Jos Verstappen claims fifth pole position with the RS Spyder
The
outcome of the maiden
season couldn't be better: The Porsche RS Spyder takes up the final of
the Le Mans Series in Britain's Silverstone from first on the grid in
the LMP2 class. Jos Verstappen (Netherlands, Van Merksteijn Motorsport)
secured his fifth pole position from five races. The ex-Formula 1 driver lapped the 5.141 kilometre circuit in 1:34.212 minutes – clearly relegating his opponents to the further grid positions. Verstappen, who already claimed the drivers' championship in the LMP2 class at the Nürburgring round in August, was 1.166 seconds faster than the second-placed driver. The pair of RS Spyder prototypes fielded by the Essex (Denmark) and the Horag (Switzerland) teams starts the 1,000 km race from fifth and sixth on the grid. Porsche pilots with their 911 GT3 RSR racers also netted good starting positions in the GT2 class with second, third and fourth.
”It was simply perfect,” said Jos Verstappen. “The RS Spyder has everything a race driver needs to be quick: excellent handling and balance, downforce and power. It's huge fun to drive such a race car here through the fast corners. I managed to find a free lap and didn't make one mistake.” The 36-year-old, who raced seven times in Silverstone during his Formula 1 career, again contests the LMS final with Peter van Merksteijn. The team owner took a break at the fourth round in the Eifel. With victory there, Verstappen and his compatriot Jeroen Bleekemolen secured an early victory in the team classification.
The Danes had a struggle with the sunny weather in the Midlands. John Nielsen and Casper Elgaard (Essex team) were the fastest during a wet free practice on Friday. “We'll be doing a rain dance tonight,” joked Nielsen. “Our Dunlop tyres didn't build up the necessary grip on a dry track.
We will of course try to tweak the set-up and incidentally we also know that we can reliably make up places. We would love to pocket second in the team classification for Denmark – and celebrate the end of the season with a podium result.”
Drivers for the Swiss Horag Racing team also feel well prepared for the race. “I was a little unlucky in qualifying. Either I got stuck in traffic or an opponent spun in front of me,” summarised Jan Lammers (Netherlands). “But the car is handling well. I could easily have gone faster. In this regard I'm optimistic that with our good strategy and pit stops we have a chance to turn our sixth qualifying position into a good result.” The former Le Mans winner and Formula 1 driver Lammers shares driving duties in the 476 hp sports prototype with Fredy Lienhard (Switzerland) and Didier Theys (Belgium).
The
fastest Porsche driver in the near-standard GT2 class was works
driver Richard Lietz. The Austrian secured second position for himself
and his IMSA Performance Matmut team mate Raymond Narac (France) in the
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. “I hope we can bring home a podium result,” said
Lietz. “That would be a wonderful conclusion to the season. In any
event, our 911 has to perform well over the distance. And perhaps we
have a chance because Robert Bell, who takes off in his Ferrari in
front of us, is going for the championship and hence will be cautious.”
Third in the GT2 category was LMS guest starter Dirk Werner in the 911
GT3 RSR of the Farnbacher Racing team. The German usually contests the
ALMS, the American sister series of the Le Mans Series. In Silverstone
he joins Lars Erik Nielsen from Denmark. Marc Lieb (Germany) and Alex
Davison (Australia) posted fourth in their class. Driving for the
Felbermayr-Proton squad, the pair are just three points shy of the GT2
class leaders and still have a chance to claim the title. The 1,000 kilometre race takes off tomorrow at 11.20 hours local time (12.20 hours CEST) and runs over 195 laps or a maximum of six hours. Eurosport broadcasts the start of the race from 12.15 to 12.45 hrs live and televises highlights from 22.15 to 22.45 hrs. The Pay-TV station MotorsTV broadcasts live from 12.00 to 14.00 and from 16.00 to 18.30 (CEST) hrs.
Result Qualifying LMP2
1. Jos Verstappen (NL), Porsche RS Spyder, 1:34.212 minutes
2. Michael Vergers (NL), Zytek07S, + 1.166 seconds
3. Xavier Pompidou (F), Lola B08/80, + 1.695
4. Miguel Amaral (P), Lola AER, + 1.786
5. Casper Elgaard (DK), Porsche RS Spyder, + 2.070
6. Jan Lammers (NL), Porsche RS Spyder, + 2.126
7. Darren Manning (GB), WF01 - Zytek, + 2.556
8. Warren Hughes (GB), WF01 - Zytek, + 2.708
9. Karim Ojjeh (SAU), Zytek 07S, + 3.065
10. Tommy Erdos (BRA), MG Lola EX 265, + 3.541
Result Qualifying GT2
1. Robert Bell (GB), Ferrari F430 GT, 1:48.960 minutes
2. Richard Lietz (A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 0.892 seconds
3. Dirk Werner (D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 1.533
4. Alex Davison (AUS), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 1.877
5. Stéphane Daoudi (F), Ferrari F430 GT, + 2.643
