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LMS round 3 - Spa 1000 kms. 11 May

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  • #16
    Gallery 2

    And some more...

    Source: Spyker Squadron
    Attached Files
    Winning on sunday, selling on monday!

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    • #17
      Third Free Practice

      Third Free Practice results: lmsfree3cla.pdf
      Winning on sunday, selling on monday!

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      • #18
        Qualifying

        Qualifying results: lmsqualcla.pdf
        Winning on sunday, selling on monday!

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        • #19
          Qualifying report

          Sat 10 May 2008 SNORAS Spyker Squadron Spa qualifying results

          The SNORAS Spyker Squadron cars will start from a seventh and twelfth position on the grid tomorrow. The #94 Speedy Racing Team car with the Swiss trio Andrea Chiesa, Benjamin Leuenberger and Iradj Alexander will start from the 12th place while the #85 car with Peter Dumbreck, Ralf Kelleners and Alexey Vasiliev, qualified seventh.

          The weather in Spa was excellent for qualifying - it was hot and sunny today - and, with a bank holiday this Monday, many visitors arrived early for Sunday’s 1000 km race. Amongst the visitors that arrived today a large group of orange colored Dutch race fans found there way to the Spyker pit-box to get a closer look at the team’s new C8 Laviolette GT2R.
          Both Peter Dumbreck and Ralf Kelleners have not raced at Spa for respectively 9 and 11 years. For Iradj Alexander it was even the first time in the Spyker Laviolette this weekend. He will drive the Swiss car at the 24 Heures du Mans and got the chance this weekend to learn the car and crew before the 24-hour race mid-June.
          Iradj Alexander: “I am really happy to rejoin the team [Iradj tested the C8 Spyder at Valencia last year] and the opportunity they have given me to drive the 24 Hours of Le Mans. My first impression of the car is very positive. After six or seven laps I started to get more confidence in the car and really enjoyed it”.
          “Although the car gives you a lot of confidence it is always the same” he said “when you want to go fast you need to explore the limits of the car. I have not driven close to the car’s limits off course - I need to spent more time in the car to do that - but I should be much faster in the race when I have the opportunity to drive a long stint. What is really great about Spyker is the team: the people are very kind and friendly and the crew are real professionals. It really is a high level team and their way of working creates all the conditions for a driver to deliver results”.
          Peter van Erp, managing director Spyker Squadron: “The weekend has been though so far although our pace is good. This morning, in the third free practice session, the car was already 0.7 seconds quicker than last year’s qualifying time while there is still a work to do. Spa is a ‘drivers-track’ and you need to know the track well to be able to be quick. Famous corners like Eau Rouge and Blanchimont are seriously challenging for the drivers and the team has the task to deliver a setup that gives our drivers confidence in the car”.
          “I must say that Iradj did a great job today and he is learning quickly. We have been running a new engine-configuration in the #85 car. Both the crankshaft configuration and the firing order have been modified. The new engine is definitively better. Based on our tests this weekend we will decide if we will use the engine at Le Mans next month. I think our pace should be good tomorrow and if we do our job properly and stay out of trouble we should be able to finish in the top-5.
          Andrea Chiesa: “Off course I am a bit disappointed about my qualifying time. At the beginning of the weekend we started working towards a setup that we thought would work best for us. Based on the knowledge gained in previous races we worked on improving the car but I guess we have taken the wrong route and it did not work in qualifying. We have also lost valuable time in the setup process due to the many red flag situations and a small oil leak that had to be solved. Although I am disappointed at the same time I am happy with the results of the other car. Peter did an excellent job and the new engine proofed to be well”.
          Peter Dumbreck: “The seventh place does not really mean so much to me, it’s the time that matters. I wanted to do a mid-2:23 because I did a 2:24 this morning. We made some changes to the car before qualifying to try to improve it but I am not convinced they were a good move. We were trying to stiffen the rear and give it less of a roll. I was probably the wrong way so we will go back for tomorrow’s race”.
          The race will start tomorrow at 12:50 and can be followed live on MotorsTV and Eurosport.

          Source: Spyker Squadron
          Winning on sunday, selling on monday!

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          • #20
            2-hours Race report

            Sun 11 May 2008 Spa after two hours of racing

            Almost two hours ago, at 12:50, 41 Le Mans Prototypes (LMP’s) and GT’s started in the third Le Mans Series round this season, the 1000 km of Spa-Francorchamps. The #85 car, driven by Peter Dumbreck started from a seventh position in class but currently runs in a fifth position.

            The other car, the #94 Speedy Racing Team car, qualified 12th yesterday. As the team’s strategy to start from the pit-lane in a previous race worked out well, a decision was made to also start from the pit-lane at Spa. The first corner of the Belgium F1 track, La Source, is known for its crashes or contact in the first laps of the race. With this strategy the team will only mitigate the risks of La Source wile the car will not loose too much time with the pit-lane exit and the team saves two laps worth of fuel. As a car bumped into one of the Embassy cars, the rolling start was delayed by another two laps behind the safety car.

            Benjamin took care of the first stint in the #94 and handed the car over to Andrea Chiesa in an 8th position after more than an hour in the race. Benjamin: “We decided to start out of the pits to save us two laps of full and maybe trouble in the first corner. My first stint was quite okay. the car is quite unpredictable to drive at this moment. We have understeer but it can suddenly turn into oversteer. I decided not to push and maintain a decent race pace”.

            Currently Ralf Kelleners and Andrea Chiesa are in the cars in respectively a 5th and 7th position.

            Source: Spyker Squadron
            Winning on sunday, selling on monday!

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            • #21
              #85 Incident Race up-date

              Sun 11 May 2008 Update after incident involving car #85

              15:25 update: we have just had a yellow flag situation where both the Audi #1 and Peugeot #8 and the Spyker #85 were involved. In the double left-hander Ralf Kelleners was driving the Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R. Ralf stayed on the right-side as he saw that he was being overtaken on the left side by the Audi driven by Capello. The Peugeot followed the Audi immediately and tried to overtake or out-brake the Audi from the slipstream.

              In the maneuver the #8 Peugeot driven by Alexander Wurz moved to the right from behind the Audi in a gap that did not exist and hit the Spyker on the front left. In the same accident the Audi was also hit by the Peugeot, directly or as a result of the Peugeot’ spin, and had to return with a punctured tire. The Spyker could return to the pitbox and is now running in an 11th position. The Peugeot was heavily damaged and is out of the race.

              Source: Spyker Squadron
              Winning on sunday, selling on monday!

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              • #22
                Race Results

                Race Results: lmsracecla.pdf
                Winning on sunday, selling on monday!

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                • #23
                  Race report

                  Sun 11 May 2008 SNORAS Spyker Squadron Spa race report

                  Many visitors arrived early at the paddock this morning, in time for the autograph session and the pit walk. The weather was not comparable with the ‘normal’ Belgium Ardennes conditions that we have seen in so many races: this time the team’s Michelin intermediates and wet tires were fortunately not of use this weekend as the skies were clear and the temperatures were in the mid-twenties.

                  The race started a bit later than planned, just after 13:00, after a car bumped into one of the Embassy prototypes during the installation lap. As a result the car hit the barriers and the track had to be cleared. Peter Dumbreck started in the #85 SNORAS Spyker Squadron-car from a seventh position in class while the crew of car #94 decided to start from the pit lane. As the car qualified 12th yesterday the team decided to start from the pit lane, avoiding the trouble in the first corner whilst saving two laps of fuel compared to the rest of the field.

                  Benjamin: “We decided to start out of the pits to save us two laps of full and maybe trouble in the first corner. My first stint was okay although the car was quite unpredictable to drive. We had understeer but it sometimes suddenly turned into oversteer. I decided not to push and maintain a decent race pace. Later we figured that it could have been the tires that I used. They were also used by Chiesa in yesterday’s qualifying. The second stint, with a new set of tires was fortunately much better”.

                  In the race both cars moved up the ladder and mid race the cars were in a fifth and seventh place in class. Alexey Vasiliev: “The Laviolette was great to drive today although we had some issues with power steering and the alternator. We were able to move forward in the field and so far I am very pleased with our 2008 car”. Unfortunately after almost 2.5 hours in the race the #85 Dumbreck-Kelleners-Vasiliev car that ran in a fifth place had to return to the pit after a collision with a Peugeot LMP.

                  Ralf Kelleners: “I was driving the car and saw in my mirrors that I was being overtaken on the left side by the Audi driven by Capello. I stayed on the right-side to let the Audi pass me. The Peugeot was right behind the Audi R10 and tried to overtake the Audi from the slipstream. In the maneuver the Peugeot moved to the right from behind the Audi in a gap that did not exist and hit my car on the front left”.

                  In the same accident the Audi was also hit by the Peugeot, directly or as a result of the Peugeot’s spin, and also had to return to the box with a punctured right-rear tire. The Spyker made it to the pit box with a punctured tire and damaged bodywork. They rejoined the field after quick repairs to return to the box minutes later with a broken alternator.

                  In the mean time track conditions improved and consequently times dropped as well. In the final stages of the race it was Swiss Andrea Chiesa that improved his quickest time every few laps. With only 15 laps to go before one of the diesel prototypes would hit the 1000 km mark he engaged a fight with the number 88 Porsche to go after a podium position. Andrea was about 2 seconds per lap quicker and tried his best to close to 20 second gap as quick as he could.

                  After another accident the safety car got out once more, giving Andrea the best possible chance to go after his competitor. With only 4 laps to go, Andrea went after the car as soon as green was given for the re-start but unfortunately he was hit by another prototype. As a result the steering was a bit off an he could not overtake the car. The Chiesa-Leuenberger-Alexander Speedy Racing Team car finished in a fourth position.

                  Due to the accident and the problem with the alternator the other car, the Spyker C8 that ran the engine with the new crankshaft layout and new firing order, finished ninth.

                  Iradj Alexander: “I had to built confidence in the car at the beginning of my stint and I must admit that getting to know the car is a bit of a challenge in these traffic conditions. The car was a bit challenging to drive as a result of the limited time to properly setup the car. Nevertheless I could maintain 2:27’s and did not push to hard. I am really motivated to work with the team at Le Mans. We are in a good position to further improve the car and the guys in the team are great to work with”.

                  Benjamin Leuenberger: “This is a fantastic result. Thanks a lot to the guys. They have given us a great race car today. We did not have a single problem in the 5 hour race and also the drivers did not make any mistakes. We ran the car like we planned to run it and it is fantastic to finish twice in a row in a fourth place”.

                  Andrea Chiesa: “I would not have thought to finish fourth. It is really good for team and the atmosphere. Our next race is the most important race of the season, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, so it is great to get there in good spirits. The atmosphere amongst the drivers, mechanics and engineers was great and they all did a great job. It was disappointing that I was hit by an LMP in the final stages otherwise we would have been able to go for a podium”.

                  Peter van Erp, managing director Spyker Squadron: “Our fourth place is great so close to Le Mans, our most import race this season. It is sad for the crew of the #85 car there was not much that we could do about it. The Peugeot driver eliminated himself and almost took us and the Audi with him. In the last Le Mans Series race at Monza we have also seen a Le Mans Prototype (LMP) causing us trouble. Of course I understand that these cars are quicker but they should not threat us as obstacles. We drive our own race and they should do a better job avoiding contact with the slower GT2 cars. It was an ugly crash and fortunately we came away lucky. The car was almost undamaged with just a punctured tire and some damaged bodywork”.

                  “The Speedy Racing Team car nicely moved trough the field and the team deserves a lot of credits. They have reinstalled the engine twice to solve a problem and did their utmost to give the drivers the best car possible” said Peter afterwards. “It was another though weekend. We will now focus on Le Mans with the official test day just weeks ahead of us”.

                  The official Le Mans test day will be held on Sunday June 1. Even for this test day all public roads part of the famous 13.6 km Le Mans track will be closed, giving the teams their first chance to run their new cars before the race mid-June.

                  Source: Spyker Squadron
                  Winning on sunday, selling on monday!

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                  • #24
                    Gallery 3

                    Please credit Infinity & Ins@nity Autosport Images > Home
                    Attached Files
                    Winning on sunday, selling on monday!

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by Laviolette GT2R View Post
                      Sun 11 May 2008 Update after incident involving car #85

                      15:25 update: we have just had a yellow flag situation where both the Audi #1 and Peugeot #8 and the Spyker #85 were involved. In the double left-hander Ralf Kelleners was driving the Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R. Ralf stayed on the right-side as he saw that he was being overtaken on the left side by the Audi driven by Capello. The Peugeot followed the Audi immediately and tried to overtake or out-brake the Audi from the slipstream.

                      In the maneuver the #8 Peugeot driven by Alexander Wurz moved to the right from behind the Audi in a gap that did not exist and hit the Spyker on the front left. In the same accident the Audi was also hit by the Peugeot, directly or as a result of the Peugeot’ spin, and had to return with a punctured tire. The Spyker could return to the pitbox and is now running in an 11th position. The Peugeot was heavily damaged and is out of the race.

                      Source: Spyker Squadron
                      On Motorsport.com: News channel I found some photographs to complement this press release...

                      Please credit DPPI for the pictures
                      Attached Files
                      Winning on sunday, selling on monday!

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