Le Mans Series

PSI Experience misses the podium by a fraction

© Planetlemans

Having got within 3 minuscule tenths of a second from pole position in the GT1 class during qualifying for the 1000 Km of Jarama, the PSI Experience team confirmed its excellent end-of-season on Spanish soil, constantly battling it out in the top 4 of the GT1 class. The fruits of a great attack brought about by Jos Menten, Pertti Kuismanen and Markus Palttala.
Having put his name to the qualifying time in the Corvette C6-R, the Flying Dutchman took the start of the season’s final LMS race. And the least one can say is that both the driver and the car were in top form on the dot of midday, as from the first few laps Menten was giving Stéphane Ortelli, Pedro Lamy, Peter Kox and Antonio Garcia a hard time, jauntily leading the GT1 class. A demonstration that lasted some fifteen laps, just before the rear tyres started to lose their performance. "Once the lap times started getting worse I had to let the Saleen go", Jos commented, “and near the end of the stint it was Lamy who burst passed me. It was high time to swap the rubbers."

Even though the PSI Experience team lost a few precious seconds during the first pit-stop, Pertti Kuismanen and Markus Palttala (back from a test session in the USA…the previous evening!) got their teeth into the battle to come back within the top 3 of their class. Not quite as simple in GT1, where the 6 entrants are all tough competitors. At the half-way mark the PSI Corvette C6-R was in 4th spot, slip streaming the other Corvette entered by Luc Alphand’s team. A small mistake made by the latter car allowed Jos Menten, back at the wheel, to win a place.

The second half of the race saw the PSI Experience ‘Vette fight nail and tooth with the Larbre and Modena Aston Martins, the rankings forever changing during the various stops of these cars. And also for Jos Menten to come out victorious from another gruelling battle, this time with the Spaniard Antonio Garcia. At that time the #70 was in 3rd place in GT1. Having done a double stint, the Dutchman handed over the wheel to Pertti Kuismanen, who was taking on the last hour of the race…without being able to resist the pressure from the Modena Aston Martin. "Seeing Jos had been very fast during his second stint, we preferred to adapt our strategy allowing him to spend more time at the wheel and progress up the hierarchy", Markus Palttala, the team spokesperson commented. "Pertti performed a good job during the last hour of the race, but this 4th place has left with a feeling that something was lacking. Having said that, for a first international season with the Corvette, PSI Experience can be pretty happy with the work we accomplished. Good vibes for the following campaign."