Monday
Review
First
Session
The
public viewing areas at Paul Ricard are restricted
to the final five corners, from the Double
Droite at Beausset through to the pit straight,
and a small "crowd" of spectators
had been allowed in to witness the year's
first major Le Mans test. It was back to work
on Monday, and the banking and grandstands
were conspicuously empty. Out on track, however,
it remained pretty hectic. Conditions had
not improved overnight, and Monday's skies
remained heavily overcast, with a bitingly
chill wind cutting down between the mountains.
It wasn't perfect for testing, by any means,
but most teams persevered, including RML AD
Group.
The
day's first session got under way at nine,
with a dozen cars eager to get out onto the
cold, but dry track. The RML AD Group's Lola
HPD would complete an impressive 65 untroubled
laps during the next four hours, with all
three drivers taking turns in the cockpit.
Track temperatures remained close to freezing,
and it was proving just as difficult to generate
heat in the tyres as it had on Sunday. "The
track conditions have been changing all day,
and that’s made it subtly different
for each of the drivers, and that in itself
has added to the challenge," said Phil
Barker.
Only
the softer compounds were offering any realistic
levels of grip, but even then it was proving
a struggle for many drivers to stay on the
black sections of tarmac. Thankfully, the
multi-coloured run-off at Paul Ricard is very
forgiving and few errors resulted in any serious
embarrassment.
The
trend established on Sunday was perpetuated
in LMP2, with the same three front-runners
battling it out for the quickest lap. In the
end, it was Strakka Racing's ARX-01c (formerly
Acura) chassis that topped the times, in the
hands of Danny Watts, with Thomas Erdos claiming
second place, ahead of the Quifel ASM Ginetta
Zytek.
First Session LMP2 times
|
No. |
T |
Team |
Drivers |
Car |
Session
1 |
1 |
42 |
M |
Strakka
Racing |
Leventis, Watts, Kane |
HPD
ARX-01 |
1:46.174 |
2 |
25 |
D |
RML |
Erdos, Newton, Wallace |
Lola
HPD Coupé |
1:47.808
|
3 |
40 |
D |
Quifel-ASM
Team |
Amaral, Pla, Hughes |
Ginetta-Zytek
09S-Zytek |
1:48.790
|
4 |
35 |
D |
Oak
Racing |
Lahaye, Moreau |
Pescarolo-Judd |
1:49.061
|
5 |
24 |
D |
Oak
Racing |
Hein, Nicolet |
Pescarolo-Judd |
1:49.715
|
6 |
30 |
P |
Racing
Box |
Pirri, Villarroel |
Lola
B09 Coupé-Judd |
1:50.345
|
7 |
29 |
P |
Racing
Box |
Perazzini, Cioci |
Lola
B09 Coupé-Judd |
1:50.858 |
8 |
41 |
D |
Team
Bruichladdich |
Oijeh, Greaves, Ebbesvik |
Ginetta-Zytek
09S-Zytek |
1:51.706
|
9 |
39 |
D |
KSM |
Pourtales,
Hirschi, Lemeret |
Lola
B08/47-Judd |
1:53.094
|
10 |
44 |
M |
DAMS |
Bermond, Pantiatici, Stirling |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:54.432 |
11 |
49 |
M |
Applewood
Seven |
Toulemonde,Capillaire, Bourgois |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:56.009
|
12 |
48 |
M |
Hope
Polevision |
Beche, Pillon |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:56.030 |
13 |
47 |
M |
Hope
Polevision |
Zacchia |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:56.931 |
14 |
43 |
M |
DAMS |
Chalandon, Barlesi
Cicognani, Vanthoor |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:57.011 |
15 |
46 |
M |
JMB
Racing |
Kutemann, Basso |
Formula
Le Mans |
2:00.250 |
- |
45 |
M |
Boutsen
ER |
Kraihamer, De Crem |
Formula
Le Mans |
No
Time |
- |
27 |
D |
Race
Performance |
Frey, Meichtry |
Radical
SR9 -Judd |
No
Time |
Fastest
overall in Session 3 was again the #6 Oreca
Matmut AIM, posting 1:43.310 to stand half
a second clear of its team-mate, the #4 Team
Oreca Peugeot. In GT1, the #70 Ford GT emerged
fastest, while topping the timing screens
in GT2 was the #75 Prospeed Competition Porsche.
Second
Session
The
day's afternoon session continued in much
the vein, but with some subtle minor changes.
Throughout most of the session the #42 Strakka
Racing HPD held the edge (even assuming that
times are significant this weekend) in LMP2,
but Tommy moved the RML Lola to within a tenth
of Danny Watt's best lap. The #40 Quifel ASM
Ginetta Zytek stood third for almost the entire
period, until the dying moments. In a determined
push to top the charts, the grey and blue
car emerged just before five o'clock, one
assumes on a light fuel load and very soft
compound tyres, to post the #40's best lap
of the day by some margin. Warren Hughes -
or was it Olivier Pla? - took the chequered
flag in 1:46.584.
In
LMP1, the #6 Team Oreca AIM (right) retained
the top slot that the plain black (unpainted)
car has occupied all weekend, but second and
third fell to the two Rebellion Lolas, with
the Signature Plus Aston fourth.
In
GT1 it was all-change again, with the #61Matech
Ford GT quickest this time, while GT2 fell
to the #91 CRS Racing Ferrari.
Throughout
this two-day test, conditions on the track
have been far from ideal, and with each team
running to its own agenda, little should really
be read into laptimes. The true test of whether
this has been a meaningful exercise will come
in a month's time, when most of the teams
present this weekend will return to Le Castellet
for the opening round of the 2010 Le Mans
Series. Only then will lap times really make
a difference, and only then will we know just
how tight this year's championship is going
to be.
For
RML, this has been the team's first run on
Dunlop tyres, and with the new HPD LM-V8 engine.
In that light, to be consistently second or
third, and within touching distance of last
year's champions, has to be a very encouraging
start to their campaign. The test has allowed
the team to learn a vast amount about the
new car, and the confidence generated by the
original shakedown test a fortnight ago appears
to have been fully justified. Mike Newton,
Thomas Erdos and Andy Wallace can certainly
look forward to the Paul Ricard 8 Hours with
some optimism.
For
a roundup of the weekend, including views
and comments from drivers and team personnel,
please see the Weekend
Review.
Second
Session LMP2 times
|
No. |
T |
Team |
Drivers |
Car |
Session
2 |
1 |
40 |
D |
Quifel-ASM
Team |
Amaral, Pla, Hughes |
Ginetta-Zytek
09S-Zytek |
1:46.584
|
1 |
42 |
M |
Strakka
Racing |
Leventis, Watts, Kane |
HPD
ARX-01 |
1:47.239 |
2 |
25 |
D |
RML |
Erdos, Newton, Wallace |
Lola
HPD Coupé |
1:47.313
|
4 |
30 |
P |
Racing
Box |
Pirri, Villarroel |
Lola
B09 Coupé-Judd |
1:49.063
|
5 |
29 |
P |
Racing
Box |
Perazzini, Cioci |
Lola
B09 Coupé-Judd |
1:49.335 |
4 |
35 |
D |
Oak
Racing |
Lahaye, Moreau |
Pescarolo-Judd |
1:49.769
|
5 |
24 |
D |
Oak
Racing |
Hein, Nicolet |
Pescarolo-Judd |
1:50.233
|
8 |
41 |
D |
Team
Bruichladdich |
Oijeh, Greaves, Ebbesvik |
Ginetta-Zytek
09S-Zytek |
1:50.403
|
9 |
39 |
D |
KSM |
Pourtales,
Hirschi, Lemeret |
Lola
B08/47-Judd |
1:52.198
|
10 |
48 |
M |
Hope
Polevision |
Beche, Pillon |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:54.253 |
11 |
44 |
M |
DAMS |
Bermond, Pantiatici, Stirling |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:55.085 |
12 |
49 |
M |
Applewood
Seven |
Toulemonde,Capillaire, Bourgois |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:55.643
|
13 |
43 |
M |
DAMS |
Chalandon, Barlesi
Cicognani, Vanthoor |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:56.075 |
14 |
46 |
M |
JMB
Racing |
Kutemann, Basso |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:56.578 |
15 |
47 |
M |
Hope
Polevision |
Zacchia |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:57.243 |
- |
45 |
M |
Boutsen
ER |
Kraihamer, De Crem |
Formula
Le Mans |
No
Time |
- |
27 |
D |
Race
Performance |
Frey, Meichtry |
Radical
SR9 -Judd |
No
Time |
Conclusions
Whether
it was Olivier Pla or Warren Hughes who completed
that qualifying run in the dying moments of
the final session is largely of academic interest.
Like all the times from the two-day test,
that last-gasp run, impressive as it was,
may prove to have little bearing on what happens
when the teams return to Ricard in a month's
time. Even so, it was still not the overall
best for the class. That honour fell to Danny
Watts (see table below) and, having set fastest
time in three out of the five sessions, it
looks as though Strakka Racing will be one
of the front runners this season.
Aiming
to match them will be Tommy, Mike and Andy
in the RML Lola HPD, with Wellingborough's
finest claiming the "blue riband"
for establishing the highest straight-line
speed along the Mistral. The sleek coupé
set a best of 291 kph for LMP2, equivalent
to just over 180 miles an hour, and was the
only LMP2 runner to break the 190 mark.
If
there are any surprises to draw from the weekend,
it is the gap that appears to exist between
the top three and the rest, although several
of these others are in the throes of incorporating
updates and changes that may have curtailed
their running. The Bruichladdich Ginetta Zytek
(far right) is one that might have
been expected to be further up the chart,
but only recently took delivery of the package
that will update the car from 07 to 09 specification.
Similarly, KSM (right) carried out
only one brief run at an airfield with their
Lola Judd before arriving at Paul Ricard,
but can be expected to increase their pace
once they've developed a closer understanding
of the revised chassis-engine combination.
In
common with KSM, the two Oak Pescarolos (right)
have swapped Mazda AER power for Judd V8 this
season (although still carry Mazda branding)
and barely a whisker separates the French
#24 and #35 entries from the similarly engined
Racing Box Lolas from Italy. All four ran
strongly for most of the weekend, which cannot,
unfortunately, be said of the Race Performance
Radical SR9 (lower right). After
technical problems arose, the black and orange
car did not take part in any of Monday's sessions.
The
experiment of running the Formula Le Mans
cars within LMP2 came off better than expected.
There is little doubt that, given a talented
and race-aware driver, these stock Oreca-built
machines offer a very competitive, cost-effective
platform for teams to become involved in Le
Mans style racing. They certainly look the
part - almost too much so (right)
according to some of the Series' regular competitors
- but there did appear to be a broad spectrum
of capabilities on display from some of the
drivers.
The
first real test will come in the States later
this month, when five of these cars are entered
for the Sebring 12 Hours within the new Le
Mans Prototype Challenge class, or LMPC. While
many of the FLM drivers taking part in the
Paul Ricard test were young and relatively
inexperienced, there are some well-known names
participating in LMPC at Sebring, including
Christophe Bouchut, Gunnar Jeanette, Elton
Julian and a certain Andy Wallace. The race
takes place on March 20th.
Best
LMP2 times from all five sessions
The
table below provides a compilation of the
best times set in any of the five Paul Ricard
test sessions, from Sunday 1 (morning), 2
(afternoon) or 3 (night), through to Monday
1 (morning) or 2 (afternoon).
|
No. |
T |
Team |
Drivers |
Car |
Best |
Session |
1 |
42 |
M |
Strakka
Racing |
Leventis, Watts, Kane |
HPD
ARX-01 |
1:46.174 |
Monday 1 |
2 |
40 |
D |
Quifel-ASM
Team |
Amaral, Pla, Hughes |
Ginetta-Zytek
09S-Zytek |
1:46.584 |
Monday
2 |
3 |
25 |
D |
RML |
Erdos, Newton, Wallace |
Lola
HPD Coupé |
1:47.313 |
Monday
2 |
4 |
35 |
D |
Oak
Racing |
Lahaye, Moreau |
Pescarolo-Judd |
1:49.061 |
Monday
1 |
5 |
30 |
P |
Racing
Box |
Piccini, Piccini, Villarroel, Geri |
Lola
B09 Coupé-Judd |
1:49.063 |
Monday
2 |
6 |
29 |
P |
Racing
Box |
Perazzini, Cioci, Pirri |
Lola
B09 Coupé-Judd |
1:49.335 |
Monday
2 |
7 |
24 |
D |
Oak
Racing |
Hein, Nicolet |
Pescarolo-Judd |
1:49.715 |
Monday
2 |
8 |
41 |
D |
Team
Bruichladdich |
Oijeh, Greaves, Ebbesvik |
Ginetta-Zytek
09S-Zytek |
1:50.063 |
Sunday
2 |
9 |
39 |
D |
KSM |
Pourtales,
Hirschi, Lemeret, Noda, Hummel |
Lola
B08/47-Judd |
1:52.198 |
Monday
2 |
10 |
27 |
D |
Race
Performance |
Frey, Meichtry |
Radical
SR9 -Judd |
1:53.798 |
Sunday
2 |
11 |
48 |
M |
Hope
Polevision |
Beche, Pillon |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:54.253 |
Monday
2 |
12 |
45 |
M |
Boutsen
ER |
Kraihamer, De Crem, Lenzenverger, Leclerc |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:54.352 |
Sunday
1 |
13 |
44 |
M |
DAMS |
Bermond, Pantiatici, Stirling |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:54.432 |
Monday 1 |
14 |
43 |
M |
DAMS |
Chalandon, Barlesi
Cicognani, Vanthoor |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:55.092 |
Sunday
2 |
15 |
49 |
M |
Applewood
Seven |
Toulemonde,Capillaire, Bourgois |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:55.643 |
Monday
2 |
16 |
46 |
M |
JMB
Racing |
Kutemann, Basso, Hartshorne, Rosier,
Quiniou |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:56.578 |
Monday
2 |
17 |
47 |
M |
Hope
Polevision |
Zacchia, Tinguely, Lombard, Collier |
Formula
Le Mans |
1:56.931 |
Monday 1 |
For
high resolution images from the two day test,
please visit the gallery
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Le
Mans Series 2010
ACO
Official Test
March 8th 2010
Monday Test
“The
RML Lola sounds,
feels and handles like
a highly developed piece
of technical engineering.
It’s just a lovely car
to drive.”
Andy
Wallace
"This
is our first full test
on Dunlop’s slick tyres,
and to be as competitive as this is simply
excellent."
Tommy
Erdos
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