LMS 2007

Monza Valencia Nürburgring Spa Silverstone Interlagos

Monza 2007

Qualifying Times

Eric van de Poele of Sart-Risbart, Belgium qualified the Horag Racing Lola B05/40 Judd fifth in the LMP2 class and 14th overall for Sunday's 1,000 Kilometers of Monza in action Saturday afternoon at the historic Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
Behind the wheel of the immaculate Lista Office-sponsored No. 27, van de Poele's fastest lap in the qualifying session was a 1:41.325. His best lap for the 3.604-mile course took just 1.179 seconds longer than the driver who got third in his class, and 2.054 seconds longer than the driver who qualified first in the very competitive 10-car LMP2 field. All 10 cars in the class qualified in a row, separated by 3.9 seconds, and will hold down positions 10 through 19 overall on the starting grid tomorrow.
Van de Poele will share the brilliant red and white No. 27 in Sunday's 47-car, 173-lap LMS season opener with fellow Belgium native Didier Theys of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Fredy Lienhard of Niederteufen, Switzerland.
The 20-minute qualifying session wasn't without a close call for the popular Swiss team, as van de Poele did a 360-degree spin in the first chicane on the first lap. He was able to regroup quickly with no damage done, and was seventh with 9 minutes remaining in the session and fifth with 8 minutes left. He slipped to sixth with 7 minutes to go but regained fifth with 6 minutes left and stayed in that spot until the end of the session.
"When I left pit road, the engine temperature was too low and the pit road limiter came on, and on the out lap while I was warming up the tires I lost the rear and did a 360 in the first chicane," van de Poele said afterwards. "I continued, and the car was OK; actually, it was quite nice. We have some adjustments that we'll do, but the gearbox was fine, the engine was fine, and the brakes were fine. I think we are just too far from first place in qualifying, but I feel we have a good car for the race. I believe in my team, and I think we can gain positions with good strategy.
"It felt very good to qualify a car again," he added. "Didier and I switch off in qualifying, and it was my turn today. It felt good to be doing it again."

Qualifying Report

Race Result

Race Report

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Markus Hotz's Horag Racing team and drivers Eric van de Poele, Fredy Lienhard and Didier Theys wrote a chapter in motorsports history and added another prestigious race to their list of victories by winning the LMP2 class of the 1,000 Kilometers of Monza Sunday afternoon at the historic Autodrome Nazionale Monza with a car that was boxed up on a ship five days earlier.
Their Lista Office and Lista-sponsored Lola B05/40 Judd No. 27 was held up in its transatlantic voyage back to Europe after competing in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in America last month due to delays from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and storms at sea. It was Wednesday before the crew was able to pick the car up at the port in Liverpool, England, and it arrived at Monza on Thursday at 11:20 a.m. exactly like it had gone on the transporter at 2:30 a.m. March 18 after finishing seventh in class at Sebring.
As soon as the transporter doors were lowered the team got to work, and on Sunday their drivers gave them the best result possible by having an almost trouble-free run to take the class victory with a four-lap advantage over second place. They finished a solid sixth overall with their Michelin-shod car, using the same engine they used at Sebring.
The car that finished second in the 10-car LMP2 class, the RML MG Lola AER No. 25 of Thomas Erdos and Mike Newton, finished eighth in the overall standings in the 173-lap, five-hour race on the 3.604-mile road course. Third in class was the Binnie Motorsports Lola Zytek of Bill Binnie, Allen Timpany and Chris Buncombe, which was 23rd overall in the 46-car race.
Van de Poele, of Sart-Risbart, Belgium, qualified the car in fifth place in class on Saturday but actually got to start fourth in class and 13th overall when another competitor's car failed the post-qualifying inspection.
He got a fabulous start, vaulting to 11th overall and second in LMP2 behind Erdos by the end of lap one. By lap 15 the top five LMP2 cars were all in a row in the overall standings, with Erdos leading van de Poele.
Pit stops shuffled the standings a bit but van de Poele was never further back than third. The Quifel ASM Team Lola AER was strong for a while too but van de Poele never wavered, and set the team's fastest lap of the race on lap 48 with a 1:43.580.
The former Formula 1 driver had two close calls when two different cars spun out in front of him during his double stint. He touched one of them but luckily the damage was minor, and when he pitted on lap 60 to let Lienhard take over the entry was third in LMP2 and ninth overall.
Lienhard, of Niederteufen, Switzerland, also did a great job and was able to maintain the same position throughout his stint, determined to turn the car over to Theys in good shape. The top three LMP2 cars were still all on the same lap when he pitted around two hours and 42 minutes into the race for Theys, a native of Belgium who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., to take over.
The car slipped to tenth overall, but still third in LMP2, due to the pit stop but Theys immediately got to work. The Quifel ASM Lola dropped out about 17 minutes shy of the three-hour mark, and shortly thereafter Theys moved into second place in class and ninth overall, with only Newton's RML Lola up ahead and both cars on the same lap.
Newton had to make an unscheduled pit stop to clean his radiator, and Theys pounced. He took the class lead and vaulted into eighth overall at the 4-hour, 14-minute mark, and never again relinquished the class lead. The RML Lola remained in the hunt but a couple extra pit stops it made were costly, and soon Theys had a one-lap advantage that the veteran had increased to four by the time the checkered fell.
The Horag entry was in the pits only five times during the race, for 6:38.627.

Quotes follow:
Eric van de Poele: "We had an understeer, but overall the car was consistent. I had two close calls. A Ferrari spun in front of me in the second chicane and we touched; that is why the front bodywork is broken a bit in the middle. Then three or four laps after that an Aston Martin spun in front of me. I thought, 'Oh, why me and why again?' but we were still OK. A little understeer, but OK."
Fredy Lienhard: "The car was fine during my stint, but I was being very defensive. I could have gone a little faster as the fuel level came down, but I didn't want to push it. When I came up on somebody who I thought didn't care if he had contact or not, I backed off and didn't push it. I really didn't want to have any problems. What's a few tenths of a second in a five-hour race? It's not worth it. My job was to give Didier the car in good shape.
"The pace of the race was very fast. The winner's average was over 200 kilometers per hour."
Didier Theys: "I had a problem with the first set of tires I had; there was no grip in the front. At the end of that stint the balance started to be OK, and when I came in for new tires that set was fine. During the last stint the car had a little bit of understeer, but it was OK.
"The team did a wonderful job to make a reliable car here despite the travel problems coming from Sebring. Maybe we should ship the car to Valencia [Spain, the site of the next LMS race May 4-6] by boat too. Maybe not working on the car between races is a way to cut down on the expenses of racing!
"Seriously though, every session the car improved. Our race today was trouble-free. It was understeering quite a bit, but we're all very happy."
Markus Hotz (team owner): "This is an important day for our team. Everyone did a great job, and I'm very proud of my entire crew and our drivers. We had no real troubles, and it was a great day for all of us!"
photos available here

Event Report

Race Report

Lola sportscars came away from Monza yesterday with another clean sweep of the LMP2 podium. Horag Racing led home the other Lola B05/40 chassis’ of RML and Binnie Motorsports. With Quifel ASM showing strongly and both the LMP1 Lola B07/10’s of the Skoda Charouz Racing System and Chamberlain Synergy starring at the front of the field, it was another ringing endorsement of the Huntingdon marques strength in designing winning Le Mans prototypes.

In what was a superb start to the European sportscar season for Horag Racing and its trio of experienced sportscar drivers Didier Theys, Fredy Leinhard and Eric Van De Poele, drove brilliantly in Italy, especially after their car did not return from Sebring until the Thursday before the race!
After a dramatic opening stint which saw Van De Poele contact a GT car, luckily without damage, the Swiss/German team enjoyed a trouble free race to score their second LMS success, following up their debut win at Nurburgring in 2005.
Van De Poele had handed over to team owner Fredy Leinhard after 60 laps and the Lista tools boss had a fine stint at the wheel and handed the red and white Lola-Judd over to Theys for the final two hours of the race.
For team owner Markus Hotz it was another great victory for his team that was founded in 1968 and went on to win many races in a Ferrari 333SP in the late 1990’s.
"This is an important day for our team,” said Hotz. “Everyone did a great job, and I'm very proud of my entire crew and our drivers. We had no real troubles, and it was a great day for all of us."

RML had led the LMP2 class for much of the race with Tommy Erdos and Mike Newton positioning the team in to what appeared to be another LMP2 victory. However, a water leak became persistent in the latter stages of the race and forced several unscheduled pitstops, meaning that the Horag Racing Lola went unopposed to the chequered flag, with RML gaining valuable points for a title campaign in 2nd.

Binnie Motorsports scored another podium position despite losing some time in the pits in the early hours of the race. The Anglo/American squads new driver, Chris Buncombe did a solid job in his first prototype endurance race, backing up the performances of team owner Bill Binnie and regular driver Allen Timpany.
Despite a delayed pitstop midway through the race the saltaire bedecked Lola B05/43 Zytek stayed in the hunt throughout the race to complete the Lola 1-2-3.

Quifel ASM Team had set a scorching pace during the Free Practice and Qualifying sessions and were consistently the fastest LMP2 car on the run up to the race. Sadly the team were penalised for its floor plank being under the15mm minimum. This came after Angel Burgueno had set pole position and a new LMP2 lap record of 1m39.271s. Starting from the back of the grid, Miguel Angel De Castro was flying in the first hour of the race and was soon in the class lead. Handing over to Miguel Amaral in the third hour saw the car fighting with the RML Lola at the front of the LMP2 class. Sadly, coming in to the Parabolica half way through his stint, Amaral felt a problem from the left rear corner and pitted immediately. Sadly, broken suspension accounted for the car and a probable victory was lost.

In LMP1, the Skoda Charouz Racing System Lola B07/17 Judd proved to be the sensation of the weekend as it consistently proved to be the only serious challenger to the new Peugeot diesel coupes.
Stefan Mucke qualified a brilliant 3rd overall despite having done very little mileage in the Lola LMP1 car. Along with his team mate, Jan Charouz, Mucke showed that the Lola LMP1 car is now the quickest of the available customer cars.
From the start, Mucke kept in contention with the Peugeots at the front and opened up a healthy gap to last seasons title winning Pescarolo Judd of Jean Christophe Boullion and Emmanuel Collard.
After the first rounds of pitstops Mucke started to have problems with his clutch and shortly after his first stop was spun off the road at the Rettifilio by Jean Marc Gounon in the works Courage. A further brush with the Pescarolo of Boullion was also endured before Mucke brought the Lola in to the pits for a lengthy stop.
However, despite the delay the team then fought back with Jan Charouz lapping quickly to gain a finish for the Czech team, who have formed a partnership with the British, Jota team this season. For the next race at Valencia the teams third driver, Alex Yoong, will also be on hand.
“I did three hours and I must say that it was quite a big fun,” said Charouz after the race. “I did not feel any problem like tiredness of either myself or the car. There was no chance to catch the front but I enjoyed my first real endurance race. First of all I was happy with the speed of the car. Nobody overtook me during my three hours and I was setting one of the best times. I can not wait Valencia.”

Chamberlain Synergy, also competing again this year in a Lola B06/10-AER LMP1 car were all set for a superb 5th place finish overall, until Gareth Evans left the road at the Parabolica and slightly damaged the rear of the car. Sadly for Gareth and the team, the marshals were unable to get the car back on to the track and their race was run.
Earlier in the race Bob Berridge had made good progress despite a small wastegate problem hampering his progress slightly. But the momentum was still with the Oxfordshire based team and Berridge handed over to Evans with the car in a solid 5th place overall. The bright yellow Lola was a model of consistency with the 2005 LMP2 champions and despite the non finish the team are confident that the extra speed from the 2007 Lola aerodynamic package will put them in contention for further good runs this season.

Valencia 2007-05-06

Qualifying Times

Charouz Racing Qualifying Report

The Skoda Charouz Racing System-Lola/Judd team set seventh time in today's qualification, which means grid row number four in tomorrow's 1000 kilometers of Valencia. Malaysian F1-expilot Alex Yoong drove the car in the qualifying for the second event of the Le Mans Series. The Czech team, entering Lola B07/17 Judd vehicle, is satisfied with this result. Yoong was given he wheel while the fastest pilot of the trio Stefan Muecke had to take off for Silversone (FIA Grand Turismo) and Jan Charouz is less experienced than the Malaysian star.
The car painted in Czech tricolor was flawless, as it had been in previous free practice sessions - the most important piece of information for the team. Tomorrow's race covers 1000 kilometers, with a six-hour time limit, which offers enough room for tactical progress. Resembling the one in Monza, the Valencia line-up is incredibly packed - total of 47 cars of various classes.
Therefore, heavy traffic is likely to cause big problems on the narrow, rugged and just four kilometers short track. The whole lot quicker LMP vehicles will have to make their way trough the multitude of slower Grand Turismo cars. Alex Yoong will kick off tomorrow, Jan Charouz will get hold of the wheel after two hours, and Stefan Muecke will be the last to go - arriving from Silverstone with a special charter flight.
Alex Yoong: "The main point I see in the practice and qualification is that our Lola Judd is perfectly prepared for the race. If I were a bit more familiar with the car, the time could be even better. But I've had the A1 Grand Prix finals and this is my first time with the Skoda Charouz Racing System-Lola/Judd team; I can't expect my performance to be perfect. However, after the race tomorrow, I will be fully prepared for the peak of the season, the 24 hours Le Mans."
Jan Charouz: "Alex was given way in the practice as he is far more experienced than me - and he did great. I, for a change, had my opportunity in the free practice, and I have to say I felt better and better. I was two tenths of a second per lap behind Alex. There's fantastic atmosphere in the team, we get along very well with Alex and Stefan."
Antonín Charouz, team manager: "I'm satisfied. Our fastest pilot Stefan Mucke couldn't enter the qualification as he had his duties in the FIA Grand Turismo race in Silverstone, which gave Alex a chance. He is more experienced than Jan. We didn't want to push it too hard because the race is very long and we know that except the Peugeots in the first row, we can beat anyone."

Qualifying Report

Race Result

Race Report

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Charouz Racing Race Report

Fantastic success for the Czech Skoda Charouz Racing System-Lola/Judd team in the second Le Mans Series race. The team achieved second place absolutely in Valencia with drivers Alex Yoong, Jan Charouz and Stefan Muecke. This result will be a gem in Czech motorsport history. One of the greatest dramas of endurance races offered car-to-car fights till the last minutes of the six-our time limit which has its turn the moment 1000 kilometers can't be covered.
The Czech Lola/Judd B07/17 was kicked off by F1-expilot Alex Yoong, Jan Charouz took over after two hours and the final one hour and forty-five minutes belonged to Stefan Muecke. The 25-year-old German flew to Valencia with a special charter plane from Silverstone, where he raced in the FIA Grand Turismo event earlier in the day.
And Muecke surely didn't put his teammates' performance to shame. He vied for third and fourth position and when one of the Peugeots retired, it suddenly was a fight for silver. Profiting from his five-year DTM experience, Muecke didn't let Joao Barbosa of Rollcentre overtake, which turned out to be the decisive point of the race.
After an unsuccessful manoeuvre, Barbosa lost contact with the Czech Lola; it didn't take long and he flew out of the track and damaged his Pescarolo Judd when trying to overtake one of the slower vehicles. Muecke then secured the great second place behind the winning Peugeot.
Stefan Muecke: "I'm very happy, my flight from England to Spain was worth it. I had to get used to driving our Lola the first twenty minutes as it is quite a difference compared to the Lamborghini Murcielago. Important is that we proved the Lola/Judd is really fast and reliable. I feel great chances for the 24 hours Le Mans in June. There's not much to say about the thing with Barbosa, it was a common racing collision, none of us got hurt in any way."
Alex Yoong: "A wonderful entry in the team. I couldn't drive in Monza because I raced in the A1 Grand Prix - and now such a success. Fabulous. I was in charge of the first two hours of the race, I tried to set even times and avoid collisions. Luckily enough, I succeeded. Can't wait to be in Le Mans."
Jan Charouz: "I had a fantastic drive, mainly in the first of my two hours. Only during the first part of my slice I wore out the tires a bit too much. But then I drove quite quick and steady times and I'm satisfied. The most important thing is that we all managed to achieve such a result. I'm so happy."
Antonin Charouz, team manager: "I'm simply happy, what else can I say? It's a huge success, a fantasy. In the second race of such championship the Czech team finishes second, that's pure joy to me. Stefan's manoeuvre with Barbosa might have been on the edge, but that really is a part of this game."

Horag Racing's Lista Office- and Lista-sponsored Lola B05/40 Judd was in second place in the LMP2 class at the four-hour mark of Sunday's 1,000 Km of Valencia Le Mans Series race at Circuito Ricardo Tormo. About 20 minutes later it had to pit due to engine problems, and unfortunately the Swiss team wasn't able to finish the six-hour race.
Drivers Didier Theys of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Fredy Lienhard of Niederteufen, Switzerland, and Eric van de Poele of Sart-Risbart, Belgium had the car in position for another podium finish various times in the event until the problem reared its head through a misfire. Van de Poele had been running in second place for about 20 laps before the car retired with 166 laps complete.
A change to the car's set-up for qualifying on Saturday didn't work as hoped, putting Theys deep in the field for the start of Sunday's race. The native of Nivelles, Belgium was determined to get the entry back up where it belonged. He flew through the field dramatically and was able to run in second or third place in class during his double stint. The car's fastest lap in the race was a 1:30.367 clocked by Theys during his time behind the wheel.
Lienhard then took over on the tight, twisting 4.750-km (2.951-mile) road course, which opened in September 1999 and was hosting the Le Mans Series for the first time. He kept the car on the same lap as the one that was third at the time, Tim Greaves' Bruichladdich Radical AER, while holding off Thomas Erdos in the RML MG Lola AER that was one lap back.
Van de Poele took over around the three-hour mark. The entry dropped to fifth in LMP2 after the pit stop but four of the top five were nose-to-tail on the scoreboard, and van de Poele was determined to advance. He passed Mike Newton in the RML No. 25 for fourth just six minutes before the three-and-one-half-hour mark. Third place was Greaves, who was one lap ahead at the time, but van de Poele was running faster. The class leader was Juan Barazi in the Barazi-Epsilon Zytek, with Vitaly Petrov second in the Noel Del Bello Courage AER.
Barazi made a lengthy pit stop at that point to knock him down in the standings and vault van de Poele into third just seven minutes after he had taken over fourth. Greaves was still a lap ahead of him in second place, but they both advanced to first and second in class, respectively, when the class leader, Petrov, pitted five minutes before the four-hour mark.
Unfortunately the No. 27's engine was misfiring at that point. Van de Poele keep running in second place in class and ninth overall until he was forced to pit due to the problem about 20 minutes after the four-hour mark. After an inspection, the entry retired.
Despite a great deal of traffic on the tight course with a 46-car field, none of the Horag Racing drivers were involved in any altercations. The only other issue the team dealt with was a headlight that didn't work at one point, but that was solved quickly when they replaced the car's nose during a pit stop.

Theys said afterwards."The engine started to misfire about two hours from the end. We will have to see, but right now it looks like either a valve or a valve seat broke. I ran in second or third during my double stint. Fredy drove very well and was very steady, and gave the car to Eric in good shape. Eric had it up to second, and then the problem occurred. It's unfortunate, because a podium finish was in sight."
Theys qualified tenth in class and 21st overall with a 1:28.843.
"We made a change to the set-up before qualifying that made the car very loose, and we didn't qualify well," he said. "During the race the car was much better.Our Michelin tires were good," he added. "We tried a softer compound in qualifying, but we put the medium compound on during the race and it was as fast as the softer tires. The temperature during the race was about 78 degrees Fahrenheit. We're still missing torque," Theys added. "This is a tight course and you need torque here. There are a lot of turns, and you're in the middle of traffic all the time. There's not a lot of grip to start with."

Event Report

Race Report

Lola again celebrated some superb Le Mans Series results at the second round held at Valencia over the weekend. Charouz Racing System and Swiss Spirit finished second and third overall respectively after a dramatic race which saw the Lola LMP1 sportscar beaten only by the Peugeot diesel of Pedro Lamy and Stephane Sarrazin.
In LMP2, Quifel ASM took another win to kick start their 2007 campaign. The Iberian trio of Miguel Amaral, Angel Burgueno and Miguel Angel De Castro endured several spins on their way to the top step of the podium, but the Lola B05/40’s speed and consistency ensured that the well run team celebrated their fourth LMP2 win since joining the series at the beginning of 2006.

GOOD NEWS AT CHAROUZ!
After a stunning debut at Monza three weeks ago, Charouz Racing System arrived in Valencia with their confidence high for what was still only the teams second ever sportscar race.
The Judd powered Lola B07/17 didn’t skip a beat in Spain and the excellent driving squad of Jan Charouz, Stefan Mucke and Alex Yoong secured second place in the final hour of the 1000kms. It was a tough race though for the Antonin Charouz owned team, as Mucke had to forcibly defend the runner-up position from the Pescarolo Judd of Joao Barbosa.
It proved a hectic weekend for several Lola drivers who were dovetailing the Valencia 1000kms with the Tourist Trophy at Silverstone. Mucke was one of those spending just as much time on a plane as he was on the track over the 3 days.
“I’m very happy, my flight from England to Spain was worth it,” said the breathless German. “ I had to get used to driving our Lola the first twenty minutes as it is quite a difference compared to the Lamborghini Murcielago (he raced at Silverstone). It was important that we proved the Lola/Judd is really fast and reliable. I feel great for our chances at the 24 hours Le Mans in June. There’s not much to say about the thing with Barbosa, it was a common racing collision, none of us got hurt in any way.”
After racing a Lola A1 GP car last weekend at Brands Hatch, Alex Yoong switched to the Lola LMP1 this weekend and did a sterling job in the red, white and blue machine after just a handful of practice laps. Starting the race, the Malaysian drove a perfect stint and handed over to Jan Charouz who again belied his 19 years to consolidate the teams position among the front runners.
“It’s a huge success, a fantasy,” said Jan’s father Antonin Charouz. “In the second race of the championship the Czech team finishes second, that’s pure joy to me. Stefan’s manoeuvre with Barbosa might have been on the edge, but that really is a part of this game.”

SWISS SUCCESS FOR LOLA-AUDI
All eyes were on the much talked about Swiss Spirit Lola-Audi in Valencia and the new combination did not disappoint, as they scored a sensational third place on their track debut.
The Fred Stalder run operation had only tested the car for the first time two weeks ago, yet the combination of Lola chassis and Audi engine proved capable of hitting the ground running and securing a podium position.
Just like Stefan Mucke, Jean Denis Deletraz, the man who put together this ambitious project, was also commuting between Valencia and Silverstone, but the experienced Swiss racer was delighted as he climbed the podium in Spain, saying: “The team has worked day and night to achieve this. The car was in perfect condition, really nice to drive. Stefan (Mucke) and I travelled here together from Silverstone and he got straight into the car. I preferred to wait, but I drove a full stint at the end.”
Marcel Fassler and Iradj Alexander also showed that as well as the right technical tools, the team also have a great driver line-up, with the highly rated Fassler starting the race brilliantly and the new to LMP racing, Alexander, committing himself admirably with an assured performance. The Lola also showed its strength after surviving two hits from other cars and a puncture in the opening exchanges.
“The car was really competitive at the end of the stints and we’re on the podium already,” said a delighted Fassler.
With a long history of working successfully with major manufacturers such as GM, Nissan and MG, Lola Cars International is again proving that when it comes to sportscar design and construction, they are the leaders when it comes to getting results on the track.

CHAMBERLAIN SYNERGY SAVOUR RACE FINISH
Lola’s first ever LMP1 customer, Chamberlain Synergy, scored a pleasing 6th place finish in Spain.
The Oxford based team, who took the 2005 LMP2 title for Gareth Evans, struggled in the early stages of the race with the fearless Bob Berridge trying in vain to catch the leading LMP1 group on his soft Dunlop shod Lola B06/10.
Peter Owen and Gareth Evans enjoyed their stints at the wheel of the AER turbo powered yellow Lola to secure 19th position overall but more importantly their first points on the board for 6th in class.
The Hugh Chamberlain headed team now prepare for the Le Mans 24 Hours where they have competed in the last two years in both LMP2 and LMP1 Lola’s.

HOME DELIGHT FOR QUIFEL ASM
Fighting back from losing the LMP2 lead at Monza last month, the Quifel ASM team took an authoritative class win at what was their home event.
Based in Portugal but with several Spanish staff, including drivers Miguel De Castro and Angel Burgueno, the team were effectively racing at home in Valencia. Taking a competitive third place on the LMP2 grid, the AER turbo powered Lola B05/40 was started in the race by De Castro, and the former British F3 racer did his usual solid job, taking the class lead after the first round of pit stops and even surviving a gravelly moment after contact with the Vergers driven Barazi Zytek.
From the mid point of the race Miguel Amaral took over, and again, despite a spin which brought out the only safety car of the race, the ever improving Portuguese driver handed the car over to Burgueno who calmly took the car to the chequered flag two laps ahead of the Saulnier Courage.
“It was a tough race and there were plenty of incidents but we kept our car running at a pace and due to the lack of luck of our competitions we won,” said a delighted Amaral. Amaral also confirmed at Valencia that Warren Hughes will once again join the team for the Le Mans 24 Hours next month.

TOUGH LUCK FOR OTHER LOLA RUNNERS
Binnie Motorsports, RML and Horag Racing suffered misfortune at Valencia after showing considerable promise in qualifying and in the early stages of the race.
RML had set a scorching LMP2 pace during testing and qualifying, lining up 2nd on the LMP2 grid, just three tenths of a second from the pole sitting Zytek.
After Michael Vergers went off during the opening lap in the Zytek, Tommy Erdos took over at the front was comfortably leading in LMP2 and in 7th place overall before the pit stop shake ups began.
Sadly for the team, the first of several problems began at this stop with a new battery needed. The Wellingborough based team then took the opportunity to change drivers with Mike Newton stepping aboard.
Binnie Motorsports were hoping to consolidate their strong start to the year after finishing 3rd at Monza in the first round of the series last month. However, despite showing encouraging pace in qualifying with Chris Buncombe, Bill Binnie and Allen Timpany, the team were forced to pack up early when a clutch problem forced them to stop in the pits.
Monza LMP2 victors, Horag Racing also succumbed to engine woes in Valencia. But Fredy Leinhard, Didier Theys and Eric Van De Poele still sit in joint third place in the points standings with four rounds still to go.

NürburgRing 2007

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Race Result

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Spa 2007-08-19

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Silverstone 2007

Qualifying Times

Race Result

Race Report

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Interlagos 2007

Qualifying Times