Le Mans 24H 200

Test Days 2007-06-03

Times

Lola sportscars got set for the world famous Le Mans 24 Hours during the official test day yesterday. Six Huntingdon built LMP racers will compete in the 75th running of the great race on June 16-17, three each in the LMP1 and LMP2 categories.
The test day offers the teams a chance to get familiar with the classic 8.48 mile track just 10 days before qualifying for the race begins. Yesterday, Lola teams set about getting Le Mans rookie drivers ‘at one’ with the circuit and working on putting more miles on the Lola’s many different chassis/engine combinations.

SWISS SPIRIT GET SET TO SHOW HAND IN QUALIFYING
Swiss Spirit arrived at Le Mans with just one race behind them at Valencia in April. However, the potential of the Lola chassis and Audi engine, combined with the super efficient team brought a fine 3rd place on their first event. This result showed that this package is certainly one to watch at La Sarthe this year.
After a brief installation lap in the morning session, Marcel Fassler handed the car over to Iradj Alexander-David who at once familiarised himself with the demands of the Le Mans track in what was his first time in a prototype.
Jean Denis Deletraz, who has been instrumental in putting this project together along with team principal, Fred Stalder and team manager, Yann Cazaboun, also completed a useful number of laps. The only frustrating point of the day came at the end of the test when the team were denied some fast laps on new rubber by a lengthy red flag period that curtailed the test.
“We got all our programme completed except for the last few laps to see just what outright pace we had,“ confirmed Marcel Fassler. “The car felt good initially and everything looks positive for the real test which will be in qualifying.“

CHAROUZ BED IN DRIVERS
Charouz Racing System also concentrated on giving their drivers as much running as possible on Sunday. The Judd powered red, white and blue Lola B07/17 has made a sensational start to its first season in sportscar competition with the teams trio of drivers of Alex Yoong, Stefan Mucke and Jan Charouz scoring a brilliant 2nd place at the Valencia 1000kms.
Yesterday, the trio were recorded as setting a best lap of 3m36.2, however a glitch in the timing meant that a true quick lap of 3m34.8 was actually not officially registered. The team though are confident that they can go significantly quicker in a few weeks time.
“We will go much faster that is for sure,“ said Stefan Mucke. “We made some good changes and progress. As it was my first time at Le Mans for myself and also Jan (Charouz) I was also still finding the braking points and getting to know the track.“
“The Lola feels very nice in the fast corners but we are still finding the limit for the car and taking some of the downforce off,“ continued Mucke. “We have a great team behind us and Frank Coppuck is a great engineer with some good plans on what we are going to do next week.“
Both Alex Yoong and Jan Charouz completed full programmes during the day, with Charouz leaving the track immediately after the test to sit an exam at London University!

CHAMBERLAIN SATISFIED WITH FRUITFUL TEST
Chamberlain Synergy kick started their third consecutive Le Mans with a Lola chassis in fine style with the AER powered LMP1 Lola lapping quickly in the hands of Bob Berridge during the day.
The Hugh Chamberlain and Dave Lampitt led squad had a fruitful days running with Bob’s team mates Peter Owen and Gareth Evans getting a good amount of laps in the yellow Lola.
The team will be looking for a strong finish this year after changing to Michelin rubber during the off season. A best time of 3m36.567s indicated that the Oxfordshire based team could be fighting for a top ten position come qualifying.

QUIFEL-ASM LOOKING GOOD
The Portuguese Quifel ASM team finished the day 3rd fastest in the LMP2 category with their AER turbo charged Lola B05/40.
Posting a time of 3m40.613s the team were quietly satisfied with their days work, although like the rest of the Lola runners they did not go for an all out ‘soft tyre’ fast lap.
Miguel Amaral and Miguel De Castro have proven to be a great team alongside fellow LMS regular Angel Burgueno, but as was the case in 2006 Warren Hughes completes the driver line up at La Sarthe this year.
The former works Lola-MG racer set the quickest time yesterday and believes that the Antonio Simoes owned team is in a good position for this years race.
“It’s all very promising and our pace is good,“ confirmed Hughes. “The car is nice and easy to drive and feels more stable than last year. We have a lot more to come but we did some very useful work with the Dunlop tyres today. I am very encouraged with how things have gone and can’t wait for next week to arrive.“

RML START LMP2 HAT TRICK PLAN
Double Le Mans LMP2 champions, RML started an historic campaign for a hat-trick of titles over the weekend with Andy Wallace joining team regulars Mike Newton and Tommy Erdos.
After claiming first place in both 2005 and 2006, the Wellingborough based team are priming their Lola-AER package to go for an unprecedented third win. With AER power and Michelin rubber, the patriotic red, white and blue Lola will be fighting the new Zytek LMP2 car and its fellow Lola’s for LMP2 honours this year. As usual the team conducted a precise programme for the duration of the day, ensuring that Andy Wallace reacquainted himself with the car, after 12 months away driving in the ALMS.

BINNIE IN THE HUNT FOR ANOTHER PODIUM
Binnie Motorsports put themselves in a good position to equal or perhaps better their terrific 2006 runners up position at Le Mans. The Anglo-American team of Bill Binnie, Allen Timpany and Chris Buncombe finished up 5th fastest in LMP2 with the teams newcomer, Buncombe setting a fastest of 3m43.867s on what was his very first visit to the track. This was some 12 seconds faster than the Zytek engined Lola went in the 2006 version of the test day.
Using Kumho tyres, the team managed to complete a full test programme with all three drivers reporting good handling of the car, particularly through the daunting Porsche Curves.

Qualification 2007-06-00

Times

Wednesday report

Team Principal Hugh Chamberlain was hoping that the weather would stay dry for both of the Wednesday evening two hour ‘qualifying practice’ sessions. The phrase is an odd one, because at most race weekends the practice session takes place prior to a separate qualifying session, but then Le Mans is a unique event. Other than the race morning warm-up session, the only track sessions in race week all count towards qualifying, but of course in those eight hours of running the drivers are not constantly seeking the fastest possible lap. The sessions are also used for set-up work, bedding in components, trying different tyres and fuel loads and ensuring all the drivers complete the minimum requirement of three laps each in night conditions.
Hugh Chamberlain, in his trademark shorts, had dashed out of the day’s first rain shower shortly after 2 o’clock in the afternoon. As he glanced up to read the sky prior to the first session, his outlook was “if it rains, we’ll leave it in the garage for tonight. There isn’t really anything we need to try on the set-up anyway, the car went really well at the test day so it’s just a case of getting some laps in and getting our night laps done. We’ll go out for a few laps and bring it in to check things over, then start the proper running.”

True to those words, Bob Berridge was first out onto the track at 7pm in humid, but thankfully stable, conditions, setting a 3:44.721 on his first flying lap, then bringing the car in for Gareth Evans, who completed a series of laps in the mid 3:50s.
He then handed over to Peter Owen, who also ran in the mid 3:50s. By the close of the hour all three drivers had at least three laps under his belt.
Owen had been enjoying himself however, battling the diesel works Peugeot for part of the lap at least. “A Peugeot passed me into Tertre Rouge at about 8pm in my first stint out there. The encouraging thing was that out on the Mulsanne it wasn’t pulling away from me from the 4th gear corner. But he was quicker than me through the first chicane – and then he was gone.”

Owen brought the car back in for Berridge, but just as he was about to rejoin, Marco Apicella’s GT1 Lamborghini went off at the Playstation chicane, hitting the tyre wall very hard and slewing back to end up in the middle of the track. There was no option but to red flag the session whilst Apicella was safely removed from the car and the debris removed.
With all the cars reconvened in the pitlane, showers began to roll by about a mile away from the start/finish straight and a number of darker clouds began to punctuate the otherwise golden sky. The Le Mans circuit is over 13 kilometres long, so whilst it is easy to dismiss downpours that are visible from the pit lane area as being ‘too far away’, the rain can in fact at that very moment be falling on at least some part of the circuit.
The stricken Lamborghini was removed after a 40 minute delay, but by then the rainstorms had intensified. If the rain were to catch the circuit, then it appeared that the grid could have been determined, especially because Thursday’s forecast was for thunderstorms throughout the day. If that were to be the case then Chamberlain-Synergy would find themselves 14th on Saturday’s grid, just behind the P2 leading Barazi Epsilon Zytek.

Just before 9pm, as the session was about to go green, thunder and lightning began to dance around Indianapolis and Arnage. The TV monitors switched from pit-lane activity to close-ups of big raindrops bouncing over kerbs and rapidly merging into large puddles on the racing line. The next pit-lane activity shots were rather different as various crews made the dash down to the pit lane entry to grab their waiting slick-shod cars and push them back to their garage.
With only twenty minutes or so left at the re-start and with half of the track being very, very wet, with the other half bone dry, Chamberlain’s plan to sit it out had already been implemented, so all there was to do then was wait for the second session and put in nine steady night laps.
Of the handful of teams that did venture back out, none posted any significant improvements.

Binnie Motorsport report

The Binnie Motorsport path to another Le Mans 24 hour podium continued on Wednesday with two flawless qualifying sessions. Throughout the day, the mechanics made the necessary race preparations, balancing the tyres, tweaking the suspension and a long list of other essential tasks. The final result of the day’s work was a fast lap of 3:48.1 by Chris Buncombe that put the car third in class.
The biggest obstacle for the team however was the weather, the wet conditions providing the first opportunity to test the Kumho wets and intermediates.

Chris Buncombe: “The tyres were surprisingly good. We ran everything including, slicks, intermediates, and wets and every time we were happy with each set.”
Bill Binnie, “It was a sloppy track and the intermediates were great. We couldn’t have been happier.”

Overall, it seems that whilst the mixed weather might have hindered other team’s ability to perform well, it actually turned into a beneficial tyre learning session for the Binnie Motorsports team. As for the rest of the car, everything seems to be going according to plan for the weekend. Chris Buncombe said that “the balance of the car in both dry and damp conditions was great” and that even though the track was wet “we were happy with being able to run the car in all the different track conditions.”

The team’s plan for qualifying was to set the fast lap early in the second session, just as the cold air was settling in, but while it was still light outside. Chris Buncombe though found that his best lap “was very compromised with three incidents of traffic, including the Panoz with the puncture, so I’m surprised that that lap continued to keep us up in P3.”

Meanwhile, Bill Binnie was quite pleased with the result. He thought it was “a good uneventful day and positive because everyone qualified and that was our goal.” For him, he’s “pleased where we are and hopeful that things continue like this".

The weather will definitely be a huge factor on Thursday in the team’s ability to continue Wednesday’s success.
The team was contemplating not taking the car out at all.
Bill Binnie: “If it rains too we may not go out because there is little reason to, we have a well sorted car and I think we are very happy with the car set up and we are really making minor changes.” It therefore seems that all that awaits the Binnie Motorsports team is the green lights of Saturday afternoon and that much anticipated podium spot.

Thursday report

The track was wet all through Thursday evening and, given the fact that the team had already ticked all of the regulation boxes in the first day of qualifying, a glimpse of the distinctive yellow Lola cutting through the spray would always be a very rare event.

Before the first session began, the strategy for the evening was already clear, as expressed by team boss Hugh Chamberlain.
“The lads know the car, we’ve had it two years and I’ve been doing this for a million years. The drivers know the track because they have been here for three or four years, so there are no problems with experience.
“We had the test day as well where we had eight hours to play, so we don’t need to go flogging it around and around tonight if we don’t need to.
“The way I always do it is to look at the regulations, you look at the minimum lap time requirements, work out what pole is likely to be and aim for about 115% of that. Once all the drivers have set a suitable lap, then you get the night laps in. It isn’t difficult to work that out, but you look at the time sheet and you can see that there are plenty of teams and drivers that didn’t manage to do that yesterday, and that will put a lot unnecessary pressure on them tonight. We have no pressure on us at all now.
“All we need to do is make sure that the engine and all of the parts are OK, which will take no more than a dozen or a half dozen laps and then we can park it up and go to the beach.
“Unless there is something wrong with the car in the first session, and we need to work on it and check I,t then I would say it is very unlikely that we’ll be out in the night session, there is absolutely no point.”

Bob Berridge did try a lap just before 9pm, out and straight back in again and completed just the one ‘flying’ lap in the extremely wet second session. With the car working fine, there was no need to risk any more laps in the incredibly hazardous conditions, which caused incidents for even some of the very quickest works cars in the race, so it was an early night. With a ‘day off’ from track action, there was still a lot of preparation to do ready for race day, but at least everything has gone to plan so far.

Binnie Motorsport report

The Binnie Motorsport team is in top form for the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours, after a relatively uneventful wet qualifying on Thursday and a rest day on Friday. After a first qualifying session on Wednesday that saw Team Binnie’s Chris Buncombe set third fastest time in the hotly contested LMP2 class, 18th overall on the grid, a wet pair of Thursday sessions worked to the Team’s advantage, as the weather prevented any of the major competitors from improving their position on the grid.

Bill Binnie: “We went out there for a little bit on Thursday evening but decided that the best decision for us was to put the car away. We are very happy with the set-up and running the risk of crashing the car in the dreadful conditions was not worth it to us.”

Allen Timpany was tasked with the handful of Thursday laps to test the Kumho wets: “They worked well but it was quite tricky out there. I was coming down the Mulsanne straight and ran into a big wall of water. It was the rooster tail off the back of another car but it was like a smoke cloud. The visibility was terrible and some cars didn’t even have their rain lights on so that made it that much more difficult.”

With conditions that bad, the team ran a few laps and decided to be done for the day to give the mechanics an early night. Simply stated by Chris Buncombe: “Keeping the mechanics in top form is really important. We need them to be ready for the race.”

The current LMP2 champions endured a troubled first day of qualifying for the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours, but Andy Wallace pulled out all the stops for the MG EX264's one and only flying lap, right at the end of the day. His best of 3:49.217 was enough to draw the RML entry clear of the GT1 field and into sixth position in class.
From the outset Thomas Erdos had been aware of a steering imbalance, and brought the car back at the end of his very first lap. While others were enjoying the best of the daylight conditions, the Brazilian was forced to sit patiently in the cockpit as the team endeavored to source the problem. Initially believing that a faulty damper was the culprit, efforts were made to address this, but time was slipping by. The situation was compounded by the unfortunate red-flag incident involving the #53 Lamborghini, followed by a sudden worsening in the weather. With the #25 lying next-to-last on the timing screens, the team entered the mid-session break with a genuine concern that the MG might be starting the 75th Le Mans 24 Hours from the back of the grid.
The team's strategy changed for the second period, with the sole intent being to ensure that all three drivers fulfilled their three-lap night driving requirement. Thomas Erdos completed his trio, and was followed by Mike Newton. The MG EX264 performed faultlessly, and both drivers were setting times that were well in line with the best in LMP2, for the prevailing damp conditions. Andy Wallace stepped aboard as the track began to dry, and was offered slick tyres. His first lap went well, but part-way through his second, the steering issue revealed itself again. He pitted immediately. This time the nature of the malfunction had revealed the true cause, and the team affected a rapid repair.

With little more than five minutes remaining Andy headed back out on track. He had time enough for just one flying lap, and he made it count. At one stage he was two seconds up and looked set for a 3:47, before meeting a white-flagged car in the Porsche Curves. There was considerable relief in the RML garage when he crossed the line. "That was a tremendous lap," enthused Adam Wiseberg, Motorsport Director for AD Holdings. "Andy had no real time in the car at all before that, but he pulled it out of the bag. It's nice to know that, whatever happens tomorrow, were ahead of the GT1s. Hopefully that's all our little niggles sorted out before the race."
Andy's co-drivers were equally relieved. "I'm happy that we found the problem," said Thomas Erdos. "Now it's fixed we only need a small dry window tomorrow and perhaps we can improve. What Andy did with a single flying lap was stunning. He really showed his class today."
Mike Newton was pleased to have completed his night laps. "It was an evening of frustrating teething problems," he said, "and I'm glad they're all ironed out."
Phil Barker identified the fault as being "a slight movement in the steering rack that we were able to find second time around. It's a bitter-sweet taste, but I'm pleased to have found the problem today, and not taken it forward into the race."

After the frustrations of Wednesday's disrupted qualifying session for the 75th Le Mans 24 Hours, RML's MG Lola EX264 was back on form for a treacherously wet second day at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Torrential rain and standing water for almost the entire four hours ensured that there was no possibility of improving on the sixth-fastest time in LMP2 set by Andy Wallace on Wednesday. However, running third quickest in Thursday's atrocious conditions, and under the kind of watery downpour that the forecasters are predicting for the race, was more in line with expectations for the RML MG. What was especially significant is that Mike Newton's individual best time was also good enough for fifth-fastest, confirming the overall strength of the RML driver line-up.
With Wednesday's technical issues resolved, it was a far more comfortable Andy Wallace that was first out onto the circuit at the start of the daylight session, completing his required three-lap stint without incident, despite monsoon-like conditions. Mike Newton then enjoyed the remainder of the first period, posting a time of 4:31.102 to stand third-quickest in LMP2, behind the two front-row Zyteks.
After the break, and with some minor adjustments to the car's aerodynamics, Thomas Erdos was given free-rein to establish the best possible wet set-up for the EX264. A series of exploratory laps, interrupted by brief visits to the pitlane for adjustments, resulted in a best lap from the Brazilian of 4:17.297. It sliced nine seconds off his previous benchmark, and while a little short of the times set by the two Zyteks (4:11.296 and 4:14.508) was a significant seven seconds ahead of the next quickest in the class.

"Tonight was far more typical of the performance that we expect to deliver than last night," said Adam Wiseberg, Motorsport Director of AD Holdings. "We're very pleased with the way the car went today, and it has given us plenty of opportunity to work on the kind of wet set-up that the weather forecasts suggest we will need for the race. I think we're exactly where we should be by now."
Phil Barker, Team Manager, was very satisfied with progress. "We have a set-up now that we can change very quickly to suit any conditions. It's safe and comfortable for the drivers, whatever the circumstances. That puts us in a very strong position."
All three drivers are now looking forward to the race with confidence. "The conditions were challenging tonight," admitted Andy Wallace, "but with the work we've done now, we've achieved an excellent balance for the race." Thomas Erdos would have liked the opportunity to go quicker. "I set my quickest time on a preparatory lap," he said. "If I'd pushed, I think we'd have been with the Zyteks tonight." Mike Newton was especially pleased to have set third quickest for his own stint. "That was the highlight for me, and makes up for being below the technical qualifying time." It is believed that more than 30 other drivers are also outside the required time.

#5 Swiss Spirit Lola B07/10-Audi
Drivers: Jean-Denis Deletraz (CH), Iradj-Alexander David (CH), Marcel Fassler (CH)
Best Time: 3m42.626s (Deletraz)
Overall: 14th
The first car to be allocated an Audi R8 customer engine made its first appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours last night. The unique combination of Lola chassis and Audi engine produced a superb result in its very first race at Valencia two months ago with a podium position. With just the test day laps under their belts and little other development running, the first qualifying session saw Iradj Alexander David and Jean Denis Deletraz conduct more testing laps before Marcel Fassler took over, albeit briefly. The former DTM driver was denied an outright fast qualifying lap by the red flag caused by a large accident for Marco Apichella's Lamborghini.
For the second session, held initially in damp conditions, Alexander again took the wheel but suffered an accident early in the session. The Swiss racer who is still gaining experience in LMP cars went off on the exit of the first Mulsanne chicane, lightly damaging the front of the Lola B07/10-Audi.
"It was unbelievable as I was being so careful," said Alexander. "I was on slicks and following the advice of the team to be very precise and gentle, but when I accelerated out of the first chicane and the turbo kicked in it just went around and I hit the barrier on the right."
Despite the accident team morale is still very high and Alexander's team mate is confident that should the conditions allow the Audi engined Lola can be positioned in to the top ten.
"The car felt very good in the test days and with new aero development pieces from Lola we will be in great shape for the race I am sure. It was tough for Iradj but we are a close team and these things sometimes happen."

#15 Charouz Racing System Lola B07/17-Judd
Drivers: Alex Yoong (MAL), Stefan Mucke (D), Jan Charouz (CZ)
Best Time: 3m37.373s (Yoong)
Overall: 11th Charouz
Racing System kicked off their first Le Mans race week in spectacular fashion when Alex Yoong had a brief excursion in the early exchanges of qualifying one. However, the former F1 driver completed his initial run successfully, lapping impressively before handing over to Jan Charouz who was midway through his stint before a lengthy red flag halted proceedings.
Summing up the teams programme during the rain affected first day, Charouz Sporting Manager, Sam Hignett said: "We were working on completing 13 laps. This was the first time Stefan Mucke has raced in the dark and Jan (Charouz) did what he had to do. The most important thing tomorrow will be to give the drivers more laps in the car. It will be a bonus if it's dry and we will take the opportunity to go for it."
Jan Charouz, "The speed looks a lot faster in the dark. It was hard getting use to the lighting and also the flashes from the photographers. There were loads of red flags and a lot of traffic, so I was pleased with my time."

#39 Chamberlain-Synergy Lola B07/10-AER
Drivers: Bob Berridge (GB), Peter Owen (GB), Gareth Evans (GB)
Best Time: 3m44.721s (Berridge)
Overall: 16th Class: 15th
The Chamberlain Synergy team enjoyed a good initial qualifying session in their distinctive yellow Lola LMP1 last night. All three drivers drove in the first session with Bob Berridge ultimately setting a best time of 3m44.721 in what is the trio's third attempt at the 24 Hours together.
Gareth Evans was the first of the drivers to venture on to the circuit and set consistent times in the mid 3m40's showing his ever gaining confidence in the now Michelin shod Lola-AER. Peter Owen took over from Evans after 40 minutes and the Humbersider again lapped confidently in the car overseen by experienced Le Mans campaigner Hugh Chamberlain. Chamberlain is confident that the team, who also rely on the engineering knowledge of Dave Lampitt, will be in prime position to get a good finish this weekend.
"We are better prepared than ever this year. The team know each other very well and we know the car so actually it is all very much on schedule with our plan. We are changing the engine today and getting the car in race shape. We may not even need to go out in the later session this evening as everything is very comfortable for us."

#25 RML MG-Lola EX264 AER
Drivers: Mike Newton (GB), Tommy Erdos (BRA), Andy Wallace (GB)
Best Time: 3m49.217s (Wallace)
Overall: 21st Class: 6th
Two times LMP2 Le Mans winners, RML Ltd are gearing up for an historic hat-trick of wins at Le Mans wins this weekend and the team had to overcome some minor mechanical problems in the initial qualifying sessions yesterday. All three of the Wellingborough based teams drivers managed to get laps in during the sessions despite the loss of track time and Andy Wallace turned in a superb lap at the very end of the final session that was good enough for 6th in class. All three of this year's RML drivers tasted success last year and Tommy Erdos believes that the team are in excellent shape to attempt the hat-trick win.
"The team reacted very well to the problem we had tonight and that combined with the weather meant that we had to adapt quickly," confirmed the 'Britzilian'. "Andy did an exceptional job and we will get more laps in tonight. Overall qualifying is not our prime focus as we need to ensure all is on target for the 24 Hours."

#31 Binnie Motorsport Lola B05/40 Zytek
Drivers: Bill Binnie (USA), Allen Timpany (GB), Chris Buncombe (GB)
Best Time: 3m49.217s (Buncombe)
Overall: 18th Class: 3rd
Binnie Motorsport had a great start to their Le Mans campaign last night with the Anglo/American Lola setting a fastest time good enough 3rd place in the LMP2 class. The teams newest driver, Chris Buncombe has proved himself to be a potential sportscar star of the future with a competitive 3m48.173s on the Kumho shod Lola LMP2 racer. Set early in the session, Buncombe is still learning in both Le Mans prototypes and at the Le Mans circuit. His laps were ably complemented by team owner Bill Binnie and LMS regular pilot Allen Timpany who turned in solid and consistent laps with the Zytek powered LMP2 Lola. The team's engineer, Roger Parkes was delighted with the way their sessions went and believes that there is a lot more to come from the team that finished an excellent 2nd at La Sarthe last year.
"The test at Snetterton was the jewel in the crown, as we found out a lot about the car and we getting the reward today,~" said Parkes. "Given the conditions and traffic, the drivers did a fantastic job. The wet tyres were working really well, which is an encouraging sign for the race. Chris Buncombe really impressed me this evening. He looked very hungry and he's an excellent team player. The support around him is paying off".

#40 Quifel-ASM Team Lola B05/40 AER
Drivers: Bill Binnie (USA), Allen Timpany (GB), Chris Buncombe (GB)
Best Time: 3m49.217s (Hughes)
Overall: 17th Class: 2nd
Quifel-ASM may have had a slight name change since last season but the team continue to prove fast and reliable on the track at Le Mans. The team completed 29 laps last night with Warren Hughes set the fastest time, good enough for 2nd in the LMP2 class. His team mates, Miguel De Castro and Miguel Amaral have impressed so far this season in the Le Mans Series with a win in the Valencia 1000kms. Both are eager to add a Le Mans class victory to their already impressive record.
"We've ticked all the first boxes. We're taking a cautious approach, so it was not an all out effort today," stated Warren Hughes after the sessions. "However, we were very happy with the run. It felt easy, and I'm confident that could easily get two seconds quicker. We've achieved exactly for what we planned at the start of the day. "The car has great downforce," continued the former works Lola-MG driver. "All three drivers feel very safe, which gives you a great platform to start building quick lap times. The changing conditions will suit the car and the team, so it could be an interesting few days ahead."

Warm-up

Report

...

Race 2007-06-00/06-00

Race Summary

LE MANS 24 HOURS -- AFTER 6 HOURS

LMP1 #5 -- Swiss Spirit Lola B07/10-Audi
Drivers: Jean-Denis Deletraz (CH), Iradj-Alexander David (CH), Marcel Fassler (CH)
Position after 6 hours: 50th overall; 14th in class
Best Time: 3m37.493s on lap 8
Swiss Spirit's first Le Mans with the potent Lola-Audi combination took a severe set back at just after 19.00 with a fuel pressure problem. Prior to stopping just after the Porsche Curves, the team's trio of drivers had demonstrated the enormous potential of the Audi engined Lola B07/10 in the early exchanges. Marcel Fassler started the race and instantly started to cut through the rest of the LMP1 petrol engine field. Starting from 14th place on the grid, Fassler got up to as high as 7th position before heavy rain meant a change to wet weather tyres. However, with the ever changing conditions the team soon had to swap back to slicks. At 16.30 on a greasy track Fassler spun off at the Dunlop Chicane and lost time as he rejoined. Bringing the Michelin shod car in for its first change shortly after this incident, Jean-Denis Deletraz took over but also suffered a harmless spin. When Iradj Alexander-David took over the car was running quickly again but in the early stages of his stint, Alexander stopped on the circuit with the fuel pressure problem. Just before the six hour mark Alexander managed to get the car back to the pits and the team set about trying to get the car back in to the race. However it had lost over two hours at this stage.

#15 -- Charouz Racing System Lola B07/17-Judd
Drivers: Alex Yoong (MAL), Stefan Mucke (D), Jan Charouz (CZ)
Position after 6 hours: 6th overall
Best Time: 3m36.746s (Stefan Mucke)
The Charouz Racing System team were positioned in a brilliant 6th place overall after 6 hours of racing at Le Mans tonight. The Judd powered Lola B07/17 had a great start to the race with ex F1 racer Alex Yoong coping expertly with the tricky dry/wet/dry conditions. Stefan Mucke was making significant progress inside the top 10 in the third and fourth hours, proving to be spectacularly quick in the drying conditions. The German encountered a spectacular problem in his first scheduled stop when a small fuel fire saw him leap from the cockpit, only to be told to continue after the brief fuel fire was rapidly extinguished by the ever professional Charouz team.
"I was flying in my stint and enjoying it so much. The conditions were still drying and that is these are the conditions that I enjoy, especially in the Lola, which has fantastic grip. When I came in for the stop I felt heat on my overalls and I got out pretty quick! Then Marcus (team-boss -- Sarach) told me to get back in the cockpit. But then I came in early to hand over to Jan (Charouz) because the extinguisher had got in to my helmet and I had to catch my breath a lot. I went to see the medical guy and he was cool and I have absolutely no problems now." Jan Charouz carried on the excellent progress of the Lola-Judd to ensure that the car was in a solid 6th on the same laps as the 5th placed Pescarolo-Judd.

#39 -- Chamberlain-Synergy Lola B07/10-AER
Drivers: Bob Berridge (GB), Peter Owen (GB), Gareth Evans (GB)
Position after 6 hours: 44th overall; 12th in class
Best Time: 3m42.471s (Bob Berridge)
The Chamberlain Synergy Lola B07/10- AER driven by Bob Berridge experienced a puncture on the first lap, with the force of the blow triggering damage to the rear light. Berridge steered the yellow colours of the Chamberlain Synergy LMP2 back to the pits to change the tyre. The team's difficult start to the race also saw some small mechanical problems. With the water temperatures fluctuating, team boss Hugh Chamberlain took advance of the safety car being on the track to bring the team in to fix the fault immediately.
Peter Owen, the Chamberlain driver summed up the opening 4 hours, "We had a puncture on the opening lap. The pit crew have been kept busy and they've been doing a marvellous job. With 18 hours to go, there is still a lot to play for. We will stick to the game plan, which is to keep making laps around 3.50." The Oxfordshire based squad are showing both their and the Lola's resilience in creeping up the leaderboard as the race entered the second quarter.

#25 -- RML MG-Lola EX264 AER
Drivers: Mike Newton (GB), Tommy Erdos (BRA), Andy Wallace (GB)
Position after 6 hours: 46th overall; 9th in class
Best Time: 3m46.634s (Tommy Erdos)
Thomas Erdos got the RML MG-Lola EX264 AER off to a good start, registering his best lap of the opening stint on lap 7, recording a time of 3.46.634. After lap 25 Erdos took his second stop, with the Brazilian swapping over with team mate Andy Wallace. With barely a lap under his belt, a faulty crank sensor forced him to park the RML on the side of the track. The former Le Mans winner used his vast experience to get the car going again. Wallace was finding a good rhythm, and was the fastest P2 driver on the track, prior to spinning off at the Porsche Curves, sliding the car into the barriers.
The car was towed out of the gravel onto the public roads, enabling Wallace to bring the RML car back to the pits around 4 hours 10 minutes into the race. An accolade to the strength of the Lola chassis, the excellent RML mechanics were able to repair all four corners of the MG- Lola in just 50 minutes to keep the team's hopes alive as they embark on a historic assault to make it a hat-trick of LMP2 Le Mans straight wins.
Andy Wallace, "The car was running really well, then it snapped right, then snapped left as I was coming into Porsche Curves and I was flying in backwards as the car hit the barrier. It's a long race so we'll continue fighting for a top finish."

#31 -- Binnie Motorsport Lola B05/40 Zytek
Drivers: Bill Binnie (USA), Allen Timpany (GB), Chris Buncombe (GB)
Position after 6 hours: 17th overall; 3rd in class
Best Time: 3m51.429s
Last years LMP2 runners-up, Binnie Motorsports ran faultlessly in the first quarter of the race and were in a secure 3rd place in the LMP2 class when the team's fastest qualifying driver, Chris Buncombe started his stint at 20.30 hrs. Earlier, Bill Binnie and Allen Timpany had each successfully completed lengthy stints without drama in the Zytek powered Lola B05/40. On Kumho tyres, Binnie had started cautiously and had stayed out of trouble as many of his competitors encountered problems. Allen Timpany had enjoyed a similar trouble free double stint in the early evening before handing over to Le Mans rookie Buncombe, who was impatient to sample dusk at Le Mans. "Bill and Allen have done a really great job in treacherous conditions," said 28 year old Buncombe just before his stint. "I have the special visor for the setting sun and I feel confident that we can continue with this progress and stay out of significant problems then we will be in a really great position."
Quifel-ASM Team Lola B05/40 AER
Drivers: Warren Hughes (GB), Miguel Amaral (P), Miguel Angel De Castro (P)
Position after 6 hours: 13th overall; 2nd in class
Best Time: 3m44.993s
The Portuguese team had been one of the stars of the qualifying period at Le Mans and that form continued in to the opening stages of the race as they led the LMP2 class convincingly in the first four hours. Warren Hughes did a superb triple stint in the first three hours, making light of a small electrical problem that occasionally stuck his pit lane limiter on. The former Lola-MG works driver was lapping faster than any of his rivals and stayed out on slick tyres under the first safety car period.
Handing over to Miguel Amaral in the third hour and then Miguel Angel De Castro, the Dunlop shod car ended the first six hours in a close 2nd place in class but a pit stop ahead of the leading Zytek LMP2. "It is a good, solid start to the race for us," said Hughes after his stint. "We had an issue early on but we overcame that fine. The car is good and reasonably consistent in the variable conditions and if we can keep to this programme then we will be in really great shape."

Race Report

RML's hopes of completing an unprecedented hat-trick of LMP2 wins in the Le Mans 24 Hours literally went up in smoke at 09:53 on Sunday morning, when the MG Lola EX264's AER turbocharged engine blew a piston along the Mulsanne straight.
It ended a dream that had still been very much alive only moments before, after the team had worked with such determination and skill to recover what had looked to be a lost cause. Fifteen hours previously the MG had been involved in a heavy accident at the entry to the Porsche Curves, part-way through Andy Wallace's second stint. Following an extended pitstop of 52 minutes to carry out major repairs, the car occupied "dead last" position. Since that time the #25 car had moved smoothly through the night to reach 20th overall and second in LMP2 -- an occasion Thomas Erdos marked at just after nine o'clock by setting a new fastest lap of 3:45.773 for the RML AD Group entry.

In many respects, it had been as uneventful a process as any team could wish for. Between them Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos had filled in the darkest hours, each completing triple stints at the wheel and thereby allowing Andy Wallace a well-earned rest.
Although bruised and suffering the effects of concussion, Andy is well. He had been offered the choice of whether or not he wished to drive again today, but had not recovered sufficiently well to do so before the car retired. "The car was running so well," said Mike Newton. "Our main challenge had been to see how best to manage the driving stints. Tommy and I shared the last twelve hours, and would have continued to do so through to the finish, if that had been necessary." Mike was not to be given that opportunity. Only minutes after taking on his next stint, the engine blew in a most spectacular fashion.

There was an air of universal dejection within the team. "It would have been better if this had happened when we were fiftieth, not second," said Phil Barker, Team Manager.
Ray Mallock, Chief Executive, was stunned. "It had been great to see the car recovering so strongly through the night. Mike and Tommy did a fantastic job, taking on the burden of all the driving between them, and this is the cruellest bad luck."

Adam Wiseberg, Motorsport Director of AD Group, the principal partner in RML's sportscar programme, was devastated. "The team did such a remarkable job to get the car back into the race, and Mike and Tommy drove splendidly to recover so much lost ground. They deserved better, but this is Le Mans, and as we know, anything can happen. We have been fortunate to win here twice before, and we'll be back again."

....

Skoda Charouz Racing race report

A successful debut for the Skoda Charouz Racing System - Lola/Judd in the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans race. Alex Yoong, Stefan Muecke and Jan Charouz finished in eighth position in the overall classification and fifth in the LMP1 class. Not only was the team a rookie. The youngest driver of the race Jan Charouz, and Stefan Muecke of Germany, both drove for the first time on the La Sarthe circuit, too. The Czech car attracted attention of more than 250,000 spectators not only by its performance, but also by a huge fire in the pits.

Lola with Muecke behind the wheel caught on fire during one of the refueling stops Saturday. Almost the entire prototype was in flames, people couldn't see through them from the pit to the grandstand opposite. The firefighters were quick, luckily enough; it took them just about five seconds to put the fire out, so no harm was done to the driver or the mechanics. Muecke only inhaled some smoke and one of the mechanics has slight burns on his hands.
The Czech Lola managed to keep in fifth overall after the fire thanks to perfect performance of the drivers; the dramas were yet to come, though. At 3:30 today, the 19-year-old Jan Charouz left the track in the Playstation chicane, causing serious damage to the car when hitting the barrier.

He was lucky enough to make it to the pits. It took lots of effort, skill, tools and fifty minutes to fix the car. Almost all of the bodywork, exhausts and many other parts had to be replaced. When the Czech Lola B07/17 re-entered the track, the standing ovation for the mechanics and engineers was well deserved.
Jan Charouz couldn't figure out the reason of the accident at first, but later it turned out a flat tire was to be blamed. It was a so-called slow defect when the air escapes gradually. The result was seventeenth position. The international trio of drivers started a pursuit which caught attention of spectators and experts alike. But the moment the car attacked the top ten, another shock came. Right at the same spot where the night accident happened, the rear right tire burst and the car made a wild flight over curbs and the emergency zone. Jan Charouz was again behind the wheel. And again, he had enough luck to manage to drive slowly to the pits. After a new wheel was mounted, the car lost a few positions again - and a new pursuit could begin. The result was eighth place overall and fifth in the elite LMP1 class. The car also set a record with the fastest lap of all non gasoline vehicles.

Jan Charouz: "I took part in 24-hour races in Spa or Daytona, but Le Mans really is unique. I spent some nine hours in the cockpit which turned out to be my longest driving time ever. Of course I'm sorry for the troubles we had, however I think that the performance and result must have attracted attention. The atmosphere of the race was fantastic, too. I will never forget this weekend."

Stefan Muecke: "Just like Jan, I had my debut in Le Mans, so there was lots to learn. But I have to admit it was quite an exciting lesson. I was flattered by the fastest rookie award, but I'm even happier about the performance of the entire team. Here's the truth: the moment Jan brought the broken Lola in the pits where I was waiting to take the car over, I said to myself, well, Stefan, take a shower, you're going home. The car was a wreck. I actually did leave the pits and when they called me back, I couldn't believe my ears. The crew are real professionals."

Alex Yoong: "First let me agree with Stefan about the proficiency of the team. What they showed in Le Mans was a fantastic job. Personally I'm more satisfied than during my debut last year. We had to retire quite soon then, this time we finished, and we finished in a great place. I'm looking forward to the next race in two weeks at Nuerburgring and I hope the same line-up will get together here next year."

Antonín Charouz, team director: "I'm satisfied with the performance and result. I'm only disappointed that even a better result was hampered by the troubles. The fire was a big show but it didn't delay us too much. We lost much more because of flat tires which totaled some six or eight, I don't know. We have to analyze everything to be better next time. To sum up the whole Le Mans week, it was definitely successful."

Swiss Spirit Lola B07/10-Audi
Drivers: Jean-Denis Deletraz (CH), Iradj-Alexander David (CH), Marcel Fassler (CH)
Position after 12 hours: Retired
Swiss Spirit were forced to retire from the Le Mans 24 Hours just before midnight, after the electrical problem had stopped the car on the circuit earlier in the evening, which could not be resolved.
"I was stuck in 6th gear and it turned out that this was caused by a problem with the electrical system," said Iradj Alexander- David. "I went back out but the throttle started sticking and we had to stop the car. It is really a shame because Marcel (Fassler) showed that we could be the fastest petrol engine LMP1 car."
The team will now get ready for the Nurburgring 1000kms in two weeks time where they will be looking to follow up on a brilliant debut 3rd place on their debut at Valencia in April.

#15 -- Charouz Racing System Lola B07/17-Judd
Drivers: Alex Yoong (MAL), Stefan Mucke (D), Jan Charouz (CZ)
Position after 12 Hours: 6th overall; 6th in class
Best Time: 3m35.510s (Stefan Mucke)
After overcoming a small pit fire, a spin and two punctures earlier in the race, the Charouz Racing System team consolidated their top six position and had even ran 5th at one stage in the evening. With conditions fully dry between 9pm and 3am, the Charouz drivers lapped consistently in the late 3m30's and early 3m40's and revelled in the handling and reliability of the Lola B07/17 Judd.
All three drivers completed triple stints and enjoyed the performance of both the car and the Michelin tyres. With the Peugeot of Sebastien Bourdais recovering from an earlier problem, the Charouz Lola relinquished 5th place.
However, the team's Sporting Manager, Sam Hignett was delighted with the way their race was developing. "The car has been terrific so far and apart from the early race incidents we have a great pace and terrific reliability. All three of our drivers are giving really good accounts of themselves at this stage. We are happy but we are only at half way." At 3am the Charouz Lola was on the same lap as the number 8 Peugeot diesel LMP1 with Jan Charouz on the last leg of his triple stint.

#39 -- Chamberlain-Synergy Lola B07/10-AER
Drivers: Bob Berridge (GB), Peter Owen (GB), Gareth Evans (GB)
Position after 12 hours: 40th overall; 12th in class
Best Time: 3m42.471s (Bob Berridge)
The Chamberlain Synergy Lola B07/10 - AER team completed a determined second quarter of the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours, positioned in 12th place in the LMP1 class at the half way point. All three drivers were involved in a recovery drive after losing time with various problems in the first 12 hours of the race. Hugh Chamberlain summed up the team's evening session,
"We've been having a series of mechanical gremlins, which have all been minor problems, but they've been adding up. We were all expecting a wet and nasty race, which thankfully hasn't materialised yet. There is still a long way to go, so it's up to the drivers to look after the car and they have been doing a great job. It's important that they remain careful and keep aware of their surroundings."

LMP2 #25 -- RML MG-Lola EX264 AER
Drivers: Mike Newton (GB), Tommy Erdos (BRA), Andy Wallace (GB)
Position after 6 hours: 35th overall; 6th in class
Best Time: 3m46.634s (Tommy Erdos)
The RML MG-Lola EX264 AER team has enjoyed a solid run throughout the evening and early morning session at Le Mans, recovering from an accident that befell Andy Wallace in the 4th hour. Phil Barker, Team Manager for RML was very satisfied with the progress made with the Huntingdon built LMP2 racer. "We've been consistently making good times throughout the evening stints, without any dramas. It seems to be the turn of the other P2 cars of falling into trouble. The car is running well, but we're conscious that that there is still 12 hours to go. We need to remain sensible, so we can keep this pace."
RML were positioned in 35th overall at 3am and were looking forward to making more progress in the second half of the race.

#31 -- Binnie Motorsport Lola B05/40 Zytek
Drivers: Bill Binnie (USA), Allen Timpany (GB), Chris Buncombe (GB)
Position after 6 hours: 16th overall; 1st in class
Best Time: 3m51.008s (Buncombe)
The Anglo/American Binnie Motorsport team led the LMP2 class at 3am after a trouble free race for the trio of team owner and driver, Bill Binnie, Allen Timpany and Chris Buncombe. The Lola-Zytek took control of the LMP2 class just before midnight with both Binnie and Timpany having completed clean and consistent stints.
Timpany, who tasted success with the team last year when they were runners-up to the RML Lola-MG, was delighted with the way the car was running. "We are staying out of trouble and the car is going very well indeed," said Timpany. "I enjoyed my night stints despite lots of distraction lights around the circuit but that just takes a little getting used to. All in all we look to be in good shape so we will just continue with our race plan which is to look after the car and ourselves."
Racing on Kumho tyres the Lola-Zytek LMP2 was positioned in a solid 16th position overall and a lap ahead of the Del Bello Courage.

#40 Quifel-ASM Team Lola B05/40 AER
Drivers: Warren Hughes (GB), Miguel Amaral (P), Miguel Angel De Castro (P)
Position after 12 Hours: Retired
Best Time: 3m44.993s (Hughes)
After a superb opening 6 hours in which they led the LMP2 class comfortably, the Quifel-ASM squad endured a busy yet frustrating period between 11pm and 3am. With Warren Hughes at the wheel and a commanding lead in LMP2 when a problem with the right rear caused him to stop at Tertre Rouge when the wheel became detached. In communication with the team, Hughes worked wonders to ensure that he locked the differential to give him enough drive to return to the pits.
"We had a loose wheel earlier in the race but coming out of the Dunlop chicane the right rear came off," said Hughes. "I spoke with the team and was able to get back to the pits but we have lost a lot of time. It is such a shame as we were really running a good race."
Getting back in to the race at half past midnight, Hughes completed his triple stint before handing over to Miguel Amaral. At 01.55 the Portuguese racer went off at the Porsche Curves, damaging the front of the Lola B05/40-AER. At just before 3am the team were forced to officially retire the car from the race as a result of the problems.