2009 24 Hours of Le Mans, LMS and ALMS news

[LeonOfTheDead]

Originally Posted by Wouter Melissen

I have asked around and it seems I will have to eat my words ... on the Maseratis ...

I'll ask for further info from the inside.
They seem fully committed on the 2010 GT championship, the 4th car could be the one bought by Team Goh, while the other three cars would be those of this year (#33 owned directly by Bartels, for the record).

I don't think they have already cleared how the equalizing will work, but since they weren't going to enter the 2010 champ without a decent pace, I guess they had some sort of good news.

[Wouter Melissen]

My info is from the horse's mouth.

[Dino Scuderia]

Originally Posted by LeonOfTheDead

I'll ask for further info from the inside.
They seem fully committed on the 2010 GT championship, the 4th car could be the one bought by Team Goh, while the other three cars would be those of this year (#33 owned directly by Bartels, for the record).

I don't think they have already cleared how the equalizing will work, but since they weren't going to enter the 2010 champ without a decent pace, I guess they had some sort of good news.

While you're there find out why we aren't seeing more 599xx's.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Originally Posted by Wouter Melissen

My info is from the horse's mouth.

We'll ask to him too .

Originally Posted by Dino Scuderia

While you're there find out why we aren't seeing more 599xx's.

That's another interesting fact. The problem with Ferrari is that lately they are releasing a lot of cars which are not production ready, and that still need at least half a year or more to be produced out of the prototypes assembly line.

It was the case with the California and once again with the 458. Back in 2004, when the F430 was unveiled it was a completed project, and so the F430 Spider. The 599 already suffered a bit of delay compared to previous cars.

The 599XX was all but ready, a lot of work both about aerodynamics and mechanics was still to be implemented. It was more of a concept car, looking for contracts.
Unfortunately after my folk switched to Maserati, few info about Ferrari are coming out, as the two companies are more and more separated.
Just consider that if Maserai would like to use Fiorano for testing, it has to pay 1.600 € a day to Ferrari. Now they are much more tied with Fiat, unfortunately.
it isn't because of the quality or components, but for the method of work. Fiat is about mass produced cars, massive components sharing and relatively small margins on a lot of cars. Maserati is quite far from that, and even more, in the last few years, after Ferrari's acquisition, they were used to think as a small company, like Ferrari, just selling 3-4 times the cars.
Their main issue is now switching again the way they have to work, and it's quite difficult, as a lot of people was kept at Maranello by Ferrari after the "separation", and Turin is quite far from Modena, psychologically I mean.

Digressing, I'll see what I can find.

[Wouter Melissen]

I think we have two different horses. Happy birthday by the way...

[LeonOfTheDead]

Originally Posted by Wouter Melissen

I think we have two different horses. Happy birthday by the way...

thanks.

[RacingManiac]

autosport.com - LMS News: Drayson on Asian Le Mans Series pole

Thats a surprise I think....considering how many "works" teams are there, and diesel as well in the form of the private R10s...

[frischtr]

Originally Posted by RacingManiac

autosport.com - LMS News: Drayson on Asian Le Mans Series pole

Thats a surprise I think....considering how many "works" teams are there, and diesel as well in the form of the private R10s...

Funny how they mention learning a lot at Laguna Seca, but they were off the track numerous times during practice, and crashed out on lap 2 of the race. I was disappointed at Laguna, I love that car and only got to see it race 1.5 laps...

Regardless, congrats to the team.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Originally Posted by frischtr

Funny how they mention learning a lot at Laguna Seca, but they were off the track numerous times during practice, and crashed out on lap 2 of the race. I was disappointed at Laguna, I love that car and only got to see it race 1.5 laps...

Regardless, congrats to the team.

possibly they learned exactly what not to do

[henk4]

Originally Posted by RacingManiac

autosport.com - LMS News: Drayson on Asian Le Mans Series pole

Thats a surprise I think....considering how many "works" teams are there, and diesel as well in the form of the private R10s...

Well it is the first LMP1 Lols Coupe that runs with real race engine, which questions the wisdom of AMR decisions to go for the sportscar engine.
The Kolles Audi Diesels in LMS this year where pathetic in the beginning and found some pace during the season but were never a factor to be reckoned with.

[Wouter Melissen]

Pescarolo won race 1 in P1 and P2, while the M3 beat the Works Porsches:

There were four different leaders in the top category, fantastic battles at every level, sudden twists and suspense! At the end of this grande premiere, the Pescarolo prototypes scored a double, first of all in LM P1 with Christophe Tinseau and Shinji Nakano and also in LM P2 for the Oak Racing team.

Just a few details finally decided the outcome of the race. The Lola-Judd that led initially ran into headlight problems. Slightly overlong pit stops for the Oreca that took up the running spoiled its victory chances. The Lola-Aston Martin had a problem with its front bonnet, and lost first place only 10 minutes from the end. Finally, the win went to the fourth leader, the Pescarolo-Judd entered by Sora Competition. None of the company’s top brass was there to see it! Drivers Christophe Tinseau and Shinji Nakano, plus a technical squad made up of French and Japanese personnel bagged the win much to the delight of team principal, Claude Gallopin.

The first-ever Asian Le Mans Series race got under way at 12h30 in blazing sunshine in front of a large crowd. Pole setter Johnny Cocker in his Lola-Judd coupe did not make any mistakes, shot into the lead and began to open up a gap helped by his soft tyres. After 5 laps, he was already 4 seconds in front of Nicolas Lapierre in the Oreca-AIM who was followed by Mücke’s Lola-Aston Martin, Tinseau’s Pescarolo-Judd and the 2 Audi R10s in the hands of Albers and Jarvis. By lap 8, the leaders had already caught the back markers and the gaps closed. The first three were covered by under a second!

First upset on lap 21 when the Lola-Judd coupe that had led for the first 20 laps ran into a mechanical problem and pitted, as Race Control demanded that the defective lights be changed. This stop ruined the chances of the green car, which rejoined well behind the new leaders. Now in front was Lapierre with Mücke breathing down his neck closely followed by Christophe Tinseau. The race was developing into a real thriller with 3 seconds covering the leading trio followed by Albers and Jarvis in their Audis just in front of the LM P2 leader, Lahaye’s Pescarolo-Mazda.
In LM GT1, Tsuchiya in his Aston Martin DBR9, who had started from the back of the grid, was now in first place ahead of the Saleen in the hands of Bervillé and Yogo’s Lamborghini. In LM GT2, Marc Lieb’s Porsche and Dirk Muller in the BMW M3 were at it hammer and tongs for the lead and rubbed flanks on lap 32!

As the opening salvo of refuelling stops began (lap 40), Harold Primat rejoined in the lead after taking over the Lola-Aston from Mücke. He was just in front of the first leader, Lapierre, who remained at the wheel of the Oreca-AIM and Shinji Nakano in the Pescarolo who fell back a little. Lapierre closed the gap to Primat, but at half distance the Lola-Aston in Gulf colours was still in front – just ! The Oreca-AIM seemed to be playing a waiting game. Behind the battle for the overall lead, another one was going on that was just as intense. Dirk Muller had taken first place in the LM GT2 category, which Tom Milner, who relayed him, promptly lost to Henzler who was now in the blue Felbermayr Porsche. The leading Lola-Aston Martin opened the second round of refuelling stops with 63 minutes to go to the finish. Stefan Mücke rejoined a lap down on the Oreca and the Pescarolo. When they stopped in turn, the British car retook the lead. The Pescarolo went back out in second spot ahead of the Oreca, which had lost first then second places during its two stops.

Second major upset on lap 116 (11 minutes to go to the finish). The Lola-Aston Martin, which had opened up a slight gap, came in for a splash & dash. It suddenly pitted again to have the right-hand front louvers replaced losing third place in the process. The Pescarolo then went into the lead under 3 seconds in front of the Oreca., and at the flag the 2 French cars were separated by just over 6 seconds. There were a number of twists in the other categories as well. In LM GT1, Carlo van Dame stuck the Larbre Competition Saleen in a gravel trap handing victory to the JLOC Lamborghini driven by Yogo-Iiri. In LM GT2, the Rahal-Letterman Racing BMW emerged victorious in its no-holds-barred battle with the Felbermayr-Proton Porsche. In LM P2, the Oak Racing Pescarolo-Mazda scored an unchallenged victory leading from start to finish.

[Wouter Melissen]

Aston Martin Racing won the second race. Sora Pescarolo Sport is the first Asian Le Mans Series champion:

The Lola-Aston Martin is a car that has been designed with the long straights of the Le Mans circuit in mind. But it didn’t have too many problems with the tight corners on the Okayama layout! While Stefan Mücke and Harold Primat dominated the second race, overall victory in the first Asian Le Mans Series went to the Sora Racing Pescarolo thanks to Christophe Tinseau’s and Shinji Nakano’s win on Saturday and second place today.

WITHOUT TOKAI UNIVERSITY. – The sky was dull and conditions were dry: at 9h00 in the morning it obviously cooler than Saturday (21°). The grid line-up was that of qualifying and not according to the classification of the first race. The Tokai University Courage-Oreca was withdrawn, as at the last minute the Japanese engineers discovered that the cylinder head was cracked.

COCKER IN THE LEAD AGAIN. – The opening laps were a repeat of the previous day with Jonny Cocker in his Lola-Judd coupe in the role of the hare. He tried to pull away from Tinseau in the Pescarolo-Judd, Mücke’s Lola-Aston Martin, Lapierre’s Oreca and the two Audi R 10 TDIs driven by Albers and Bakkerud. But in vain. Mücke, who passed Tinseau (8th lap), caught the leading Lola, which he sliced past on lap 14, and quickly opened up a gap over the rest of the field.

THE FORD MK7 STUNS PORSCHE ! – The Felbermayr-Proton Porsche driven by Henzler, 2nd in GT2 on Saturday, stopped out on the circuit due to a mechanical problem. In this category, the surprise came from the Ford MK7 in the hands of David Murry who caught and passed the other Felbermayr Porsche with Holzer at the wheel on lap 30. In GT1, Roland Bervillé’s Saleen entered by Larbre Compétition, which led early on, was soon passed by Tsuchiya’s Aston Martin DBR9. The Japanese driver pulled away. Yamanishi in his Lamborghini also caught the French-entered car, but when he attempted to pass the Saleen, the latter closed the door and the two cars collided.

Before the first round of refuelling stops on lap 39 the positions were as follows:
LM P1 : 1- Mücke (Lola Aston Martin) ; 2- Cocker (Lola Coupé Judd) ; 3- Tinseau (Pescarolo-Judd) ; 4- Lapierre (Oreca-AIM 01), etc. LM P2 : 1- Lahaye (Pescarolo-Mazda) ; 2- Ibanez (Courage AER) ; LM GT1 : 1- Tsuchita (Aston Martin) ; 2- Iiri (Lamborghini), etc. LM GT2 : 1- Murry (Ford GT MK 7) ; 2- Holzer (Porsche 911) ; 3- Müller (BMW).

ORECA’S STROKE OF BAD LUCK . –Just after the refueling stops it looked like there would be a good scrap between Shinji Nakano, who had taken over from Tinseau in the Pescarolo, and Loïc Duval in the Oreca-AIM who had replaced Lapierre. But it didn’t happen. Duval, suddenly slowed and headed for his pit. The mechanics rushed out to change the ECU inside the cockpit behind the driver. Duval set off, braked hard and stopped again. Someone saw that a piece of rubber as big as a banana had gone into an air restrictor on the inlet manifold! It was removed and Duval shot back out, down in sixth place.

THE BMW RUNS INTO TROUBLE: The positions changed in both grand touring categories. Atushi Yogo put the JLOC Lamborghini into the lead in the GT1 category, but Tsuzuki passed him under braking at the end of the pits straight and retook first place in his Aston Martin DBR9. In GT2, the Rahal Letterman Racing BMW was also in the lead taking advantage of the Ford’s mechanical problems, which immobilised the American car at its pit. The BMW was now under threat from the Hankook Ferrari driven by Simonsen and Farnbacher. When the BMW tried to rejoin after refuelling, the starter refused to work. Repairs took 4 laps and dashed the German car’s hopes of victory. Damien Toulemonde was in big trouble in LM P2. He went off damaging the rear of the car, and pitted for repairs. He exceeded the pit lane speed limit (76 km/h) and received a stop & go penalty to add to his woes.

A DODDLE! Up front the Lola-Aston Martin set a searing pace despite a small ECU problem. It was a minute in front of Christophe Tinseau’s Pescarolo, and had a lap in hand over Duval’s Oreca-AIM back up into third place after his stop. The Lola-Judd that had led early on had fallen back to fifth spot sandwiched between the two Audi R10 TDIs driven by Oliver Jarvis and Hideki Noda. The battle between the British and German cars provided a thrilling end to the race. Jonny Cocker was glued to the no.15 Audi’s gearbox and pulled off an audacious passing move in the closing seconds. Mücke took the chequered flag after a dominant drive in his blue and orange Lola-Aston Martin coupe. He finished a minute ahead of the Pescarolo-Judd.

Winners in the other categories
LM P2:Lathaye-Nicolet-Hein: Pescarolo-Mazda
LM GT1: Tsuchiya-Tsuzuki: Aston Martin DBR9
LM GT2: Farnbacher-Simonsen: Ferrari F430 GT