking his first Silverstone stint in the RML Lola. he was still coming up to speed, but Rob Garofall was already there, posting a 1:57.816 to move quickest in LMP2 with ten minutes to go. He then improved again, but Ben Collins, The Stig, showed what a few years of Lola RML development can achieve as he moved through to top LMP2 with a new best of 1:52.852.

Where was Danny Watts in all this? Going nowhere, after a change to inters had upset the balance of the car, and its driver, and pitched the Strakka HPD gently into the barriers. The car sustained some minor front-right damage, and would miss the rest of the session. It later returned to the pitlane on a flatbed.

Five minutes to go and Thor-Christian Ebbesvik elbowed his way in between the two RML Lolas - sorry, RML Lola and RLR Lola. The young Norwegian has been a revelation this season. So, Lola Judd, Ginetta Zytek and MG Lola. Not what might have been predicted for P2 this session. The #35 never appeared, with news of a serious fuel leak which may preclude the car's appearance all day.

In LMP1, McNish fastest overall as the session drew to a close. There were some sudden flurries at the end, with Ben improving with a 1:50.848 to end the morning as fastest in P2, followed by Amaral in the #40, popping into second ahead of the #41. So, The Stig quickest. There's a nice headline, for a change.

Third Session - LMP2 Times

Post Session Comments

Ben Collins
"That was just so much fun," said a beaming Ben Collins, moments after extracting himself from the cockpit. "The best thing! It brings back so many familiar and very good memories, of racing round here in a prototype. This car is really so well bolted down to the track, particularly through the high-speed corners. By the time I went out there was a train track of a dry line round the circuit, and if you stayed on that you could push hard." Ben went out on intermediates, but soon discovered that the track was ready for slicks, so returned for a fresh set of boots, and then headed back out again. "It's so nice to be out there, in the Lola, in daylight," he enthused. That car is just awesome, and there's no question, there's a lot more time yet to come. For me, it's still a case of getting used to the new corners - the last car I raced here was an LMP1, but that was on the old Grand Prix circuit. This new layout takes a bit of getting used to."

Tommy Erdos
"I'm really happy to see Ben set that time," said Tommy. Ben's lap of 1:50.848 was the quickest the Lola had so far done this weekend. "The conditions were steadily improving as the session developed. I went out on full wets to begin with, and then came in for the intermediates. I did two or three laps on those, but reckoned it was time for slicks. With hindsight, that was a bit early, and the track was very slippery, but it was drying fairly quickly." When Ben took over, Phil Barker initially advised on the intermediates, but the track was drying enough that Ben was able to move on to slicks fairly soon afterwards.

Qualifying

After such dismal conditions for the previous twenty four hours or so, it was an unexpected surprise to witness the start of the two-part qualifying session with Silverstone bathed in bright sunshine.

GT
As usual, it was the GT cars which took to the track first, although they seemed reluctant to do so. It was a while before more than just a handful of cars were circulating. More than ten minutes had elapsed before a representative field was on track, with Jamie Melo late to join but straight to the top for the #96 Ferrari. Toni Vilander was then through to second, followed by Allan Simonsen in the Hankook Ferrari third.

A slightly untidy lap from Mark Lieb in the #77 Felbermayr Porsche was still good enough to snatch second with eight minutes to go, but a first flyer from Rob Bell in the JMW Aston Martin #92 swept through to snatch provisional pole, with a 2:03.340 . . . but it wasn't all over yet.

Except, it was. The charge from Werner in the #78 BMW never came to anything, and despite some pushing in the dying moments, Andrew Kirkaldy could only manage 13th for CRS in the #91. The other CRS Ferrari was also somewhat off the pace, besting at 10th. So, a first-ever pole for Aston Martin in GT2, and a significant achievement for Rob Bell in that regard. Pole in GT1 to the Larbre Competition Saleen, of course, although significantly, the S7-R was seven-tenths clear of Bell's best.

LMP
After a brief pause for breath, the pitlane lights turned green and the first prototypes took to the track, with the two R15 Audis the first to venture forth, Allan McNish leading the way. Rob Garofall was first-out in LMP2, with Tommy third for RML. Unusually, an early appearance from Strakka too, with Danny Watts joining in with everyone else.

A 1:44.3 for McNish, a 1:447 for Bernhard, and the LMP benchmark had been set. Then the first of the P2 cars came through, Kennard first to show, then Garofall, but a 1:52.668 from Tommy then claimed provisional pole.

It could only last moments. Danny Watts swept across the line to post 1:46.961, a full six seconds faster than anyone else. Tommy responded with a 1:52.150, but Pla was also on a charge for the #40, and slotted in second with a 1:49.693.

A spin for the #30 MIK Racing Lola marked the moment when Jonny Cocker took the Drayson Lola through to fourth overall with a forty-six two, and Danny Watts' returned to the pits with ten minutes to go. Job done? Possibly.

Seven minutes to go, and drama unrelated to a quick lap from Ebbesvik, taking second in P2, when the #1 Peugeot spun off, flat-spotting his tyres. Had the works squad given of their best, and been found wanting? There were still five minutes to go.

Tommy radioed in to say he didn't think he was going to be able to find any more pace out of the #25, so Phil Barker called him back to the pits. There's only so much pushing you can do on a set of tyres before you start to compromise them for the race. "Jump out Tommy, we're done now mate," said Phil.

The #27 Radical returned to the pitlane having lost the entire rear engine cover. There was debris on the track at the entrance to Stowe, offering an additional hazard to those still on track. Several P1 cars still had decent times to set, and an Audi one-two was in the offing.

In P2, the main contenders had already accepted the status quo - pole for Strakka, second for Pla in the #40, third for Ebbesvik in the Bruichladdich car, and then Tommy fourth for RML, then Oak #24 and MIK Racing #30 sixth.

The chequered flag fell with pole for McNish, with the sister car, #8, second, and then the first of the Peugeots; Nic Minassian in the #1 third, ahead of Lapierre and then Belicchi for Rebellion.

A last lap improvement from Ebbesvik may have given the Norwegian some personal satisfaction, but achieved no change in position. Meanwhile Danny Watts was making apologies for crashing the car in practice, and pole was his way of saying sorry to the team.

Qualifying - LMP2 Times

Other News

Aston Martin Press Conference
Late morning, and Aston Martin hosted a press conference in their paddock hospitality facility, presented by Dave Richards, Chairman of Aston Martin, George Howard-Chappell, AMR Team Principal, and with representatives of the ACO.

The purpose of the gathering was to confirm Aston Martin's plans to enter a new LMP1 prototype in 2011, designed and built by Aston Martin and with an Aston Martin designed and built petrol engine.

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ACO Press Conference
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest held a press conference in the afternoon, during the Classic Endurance race. The first announcement was that The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 2011 will feature six races, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, plus an official test at the Paul Ricard circuit at the start of the year. No definitive calendar has yet been established, pending confirmation of the Formula One calendar for next season.

All teams will receive logistic support to ensure they can attend the overseas races, with assistance to travel by plane or by boat to each venue, as appropriate. A team's commitment to a full season in the ILMC will also be a guarantee of an entry to the 24 Hours. It was acknowledged that a large grid for the ILMC might create an area of conflict with those other race series, such as the ALMS and Le Mans Series, where class champions and significant race winners are also offered a guaranteed entry to the Le Mans 24 Hours. These are issues to be addressed, but it is not envisaged that there will be such a problem.

There is a hope that variances in regulations between the ILMC, Le Mans Series and American le Mans Series can be equalised for 2011.

There was an assurance that TV coverage would be extensive, and achieving this would be a key objective of the Cup organisers.

Radio & On-line: Radio Le Mans will be offering generous live and podcast coverage from the Silverstone 1000 Kilometres this weekend. John Hindhaugh and Graham Tyler, with Paul Truswell, Nick Daman, Joe Bradley and Eve Hewitt, will be giving a detailed account of the track action, plus insights into all the pitlane gossip. Click the link below to access the live feed feature, and also podcasts to listen to or download.