Wed 13 Aug 2008 SPYKER SQUADRON Nürburgring preview
Zeewolde, 13 august 2008 - After a short break racing resumes this weekend for SNORAS Spyker Squadron. The fourth round of the Le Mans Series; the 1000 km of the Nürburgring is the team’s second last race this year.
After their overall victory of the Omnitel 1000 km last month it is back to business for the majority of the team after having enjoyed a short vacation. Immediately after the 24 Hours of Le Mans, held mid-June, the Squadron engineers and mechanics continued to further develop the car. Both cars will appear at the start this weekend with the engines that have the new flat plane crankshaft layout as tested in an earlier Le Mans Series race at Spa. A number of small improvements have been made to improve the engine reliability. The cars also have aerodynamic improvements and will be fitted with a new rear wing and front splitter.
Peter Dumbreck, Ralf Kelleners and Alexei Vasilliev will drive the number 85 Spyker Squadron C8 Laviolette GT2R and behind the wheel of the Speedy Racing car we can also find familiar faces: Andrea Chiesa and Benjamin Leuenberger will be driving the Swiss car.
Peter van Erp, managing director Spyker Squadron: “The Nürburgring, with its low grip levels, is always a tough track for us. Although we have been on the podium here in the past, it was always a challenge to quickly find a good setup. This year it will be the first time that we will race the Michelin tires here so I am curious if our quest for a good setup has changed in our favor”.
He continues: “I hope that in this race, but also in the last race at Silverstone, luck is on our side and we can finish in top-5 - that is absolutely the level we are aiming at. If we can work-out a good setup in the free practice session and grip levels permit, we will try to push in the race and drive progressively”.
Two free practices sessions are in the agenda this Friday followed by the third one-hour session on Saturday. Saturday afternoon there is the regular 20 minute GT qualifying session. The 1000 km or six-hour race will start this Sunday at 12:05.
The Snoras Spyker Squadron did quite good in the first free practice session. Peter Dumbreck, Ralf kelleners and Alexei Vasiliev managed to drive the #85 in 6th place. Andrea Chiesa and Benjamin Leuenberger drove the #94 into 9th position.
In sunny weather conditions SNORAS Spyker Squadron qualified seventh and ninth for tomorrows Nürburgring 1000 km race. Peter Dumbreck qualified the #85 SNORAS Spyker Squadron car and set a quickest time of 1:59.613, 1.7 seconds behind the GT2 pole position. Benjamin Leuenberger set a best of 2:00.132 in the #94 Speedy Racing Team Spyker.
Both cars run an updated version of the V8 engine in the fourth Le Mans Series round. The typical American V8-sound is no more and has been replaced by a screaming V8-race sound as both the fire order- and crankshaft configurations have been changed. There was also new rubber for the Dutch team; Michelin brought new softer front tires to Germany. The tires do what they were designed for: more grip on the front axle. The team tried them on the #85 car but found that they could not get the car in balance with the rear.
“The times we did this morning with the softer tires were a bit slower than in qualifying so I think we made the right decision to qualify and race with the mediums on the front” said Peter Dumbreck afterwards. “I had a clear lap to qualify and was on the limit with the car. All in all at the best we maybe could have done one position better on the grid. We are less than two seconds off on a two minute lap which is not a bad result at all”.
Benjamin Leuenberger: “Qualifying went quite well. We made a few changes after the third practice to have a bit more oversteer and it certainly was a step in the right direction. The car actually feels pretty good. I tried to push as hard as possible but would have loved to break to two-minute barrier. In the last races we finished twice in a row on the podium and I would be very happy if we could repeat that tomorrow”.
Peter van Erp, managing director Spyker Squadron: “I am very pleased with our results and progress so far. Our times in all the free practice sessions are closer to the competition than at previous races and the engine modification are working quite well and give a good perspective for future races”. He continues: “If we can produce competitive times in the race tomorrow and if we stay out of trouble I think we can compete for a third position.”
The 1000 km or six-hour race will start at 12:05 tomorrow and can be seen on Eurosport throughout Europe. Radiolemans.com also be on-air whilst live-timing can be found on the Le Mans Series website.
There might be a twelfth starter in the GT2 class. Apparrantly the Virgo Ferrari 430 caught fire in the second free practice session. This is really bad luck for this small team since they are leading the championship. They are now trying to rebuild their car and are allowed to start at the back of the grid assuming they finish it in time.
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