Monza in Italy proved a happy hunting ground for Michael Lyons and the Kessel Racing team on Sunday, 12th April, after securing a Pro-Am Class podium finish during the opening round of the 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series in the No.11 Ferrari 458 Italia.
As well as competing at Monza this weekend, the 24-year-old British driver was also in action at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit in the UK on Saturday, 11th April, where he made an outstanding debut in the headline LMP2 prototype class of the European Le Mans Series.
On course for a podium bid in the four-hour ELMS opening round with Murphy Prototypes, Michael was crestfallen to find out – after he had left the circuit to catch his evening flight to Monza – the Oreca-Nissan had developed an electrical issue in the final hour, forcing retirement.
Despite that, the incredible weekend not only underlined the Bishop’s Stortford driver’s great professionalism, it also confirmed his pace and front-running credentials racing at a very high level in two contrasting race cars.
“The podium at Monza in Blancpain is a great way to start the season, but it is a case of what might have been – both there and at Silverstone in ELMS”, said the 24-year-old, “We had a great chance to try and win in Blancpain, and a podium wasn’t far away at Silverstone either.
“I’m very happy with the job I did, though. It all went seamlessly really and to race the LMP2 on Saturday and the Ferrari on Sunday in two different countries was pretty special and not something you get to do too often!”
After flying out to Monza on Saturday evening, Michael headed to the venue on Sunday morning and had to go straight into qualifying without any practice. Adapting incredibly well to the Ferrari, he produced excellent lap times and the team started the race from third in Pro-Am and fourth overall.
Poland’s Michael Broniszewski took the first stint of the three-hour contest and maintained the placing before handing over to his British team-mate. Rejoining in ninth position, Lyons quickly moved into third overall and second in Pro-Am and a stunning result looked on the cards.
Pitting with 60 minutes of racing to go, Alessandro Bonacini then continued the fight and got to within 0.8 seconds of the lead of Pro-Am only for engine problems to surface. This meant the Italian had to settle for a nonetheless strong third in Pro-Am and seventh overall. Post-race, the team was elevated into sixth overall after the outright race winner was excluded.
“Considering I went straight into qualifying on Sunday morning at Monza with no track time at all under my belt, I was happy with my performance and it showed my team-mates had done a good job setting the car up on Saturday”, reflected the Briton.
“Michael [Broniszewski] had a good run in his stint in the race, I got in the car with a bit of a gap to the lead and a gap to third in class behind and my stint was when most of the Pro drivers were on track so it was great to measure myself against them – and do a good job.”
Electrical problem robs Murphy Prototypes of deserved ELMS podiumMichael’s first weekend in the headline LMP2 Class in the European Le Mans Series started very well after securing the fifth fastest time in qualifying, a best lap of 1m49.681 seconds (193.7 km/h) placing the No.48 Oreca 03R-Nissan just 0.5 seconds shy of pole position.
Taking the opening stint of the four-hour race, Michael was initially edged back to fifth position but returned to the top four with around half an hour of racing complete. After pitting 15 minutes or so later, he remained behind the wheel for another stint and as the race progressed into its second hour Michael became embroiled in a fantastic battle with the hugely experienced Nicolas Minassian.
With just under 90 minutes of racing having elapsed, Michael pitted for the second time with Mark Patterson taking over driving duties. When the American pitted to hand-over to Nathanaël Berthon with an hour and a half remaining, the team still held its top four placing but frustration followed.
Around a third of the way into the Frenchman’s stint, the Murphy Prototypes car slowed to a halt out on track and Berthon was powerless to do anything other than park up at the side of the circuit and retire from the race.
“There were no issues at all in my stint and the car handled very well, so it was really disappointing to get the call and find out about the engine problem”, said Michael, “I was really happy with my performance in ELMS, battling with [Nicolas] Minassian for the best part of an hour was definitely a highlight and it was great to learn the tricks of the LMP2 trade from one of the class masters!”
Next on the racing schedule for Michael is a visit to the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona this coming weekend, 18th/19th April, where he will be competing at the wheel of an Historic Formula One car and also Group C Sportscar during the Espiritu de Montjuic festival. In terms of his contemporary racing, he will visit Imola in Italy on 16th/17th May for round two of the European Le Mans Series.
