Le Mans Series

LMS Spa 1000KM - LMP2: Who will survive the LMP2 race?

© Planetlemans - Brecht Decancq

After an opening round in Spain in which several LMP2 entries hit trouble thoughts of an old-style ‘attrition battle’ returned to the mind of numerous people. With Le Mans coming up and the Spa-Francorchamps race the final test before the big week we will see what round 2 brings.

At the 1000KM of Catalunya Racing Box made a strong return to the LMP2 category after an abysmal 2008 season. Its two new Judd-powered Lola B08/80s were top of the class in both qualifying and the race, with Matteo Bobbi-Andrea Piccini-Thomas Biagi taking the first win for the Italian team in the Le Mans Series, with team mates Andrea Ceccato-Filippo Francioni-Giacomo Piccini taking pole position in qualifying and third place in the race. This weekend Racing Box hopes to repeat that performance in Belgium by taking another victory and go to Le Mans as one of the candidates for victory.

Team Essex returns to the Le Mans Series with its Porsche RS Spyder this weekend, but on Michelin tyres this time. At the recent test days at Le Mans Bugatti the Danish Porsche posted fast lap times, a possible sign of things to come this weekend. With Collard and Elgaard the team already has two fast drivers while Kristian Poulsen can get more used to the car in racing conditions, without losing too much time per lap.

Three Zyteks will be giving the Racing Box and Team Essex cars a run for their money. Quifel-ASM Team was second in Barcelona and has been right up there with the Porsche RS Spyder in testing so far. Olivier Pla and Miguel Amaral have been consistently quick while the Ginetta-Zytek 09S has already shown to be a reliable car. G.A.C. Racing Team’s Zytek 07S will again have Philipp Peter onboard joining Karim Ojjeh and Claude-Yves Gosselin. At the recent test at Le Mans the team was second fastest behind the Essex Porsche, but in the opening round several other drivers complained about this car. The third Zytek is the Barazi-Epsilon car, the 2006 LMP2 champions returning to the LMS after missing out in Spain. Juan Barazi and Fernando Rees will share duties for the team that is still hoping for a Le Mans entry.

Speedy Racing Team Sebah’s Lola Judd has returned in time after its accident at the Dunlop Chicane whilst testing at Le Mans Bugatti. Under normal circumstances the car should be able to fight for at least a podium finish. Benjamin Leuenberger will return to the car after being loaned out to Spyker Squadron in Barcelona for the race. The Swiss driver hopes to complete his first laps in the race this weekend.

The final Lola B08/80 on the grid will be the RML entry. In the opening round of the season the #25 coupe was one of many to hit trouble. Mike Newton and Tommy Erdos hope to do better in Belgium and stay away from the fuel related engine problems that caused their retirement in Spain.

The only non-coupé Lola on the circuit will be the KSM entry. The Lola B09/86 Mazda of Sini-Marsh-Noda did not finish at Spain, but if the reliability will be any good this car could still give some of the other LMP2s a run for their money.

OAK Racing’s season did not start to well after its promising debut year. A fifth and sixth place for Jacques Nicolet’s team was not what the team and engine supplier Mazda were expecting. The team decided to focus on Barcelona rather than go testing at the Le Mans track.

The Salini WR was one of the highlights at Barcelona when it was actually on the pace for a large part of the weekend, even into the race. Unfortunately the WR hit trouble in the race and dropped down the ranks quickly to finish in a distant 30th place overall.

Bruichladdich-Bruneau…the Radical SR9 was nearly written off by anyone following the LMP2 class after a poor string of results. At Barcelona the car was suddenly back on the pace, albeit partly thanks to other teams’ problems. Nevertheless the Radical stayed out of any serious problems and even secured the win in the Michelin Green X Challenge. For this weekend Nigel Greensall will be replaced by Jonathan Coleman.

Like in Barcelona two Lucchini’s and two Courage LC75s will be entered. Certainly not the fastest cars out on the track several teams had problems in Spain with the Ibanez Racing Service entry. Many in the paddock hope the car will not repeat its performance of stalling and slow driving at Spa. The Pegasus Racing entry is an outsider in case the attrition battle kicks in again…though it needs to find some speed. Two Lucchini’s are entered by Q8 Oils Hache Team and Ranieri Randaccio. Unlike they’ve found something really special these cars are likely to fight at the back of the field, if at all.