Both Le Mans Series offered a lot of spectacle and, above all, surprising results and some preliminary decisions in mastery scores.
Even in the training sessions of the Le Mans Series, it became clear that the projection of the Oreca Peugeot before the gasoline competition from two prototype classes would not be too big - it then Danny Watts in Strakka HPD actually made it to pole position , was then but still surprising. The Peugeot managed to do just to rank 4, behind the two Lola-Rebellion, the downforce-producing chassis to fit the tight Hungaroring as good as anywhere else
Watts was at the start of a chance against the big LMP1 machine, was well aware of this and made room. He sorted a ranked 4 and conversed with. Before him, however, dueled for the first half of the race of each Peugeot driver first with Andrea Belicchi, then with Jean-Christophe Boullion. The lower diesel consumption gave the Oreca team over time a greater leadership, some errors in the rebellion were pilots on how much it even when wrangling over many rounds and slip on the slippery asphalt was because of the heat.
Then slammed in about two thirds of the race that the defect devil, both in the Rebellion # 13 and the Peugeot - who at this time had been round lead - went on strike almost simultaneously, the transmission may also play the heat a role, such as in the Orecas the Formula Le Mans class, which turned out nearly closed.
Since the second rebellion, Lola, and the signature Aston Martin fell back with problems, Leo and Greg Mansell inherited, watched by father Nigel in the box, the LMP1-leadership - but not the overall lead, as were before them always five or six LMP2 cars. After the Strakka team the stint of relatively slow gentleman driver Nick Leventis (around which the team was ever built only) had survived in the lead, they had the victory to take no more and it was the first overall victory in the Le Mans Series for LMP2 team. Quifel-ASM, Oak, RML, Bruichladdich and Racing Box came with each round distance behind the finish line, only with the Beechdean-Mansell LMP1 Ginetta the winner.
The classes GT1 and Formula Le Mans is hardly worth mentioning: the latter broke away in the course of the race, only the Leader on the Cup car # 43 DAMS (Barlesi / Cicognani / Chalandon) came without any technical problems over the distance. In the GT1 after a very violent crash of the eFX Atlas Saleen, where Carlo van Dam was not injured but was left only the Larbre-Saleen. The Atlas team is probably not the vehicle to build Silverstone again, so is Larbre champion - is now only a single inglorious "race" undeserved for this class.
In GT2, it seemed at first as if the team AF Corse Ferrari F430 and the CRS dominate the weekend. The quality is acknowledged as the top three finishers in the race long and three Ferrari lay ahead. But the darker and colder it got, the stronger the Felbermayr Proton team, and Richard Lietz and Marc Lieb was adopted on lap 154, the leadership and they are no longer hergaben. Andrew Kirkaldy tried everything to get the win for CRS, until shortly before the end, he pursued Lietz partly with only a few tenths of a second distance, but he did not come over and had to break off in the final laps leave.
Rank 3 up behind Patrick Pilet and Raymond Narac with a rather inconspicuous race came only two of the three AF Corse Ferrari finish, Alesi / Fisichella / Vilander ahead of Alvaro Barba Lopez and Alvaro Parente, who in his LMS debut very bravely suggested. Rob Bell and Darren Turner gave it to the fourth rank in Portimao, this time to position 6, could leave after the initial phase of torturing understeer.
The championship Richard Lietz and Marc Lieb is now almost impossible to take 15 points is the lead on Alesi / Fsichella / Vilander, just as many counters are there for the race win, one more can to earn the pole position.
Similarly, the state of affairs in the LMP2 where RML without a win, but thanks to Constance by 13 points ahead. Strakka might be the fastest team, but two failures in only four races the championship chances almost nullified.
Really exciting though is the championship in the premier class, the LMP1 have here at the season finale of the Oreca Peugeot (49 points), the Signature Plus Aston Martin (47), the # 7 Audi R15 (44) and the two Rebellion Lola (43 and 41) nor championship chances. It should be noted, of course, that his at Silverstone the assembled work of competitors from Audi, Peugeot and Aston Martin at the start is - that will at least minimize the chances of Signature and rebellion, the question would be whether the crew of the Oreca Peugeot manages to not more than six points to get less than Audi's top-occupation Capello, McNish and Christensen 7th in the #
American Le Mans Series
The summer is always better for Drayson Racing: first, the finish in Le Mans, then the second place in the ALMS race in Utah, the first pole two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio and take the next pole, again driven out by more and more flourishing Jonny Cocker. Since the Petit Le Mans 2009, so for almost a year, travels with the British team in the LMP1 class, but until now there was always about the reliability or the last bit of luck. So far ...
In the incredibly exciting fuel-thriller from Elkhart Lake's decision two curves fell before the checkered flag, as Klaus Graf in the Cytosport Porsche passed on the way to Canada Corner is not fast enough to the Robertson Ford GT and then failed to front line and with lean fuel mixture optimally could out accelerate out of corners. Cocker takes the opportunity and took over after he had placed twenty minutes before closing its last refueling stop. And so, admitted Drayson Racing from everything there was to win: total victory, pole, fastest lap and victory in the Green Challenge championship of the prototypes. In addition, there may have been the first overall victory for an E85-fueled car in the ALMS.
But from the beginning: First, it was Johnny Mowlem in turbocharged Autocon Lola, who took the lead and was able to keep the whole 23 laps long. The assumptions that are harmonized, but actually yes for LMP2 designed competition could not compete with the smaller engines, the Intersport Lola died early engine failure, and his lordship Paul Draysons honorable task was to be extracted consistently and flawlessly his stint. Because on a track like Road America, where the chaff is separated from the wheat, can not the privateer professionals with full a la Mowlem, Timo Bernhard and Simon Pagenaud compete. Three to four seconds per lap was missing, but this program after all, he reeled up to the middle of the race driver change from error-free and constant. Without the caution periods, it would indeed probably still have been difficult to stay on the lead lap, but the team could make in the case before the driver change.
On lap 23 then strike the Autocon gear, fought in the wake of Chris Dyson, Simon Pagenaud and Timo Bernhard for the lead. The picture changed with the third Caution: Jonny Cocker took the green with the # 8 Lola Draysons residue was leveled to the happiness of the teams of the yellow phase again, so Cocker immediately join the quest could: at the restart after another caution period (due to a curious accident of the GTC Porsche of Bryce Miller) flew the young Briton - by the way, today, 24 years is old! - On the Porsche RS Spyder and the HPD ARX-01c over and took the lead.
Up to six seconds faster he drove Cocker consequence - the long straight before obviously share the LMP1 cars. However, he would still need to insert one more stop. The SpeedTV commentators marveled that he had not done during the last Caution, but the key difference is that Drayson, in contrast to Highcroft, Dyson and CytoSport uses competition to E85 fuel, which means because of the low energy density, a higher consumption . This disadvantage cost the team the victory in Salt Lake City and here again it should be just
Twenty minutes before the end of the box and headed Cocker was in accordance with the high consumption and relatively long. Between two and five seconds later he took on every lap, fought on the Dyson-Lola and the HPD over and hunted Graf in the Porsche. The result is known, then the path looked like this:
The tank was like Cytosport afterwards via Twitter announced that probably is not empty, otherwise it would have hardly managed to count up the mountain, but the combination of scarce fuel and the difficulty of overtaking probably have cost the team the victory. In the championship count has caught up yet three points on Pagenaud and Brabham, the residue is still 20 points. They are theoretically aufholbar, but in the constancy of the Highcroft team for the third place this season, the worst result was, it would at least surprising.
In the GT class it was also running high, but in the end, BMW can not be beat, even if only one of them reached the goal. Bill Auberlen was an early closing time, after on lap 10 with the Flying Lizard Porsche and Scott Tucker, the LMPC championship leader clashed. Tucker and Auberlen hit hard on the throttle a bit in the direction Canada Corner, but both drivers were fine. This raises the question of whether one has not the LMP Challenge race cars with the new restrictor may be somewhat slowed too much. On the long road America, they were just six seconds per lap faster than the GT cars.
Joey Hand and Dirk Müller in the other BMW did not stop, however, and went after a year on the same site the deserved second victory in the ALMS, before Bergmeister / Long and the two Corvettes. The Risi Ferrari less strong: for Melo / Salo and Bruni / Kaffer there was only enough for the class ranks 6 and 7
But strengthening the management of the Flying Lizard duo by 10 to 18 points, Müller / hand have even caught up with Melo / Kaffer. With two races but nothing is decided, for the season finale, the Petit Le Mans, will be awarded 30 points for the win instead of the standard in the shorter race distances 20th
In the LMPC won Gunnar Jeannette and Elton Julian, Jeannette slips thus to within four points to Scott Tucker, who was able to save, thanks to its dual use in both cars Level5 spite of the accident still 13 points for the third class rank.
The GTC class continue to dominate Bleekemolen and Timothy Pappas, after the fourth victory in five races, they now have an advantage was 21 points against Andy Lally, who through the fault of his for the absent Henri Richard eingesprungenen teammate Duncan collect end only eight points, Velox Motorsport and driver Shane Lewis.
Before the race, series leader Scott Atherton also announced the calendar for the year 2011. It will consist of ten races with more than one event, this year's calendar. This will probably be a joint appearance with the IndyCar Series at the street circuit in Baltimore on the first weekend in September. According to Atherton, it is a "done deal", but who still could not be officially announced - it will probably do it in conjunction with the announcement of the IRL and the Baltimore-organizers.
The 12h of Sebring and Petit Le Mans are traditionally part of the series, both of which are indeed the Intercontinental Le Mans Challenge belong. Which this year extended to six hours race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will be postponed from May to September, which is somewhat unfortunate because it is good as the last test before Le Mans for the U.S. team because of the race is over appropriated. You may have to lure my leadership in the ALMS, the hope, on this date in mid-September a number of European teams, if the LMS season at this time should already be over.
And then there's a "To be decided" event on the eve of Independence Day. Among this year's race the Miller Motorsports Park is missing from the calendar, if there is run on each date, or whether this great weekend for Atherton's something else out of his sleeve magic remains to be seen.
In addition, the CEO of the ALMS announced that they would vary the lengths of racing again more, at the request of the fans would think it over long distances for some races to the endurance of thought to emphasize again more. The Road America race was about to 2008 4h-race. The question is how well it can be reconciled with the television coverage, live coverage of the problems we know so long race in Europe.
If you want, since the way this weekend at the voting part of the "Most Popular Driver."
Sorry that the photos are something Porsche-heavy, but the ALMS is always only a few days late with new pictures in their database.
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