Le Mans Series

Swiss Spirit in top 5 in qualifying

© Planetlemans

Marcel Fässler and Swiss Spirit set fifth fastest time in today’s qualifying session for the 1000kms of Donington, the fourth round of the 2006 Le Mans Series. It was another impressive performance by the newly formed endurance team, currently lying second in the championship, and things are looking positive for a strong race performance tomorrow.
Thirty-year-old Swiss driver Marcel Fässler continued with his qualifying duties and was on a hot lap at the start of the session when he spun over a wet kerb at MacLeans. Marcel managed to rejoin the session but was held in traffic – notably behind the Lister – and lost three laps and tyre temperature before he could find a clear lap, setting fifth fastest time (1min21.256sec).
Swiss Spirit Team Manager Serge Saulnier said: “Marcel was delighted with the balance of the car before qualifying and I was hoping for a better position on the grid. We had the speed for a top two or three position. Unfortunately, Marcel spun on his second lap, managed to rejoin the track, but then he was stuck in traffic. We have three or four tenths in the car and it would have been great to show our true potential today. At the end of the day, it will make little difference in the race tomorrow… Traffic will be a big issue and the race will also be tough on brakes. We have a competitive pace and if we do not have any drama, Marcel and Harold should be on the podium tomorrow night.”

Marcel Fässler added: “I tried to push as hard as possible early in qualifying. Unfortunately, I went too wide into MacLeans on my second lap - the track was still wet after the kerb and I spun. Thankfully, I did not touch anything, restarted the car and rejoined the session. I tried to heat up the tyres again but I was caught in traffic for one lap and I was forced to lift off. I am sure we could have gone a few tenths quicker had the tyres been up to temperature. The spin is my mistake and I am sorry for the team as we could have been on the first two rows of the grid. The balance of the car was great today, the best we have had all season, and I would like to thank the team for the progress they made on the car this summer.”

Fässler’s team-mate Harold Primat concluded: “I started the first session this morning as I know the track quite well and we concentrated on a basic set-up with the team. Marcel drove towards the end and did the fine tuning. We don’t have much track time before qualifying so it is important to work quickly with the team and take the right options. We improved the car and we were always running between the top two and top five positions at any time which is good. During the second 90-minute practice session the track was drying and it looked like the weather would stay like that for the qualifying session. Marcel and I continued to improve the balance of the car in the dry. Tomorrow will be a difficult race: we don’t know what the weather will do, it should be dry but we might end up with changeable or wet weather conditions which will have a big impact on the outcome of the race. We have a good set-up for all weather conditions so we are looking good and if we set consistent lap times and stay out of trouble in the heavy traffic, we have the package to score a good result for the team and consolidate our second place in the championship.”