ILMC : Silverstone 1000 KM

Plex · Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 2:19 pm Post subject:

Simon Pagenaud puts Peugeot on pole for AUTOSPORT 6 Hours of Silverstone

Simon Pagenaud earned Peugeot pole position for the AUTOSPORT 6 Hours of Silverstone in tricky qualifying conditions.

Spots of rain threatened at the start of the session, prompting the LMP field to attack from the outset. Pagenaud and Sarrazin traded times in the #7 and #8 Peugeots, before the former pulled clear with a 1m43.943s effort.

Allan McNish was the first to reply in the #2 Audi R18, moving to within nine tenths of Pagenaud and then setting the overall fastest sector two time on his next tour, only to then meet traffic in the final third of the lap.

Rain then fell and effectively looked like bringing the session to a premature close - with Peugeot calling both drivers in and hesitantly beginning celebrations.

McNish opted to stay out for one more lap, and as the rain began to ease looked well poised. The session had been declared wet meaning tyre choices were free, and with Peugeot's charges halted Audi strapped fresh rubber to McNish's car and weighed up a final push.

The decision was taken away from them as the time ticked down however, although several cars did go out and made substantial gains.

Nicolas Prost in the #12 Rebellion was one of the beneficiaries, rising to fifth overall - behind the #8 Peugeot and #1 Audi.

Danny Watts made gains to go fastest in LMP2 in the #42 Strakka HPD, while Tom Kimber-Smith also improved late on to take second for the #41 Greaves Motorsport squad.

Across in the GTE Pro class, which had qualified earlier and therefore avoided the drama of the rain, BMW executed a perfect session as they locked out the front row of the grid and left their rivals no time or chance to respond.

Neither car had turned a wheel with seven minutes of the session remaining, but one lap each in the final minutes proved all that was needed.

Augusto Farfus led the charge in the #56 M3, storming to a 2m01.768s - at the time putting him almost 1s clear of an otherwise extremely close field. Andy Priaulx then took his turn, falling 0.3s short but still comfortably securing second. He was on a faster second lap when he hit traffic, and opted to return to the pits.

Before BMW's emphatic late display, the top six cars had been separated by just 0.227s. Toni Vilander put the #71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 top ahead of Marc Lieb in the #77 Felbermayr Porsche 911, but the pair will now start third and fourth in the Pro class.

As has been the case all weekend, the battle for the GTE Am class was fought between the Porsches. Nicolas Armindo claimed the top spot as the flag fell, putting his #67 IMSA 911 two tenths clear of the #63 Proton 911 qualified by Patrick Long.

Pos Cl Drivers Team/Car Time
1. LMP1 Bourdais/Pagenaud Peugeot 1m43.924s
2. LMP1 Kristensen/McNish Audi 1m44.856s
3. LMP1 Montagny/Sarrazin Peugeot 1m45.102s
4. LMP1 Bernhard/Fassler Audi 1m46.621s
5. LMP1 Prost/Jani Rebellion Lola-Toyota 1m47.684s
6. LMP1 Lahaye/Moreau/Ragues Oak Pescarolo-Judd 1m47.785s
7. LMP1 Nicolet/Premat/Pla Oak Pescarolo-Judd 1m47.890s
8. LMP1 Belicchi/Boullion Rebellion Lola-Toyota 1m48.287s
9. LMP1 Collard/Tinseau/Jousse Pescarolo-Judd 1m48.624s
10. LMP2 Leventis/Watts/Kane Strakka HPD 1m49.619s
11. LMP2 Ojjeh/Kimber-Smith/Lombard Greaves Zytek-Nissan 1m50.922s
12. LMP1 Fernandez/Primat/Klien AMR Lola-Aston 1m52.151s
13. LMP2 Beche/Thiriet/Firth TDS ORECA-Nissan 1m52.224s
14. LMP2 Frey/Meichtry/Rostan Race Performance ORECA-Judd 1m52.457s
15. LMP2 Mailleux/Ordonez/Vernay Signatech ORECA-Nissan 1m53.233s
16. LMP2 Kraihamer/Ebbesvik Boutsen ORECA-Nissan 1m53.247s
17. LMP2 Companc/Russo/Kaffer Pecom Lola-Judd 1m53.791s
18. LMP2 Newton/Erdos/Collins RML HPD 1m55.236s
19. LMP2 Barlesi/da Rocha/Lafargue Oak Pescarolo-Judd 1m57.817s
20. FLM Hartshorne/Keating/Keen Neil Garner FLM 1m58.143s
21. FLM Marcelli/Ducote/Moro JMB FLM 1m59.053s
22. FLM Mitchell/Grogor/Kronfli Genoa FLM 1m59.907s
23. FLM Schultis/Simon/Schell Pegasus FLM 2m00.061s
24. GTE-P Farfus/Muller BMW 2m01.768s
25. GTE-P Priaulx/Alzen BMW 2m02.096s
26. GTE-P Melo/Vilander AF Corse Ferrari 2m02.744s
27. GTE-P Lieb/Lietz Felbermayr Porsche 2m02.787s
28. GTE-P Ortelli/Makowiecki Luxury Ferrari 2m02.934s
29. GTE-P Pilet/Henzler IMSA Porsche 2m02.937s
30. GTE-P Goossens/Holzer Prospeed Porsche 2m02.950s
31. GTE-P Fisichella/Bruni AF Corse Ferrari 2m02.971s
32. GTE-P Bell/Walker JMW Ferrari 2m03.118s
33. GTE-P Broniszewski/Peter Kessel Ferrari 2m03.295s
34. GTE-P Hancock/Dolan/Buncombe Jota Aston Martin 2m03.433s
35. GTE-P Jakubowski/Beltoise/Marroc Luxury Ferrari 2m03.659s
36. GTE-P Farnbacher/Simonsen Farnbacher Ferrari 2m03.864s
37. GTE-A Narac/Armindo IMSA Porsche 2m04.028s
38. GTE-A Roda/Long Proton Porsche 2m04.172s
39. GTE-A Ehret/Lynn/Wills CRS Ferrari 2m04.427s
40. GTE-A Krohn/Jonsson/Rugulo Krohn Ferrari 2m04.987s
41. GTE-A Perazzini/Cioci/Lemeret AF Corse Ferrari 2m05.103s
42. GTE-P Rossiter/Mowlem/Wendlinger Jetalliance Lotus 2m05.143s
43. GTE-A Felbermayr/Ried Felbermayr Porsche 2m06.392s
44. GTE-A Giroix/Goethe/Wainwright Gulf Aston Martin 2m06.976s
45. GTE-P Lichtner-Hoyer/Rich/Hansson Jetalliance Lotus 2m07.831s
46. GTE-A Hummel/Christodoulou/Quaife CRS Ferrari 2m13.219s
47. LMP1 Cortes/Geri/Picini MIK Zytek -
48. LMP2 Gates/Hughes/Garofall RLR MG Lola-Judd -
49. GTE-A Bornhauser/Canal/Gardel Larbre Corvette -

Autosport

Plex · Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 12:08 pm Post subject:

Pagenaud and Bourdais earn Peugeot AUTOSPORT 6 Hours crown

Simon Pagenaud and Sebastien Bourdais delivered Peugeot the 2011 AUTOSPORT 6 Hours of Silverstone crown after a race-long fight with the #1 Audi.

The polesitting 908 was in contention for victory throughout the race, as accidents, traffic and damage proved decisive in another engrossing instalment of the Peugeot/Audi battle.

The race swung several times in a breathtaking first hour, as the #2 Audi snatched an early lead ahead of the #7 and #8 Peugeots and sister #1 R18 - around four seconds covering the quartet.

With so little to choose between the four, traffic offered a chance for breathing space and overtaking was therefore aggressive. It would also prove a downfall.

First victim was Franck Montagny, who cut across a backmarker too early at Copse and was tagged into a spin into the barriers. The error caused heavy damage and a lengthy spell before the car was recovered, dropping the #8 908 out of contention.

Shortly after Allan McNish in the lead Audi was caught out as he dived down the inside of the #66 JMW Ferrari at Becketts - a clash for which the Ferrari was, controversially, later punished. McNish broke his steering and faced a lengthy repair in the pits, the impact of which was lessened slightly by the race's only safety car when Jody Firth span from second in class into the pit wall in the #46 TDR ORECA-Nissan.

That left a straight fight between the Pagenaud/Bourdais Peugeot and the #1 Audi of Timo Bernhard and Marcel Fassler. Again there was little to separate the pair, with both taking spells at the front as the race wore on.

The deciding moment came when Bernhard had to pit with damage to his rear and crucially to his legality boards. The Audi mechanics were superb, but a stop of around 1m proved too much to recover. Crucially they remained on the same lap but Bourdais and Pagenaud remained faultless, eventually claiming victory by just over one minute.

The #24 Oak Racing Pescarolo-Judd of Jacques Nicolet, Alexandre Premat and Olivier Pla rounded out the LMP1 podium after a long four-way battle with the sister #15 Oak and the two Rebellion Racing Lolas.

LMP2 was also influenced by damage, although eventual winners Karim Ojjeh and Tom Kimber-Smith in the #41 Greaves Nissan were rarely out of the top two.

Victory was assured however when the #45 Boutsen ORECA-Nissan had to pit with 90 minutes to go with rear damage, while earlier the #26 Strakka HPD - which had also been a challenger - suffered from a stop of a similar nature.

GTE Pro was only decided at the flag, with seven cars on the lead lap heading into the final half hour. The class win eventually went to the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 of Bruni Gianmaria and Giancarlo Fisichella, while second was claimed in the final minutes by Frederic Makowiecki and Stephane Ortelli in the #59 Luxury Racing Ferrari.

That demoted Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz in the #77 Felbermayr Porsche to third, while Andy Priaulx and Uwe Alzen recovered strongly to finish fourth in the #56 M3 – both BMWs having slipped from the front of the grid after struggling with long-run grip.

Porsche took a 1-2 in the GTE Am category, the #67 IMSA 911 of Nicolas Armindo and Raymond Narac once again proving the class of the field as it won by over one lap.

POSITIONS AFTER 6 HOURS

Pos Cl Drivers Team/Car Laps/Gap
1. LMP1 Bourdais/Pagenaud Peugeot 190 laps
2. LMP1 Bernhard/Fassler Audi + 1m29.763s
3. LMP1 Premat/Pla Oak Pescarolo-Judd + 5 laps
4. LMP1 Belicchi/Boullion Rebellion Lola-Toyota + 5 laps
5. LMP1 Lahaye/Moreau/Ragues Oak Pescarolo-Judd + 5 laps
6. LMP1 Collard/Tinseau/Jousse Pescarolo-Judd + 5 laps
7. LMP1 Kristensen/McNish Audi + 6 laps
8. LMP1 Montagny/Sarrazin Peugeot + 9 laps
9. LMP1 Fernandez/Primat/Klien AMR Lola-Aston + 11 laps
10. LMP2 Ojjeh/Kimber-Smith/Lombard Greaves Zytek-Nissan + 12 laps
11. LMP2 Frey/Meichtry/Rostan Race Performance ORECA-Judd + 13 laps
12. LMP2 Kraihamer/Ebbesvik Boutsen ORECA-Nissan + 14 laps
13. LMP2 Newton/Erdos/Collins RML HPD + 14 laps
14. LMP2 Gates/Hughes/Garofall RLR MG Lola-Judd + 19 laps
15. LMP2 Barlesi/da Rocha/Lafargue Oak Pescarolo-Judd + 19 laps
16. LMP2 Mailleux/Ordonez/Vernay Signatech ORECA-Nissan + 20 laps
17. FLM Schultis/Simon/Schell Pegasus FLM + 21 laps
18. FLM Mitchell/Grogor/Kronfli Genoa FLM + 21 laps
19. FLM Marcelli/Ducote/Moro JMB FLM + 22 laps
20. GTE-P Fisichella/Bruni AF Corse Ferrari + 22 laps
21. GTE-P Ortelli/Makowiecki Luxury Ferrari + 23 laps
22. GTE-P Lieb/Lietz Felbermayr Porsche + 23 laps
23. GTE-P Priaulx/Alzen BMW + 23 laps
24. GTE-P Goossens/Holzer Prospeed Porsche + 23 laps
25. LMP2 Leventis/Watts/Kane Strakka HPD + 23 laps
26. GTE-P Farfus/Muller BMW + 23 laps
27. GTE-P Pilet/Henzler IMSA Porsche + 23 laps
28. GTE-P Farnbacher/Simonsen Farnbacher Ferrari + 23 laps
29. GTE-P Bell/Walker JMW Ferrari + 24 laps
30. GTE-P Jakubowski/Beltoise/Marroc Luxury Ferrari + 26 laps
31. GTE-A Narac/Armindo IMSA Porsche + 26 laps
32. GTE-P Hancock/Dolan/Buncombe Jota Aston Martin + 26 laps
33. GTE-A Roda/Long Proton Porsche + 27 laps
34. FLM Hartshorne/Keating/Keen Neil Garner FLM + 28 laps
35. GTE-A Ehret/Lynn/Wills CRS Ferrari + 28 laps
36. GTE-A Bornhauser/Canal/Gardel Larbre Corvette + 28 laps
37. GTE-A Perazzini/Cioci/Lemeret AF Corse Ferrari + 28 laps
38. GTE-A Felbermayr/Ried Felbermayr Porsche + 28 laps
39. GTE-A Krohn/Jonsson/Rugulo Krohn Ferrari + 29 laps
40. GTE-P Rossiter/Mowlem/Wendlinger Jetalliance Lotus + 29 laps
41. GTE-A Giroix/Goethe/Wainwright Gulf Aston Martin + 37 laps
42. GTE-A Hummel/Christodoulou/Quaife CRS Ferrari + 59 laps

Not classified:

GTE-P Broniszewski/Peter Kessel Ferrari 118 laps
GTE-P Lichtner-Hoyer/Rich/Hansson Jetalliance Lotus 114 laps
LMP2 Companc/Russo/Kaffer Pecom Lola-Judd 103 laps

Retirements:

LMP1 Prost/Jani Rebellion Lola-Toyota 159 laps
GTE-P Melo/Vilander AF Corse Ferrari 92 laps
LMP2 Beche/Thiriet/Firth TDS ORECA-Nissan 23 laps

Autosport

Plex · Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 9:30 am Post subject: