What a difference a year makes… last year the place was deserted with a smattering of hard core endurance racing fans, this year it was simply heaving! We are told that 46,000 spectators have been here over the two days. Helped maybe by a glimpse of the sun plus Mr Webber and Porsche being on parade. We gather that even with a few minutes to go to the start there were still people queuing to get onto the circuit. For all its benefits Spa-Francorchamps is not an easy place to get into. What it must be like for F1 GP is hard to imagine.. and thinking back there was Bernie E giving Silverstone a hard time about access !! However we believe the ‘Bambino Trust‘ may have a financial interest here at Spa !!
As always we like making unreliable predictions based on little else but a frank exchange of views over a beer or two, followed by a moist finger in the wind, but this time we have a bit more feel for things after Silverstone. During qualifying Porsche found some the raw pace they seemed to be lacking at Silverstone and were looking to challenge Toyota if things went according to plan. However Toyota do look very strong and are not short of speed or talent. Audi may well be playing the ‘long game’ and while they are off the pace they may have to fall back on their legendary reliability as back up if they want a podium place. We can’t see them on the top step of the podium but by attrition they could be there or thereabouts.
In GT the Porsches shone at Silverstone and picked up some extra ballast for their efforts. Normally they are rather more canny than that and would probably have done a wee bit of sand-bagging leading up to Le Mans. They do have another chance to seek a change prior to Le Mans so maybe there is wisdom at work here. Aston Martin on the other hand under-performed at Silverstone and lost 25 kgs of ballast and as you may recall they came alive during qualifying so were powerful during the race. Ferrari are of course a force to be reckoned with here.
As the pace car pulled off we held our breath expecting the wild west performance that we had at Silverstone. Maybe the team managers had suggested that destroying the car in the first few laps of a six hour race was a bad policy and the start was by previous standards quite sensible. They were joined by the new #13 Rebellion R-One which we thought was starting from the pit lane as a result of not completing enough laps during qualifying. Another surprise was the return of the #37 SMP Racing Oreca 03 that had that hefty thump yesterday. Anyway it emerged with a wheel at each corner and looking fine .
The #20 Porsche was heading the field until it had to pit with a serious suspension problem on the front right and lost the lead. Repairing it wasn't exactly a ‘rapid service ‘ item and it lost 22 laps.. From that point on it became a test session for Le Mans. It was running way back down the field but still putting in laps on the pace of the front runners.
Marc Lieb lost the lead in the #14 Porsche when it ‘stuttered’ getting away from the pits.. we are not sure if you can stall one these things but anyway the long lap of stutter lost Porsche the lead. Much later in the race the same car, this time driven by Dumas suddenly slowed but didn't pit, then speeded up, slowed and then managed a complete recovery and was back bang on the pace. The problem? Nobody seemed to know or tell us! But like a computer it appeared that switching it on and off a few times seemed to cure it.. very hi-tech!
Whoever makes the tricky technical decisions about performance in LMGT have done a superb job. There was a race long battle going on involving Ferrari, Aston Martin and Porsche on what seems to be a splendidly level playing field all of them clocking in around 2:20 second laps.
The #92 Porsche left the equation after a long stop (by today’s standards at any rate) when it needed its power steering and hydraulic fluid topped up. The entire race in LMP and LMGT has been rather like a game of 3D chess! It all came down a slight stutter from the Porsche.. and a last minute stop for tyres when they didn’t quite make it into top three at the flag. There were the usual canny tactics as always from Audi, but could not match the very strong showing from the Toyotas who seemed far quicker all round than the rest of the Hybrids. When the #20 Porsche rejoined the race, way out of contention. Webber set about putting in lap times around the 2:02.682 sec which was right up with the Audis and Toyotas. It was just fractionally slower than his team mate Jani.
Much the same applied to LMGT Pro where first the Aston Martins looked very impressive and leading the class but then the ever experienced AF Corse Ferraris came into the mix. Remember they were nowhere at Silverstone! Then #91 Porsche entered the fray, also having worked its way tactically up the field as did the #92 Porsche until it fell away with that stop for hydraulic fluid. It was tremendous stuff and so well matched on performance that it all came down to drivers and tactics. Just what endurance racing is all about.
There were so many twists and turns it would need a book to cover them all. The new #12 Rebellion car made it to the flag and is all set for Le Mans, a great effort. Let’s be clear and emphasise that any doubts anybody had about Hybrids have proved to have been unfounded.. the general equalisation and balance of performance throughout were all spot on. There were no safety car interventions, no accidents (except the odd harmless nudge and occasional spin), plus a huge crowd and excellent weather.. what more could we want?
Mind you it was a very convincing win for #08 Toyota .. they didn't put a foot wrong and above all the Toyotas are very quick and must be looking for a podium at Le Mans. The only flaw could be that that like Porsche their tactical options are limited by have just two cars.
You remember we thought that maybe Audi would pull something out of the hat and they did! The #1 Audi never appeared to be quick enough to pull off the second step on the podium but as we often said you simply can’t ignore Audi! It is quite hard to work out how they brought a car home in 2nd place! Audi won’t be over confident and Porsche might still prove to be ‘work in progress’.
Porsche will be unhappy to lose out when pit stop went wrong and the weird electrical gremlin that struck the #14 car. The #20 car had a nightmare event with two broken drive shafts and other problems that kept it out of contention and in the pits for far too many laps.
In LMP2 the #26 G-Drive Morgan-Nissan was a class act and Pla in particular drove superbly. Gene did his best but simply couldn't crack it. LMP2 is alive and well and with more time and space available we will do a better job covering it at Le Mans.
Whatever you do try and catch up with this race on TV it was a cracker! One thing is certain that if we can carry all this through to Le Mans it should be a classic.. assuming of course all this incredible technology holds together for 24 hours! Club Arnage will be there keep an eye on things as always.
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