Analysis

Planetlemans analyzes the LMS season - LMP2

© Planetlemans - Gabriel Portos

A hardly fought championship with a somehow polemic ending brought the LMP2 class a few steps up this year in the Le Mans Series. Unlike the ALMS, the European championship is fully populated by privateer or small constructor's teams which allows for a variety of chassis-engine combinations and different winners. This year the Lola emerged again as the top chassis with the two first spots in the championship after 4 wins but the Zytek tub was very impressive despite its lack of reliability early in the season.

© Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat

RML were deserved champions, the regularity and pace of Tommy Erdos and Mike Newton combined with a rock solid team/car package saw the British team clinch the title after the Silverstone round when Planetlemans confirmed Quifel ASM (their only title rivals at that point) was not going to make the trip to the Interlagos round.

A strange race at Monza with attrition and mechanical problems saw a solid victory by the only trouble-free team that day: Horag Racing. The Swiss team had basically got the car out of the ship that brought it back from Sebring and raced…getting the best possible result. A fuel leak issue however had deprived the scarcely populated garndstands to see the class polesitter in action and the Barazi Zytek could not start the race to the disappointment of the team. A very important second position from RML and a third for Binnie completed a full Lola podium at the opening race.

An early excursion on the gravel by Michael Vergers on the Barazi Zytek was another blow for the hopes of the Gulf-liveried team which nevertheless collected their first points of the year, even if not within the top 3. A race full of incidents in the twisty Valencian track saw Quifel ASM take an unbelievable win after three incidents that saw them off-track and with long pit stops. A brilliant drive by Angel Burgueño was the final touch for a tough race, Saulnier and Bruichladdich Radical completed a podium that had been inverted in second and third positions with a couple of minutes to go. Kruse was fourth (same result as in Monza0 in what would be their last finish of the season.

© Planetlemans - Gabriel Portos

Nürburgring and Spa would see RML surge in the championship after two clear victories. A mistake by a quicker Barazi team in Germany meant the Zytek could only get second, first podium of the season which tasted like more. In Spa their race would be ruined when Juan Barazi was rammed from behind in lap 2 losing time and also ruining the car setup. Quifel ASM third and second respectively in strong performances but a bit off the pace. They remained strongly in contention for the title, Horag losing too much ground despite a good third place at Spa and Saulnier very regular finishin in the points but too far behind to get closer to the top teams.

The race in Silverstone was a cracker thanks to the last minute addition of LNT hiring a Zytek and showing that with the right mount, Danny Watts and Tom Kimber-Smith were ready to give anyone a race for their money. Challenging everyone but the peugeots, the blue Zytek saw their race compromised by a failing alternator and , in the end, only managed second behind an exhilarating Barazi Zytek team which celebrated loudly their so much awaited first victory of the season. A Zytek 1-2 with Quifel ASM in third, although complaining of the stewards' decision of having them change their louvers, could they have won and set the title on fire?

© Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat

The fourth position for RML was key to give them the championship since attendance to Interlagos would turn the Brazilian round into a half-points race. With no opposition except Embassy, Barazi grabbed another win at the paulista track to the delight of Barazi, vergers and Karim Ojjeh. Embassy was probably on of the teams with worst luck in the season, the Radical showing still quite some fragility despite a good pace and excellent driving. The lack of results of the works team has opened a quation mark about this car which was so promising when Rollcentre managed it in 2006. let's hope the evolution continues and radical becomes a serious contender for the title in the future.

Binnie and Saulnier collected some points but were never in contention for victories. As Bill Binnie commented earlier to Planetlemans the American team had Le Mans as their (achieved) objective and their package is not ideal for the 1000km races. This might change in 2008 with them looking for a new car, as it will for Saulnier racing which is now an integral part of the pescarolo organization and will race these chassis next year.
A very disappointing season for Pierre Bruneau with a Pilbeam that needs some serious updating or a new version. A phantom appearance by Noel del Bello at Valencia had them leading the race at a certain point but a pit stop that looked like a Marx brothers' scene threw it all away. The team did not return to the tracks after June. A final mention for T2M and Ranieri Randaccio: the Japanese-French team had extremely low performance and it was way below the acceptable level of speed and reliability. The Italian team still struggling with their historical mechanical woes, probably a more "standard" engine would help to get them to finish races.

With the Porsche Spyder making its appearance in 2008 and the souring popularity of the class we should see another strong racing season next year. LMP2 in the LMS is healthy, evolving and puts up a good show, continuing this momentum should not be that difficult.

gabriel@planetlemans.com