Just three weeks after the gruelling 2005 Le Mans 24 Hours came to a conclusion, many of the entrants journey to Monza this weekend for the second round of the Le Mans Endurance Series.
The classic Monza 1000kms has a rich history of Lola competitors from Frank Gardener and Andrea De Adamich’s gallant 5th place with a Lola T70 in 1969 to the famous Alain De Cadenet and Desire Wilson win in 1980.
In 2005, there are four Lola customer teams entered for the race with reigning Le Mans LMP2 winners, RML, fresh from their La Sarthe exploits and looking to add the Monza 1000kms crown to their newly acquired Le Mans trophies.
Mike Newton and Tommy Erdos are again entered in the MG-Lola and will be looking to get over the disappointment of Spa in April, when they proved to be the most consistently fast LMP2 car but lost time due to a problem with the master switch.
Tommy Erdos is one of the very fastest drivers in the LMP2 category and he is looking forward to racing at Monza this weekend. "We are confident that we have a package which is very competitive and what happened at Spa was unfortunate,” said the Brazilian. “We scored some valuable points which is important in a five race championship. The team worked really well to keep us on track and resolve the problems and the performance of the car has filled us with a lot of confidence going into Monza.”
Chamberlain Synergy scored a surprise yet richly merited win at Spa and currently head the LMP2 points table. The team had not tested much before the first round in Belgium but drove a solid race to ensure that drivers Bob Berridge, Peter Owen and Gareth Evans stood on the top step of the podium.
Berridge, who has won at Monza in the Thoroughbred Grand Prix competition, is yearning to put a frustrating Le Mans behind him and once again challenge for a win again in Italy.
“We can go along way on fuel, about 2 hours and if Peter and Gareth drive the way they did at Spa then there is no reason why we cannot be there or there abouts come the chequered flag,” said the straight talking Berridge.
Two additional entries for Monza are the Horag-Lista Lola B5/40 and the Binnie Motorsports example. Both of which will be making their race debuts on European soil this weekend.
The Horag-~Lista car is brand new and has had just a handful of days testing at Most in the Czech Republic. Driven by Fredy Leinhard and Didier Theys, the car ran faultlessly, completing 450kms and the team are raring to go.
Team boss Markus Hotz has known Leinhard since the late 60’s and Theys from Formula 2 racing in the early 1980’s. In 1995 Hotz started preparing Lienhard's Ferrari 333 SPs in the IMSA World SportsCar championship under the Horag-Lista banner, and Theys joined Lienhard as that car's co-driver for the first time that year.
Theys also drove in endurance sports car events for Doran Racing in America for the first time in 1995, and Lienhard joined him there for selected events starting in 1996. From that point on they recorded many American victories with Doran-Lista Racing.
"Racing again with Markus and Fredy in Europe will be just like the old
days," Theys said. "I think we'll have a very competitive package with the Lola Judd. I know we're starting in the middle of the season this year, but we're looking at it as great preparation for a full assault on the championship in 2006."
Binnie Motorsport have not raced since a brief outing at Sebring in March but team principal and driver Bill Binnie is keen for his Lola B05/40 to mix it at the front this weekend. The duel nationality American/Scot has the Saltaire of Scotland emblazoned on his car and after failing to secure an entry at the 24 Hours he is looking to make up for lost time at Monza, a track he loves after racing in historic cars and last year in the Intersport Lola B2K/40.
“As a new team, we believe it is important to state that we are a fully committed and funded race team and it is our intention to compete in both Europe and the United States in 2005."
Binnie, will be joined at Monza by talented young driver Adam Sharpe, who celebrated a fine 2nd place in the LMP2 class at Le Mans last month.
The action at Monza begins at 12.45 on Friday with qualifying for the 1000kms taking place at 17.15 on Saturday. The race itself will begin at 12.30 local time on Sunday afternoon.
