The Lister Storm LMP1 Hybrid performed brilliantly at a very, very wet Silverstone – rising to 4th at the beginning of the fourth hour the new prototype ran trouble free for the full 6 hours.

The race started in the rain which gradually got worse;  the conditions for the first three hours were treacherous with numerous safety car periods.  The safety car was brought out because of accidents and also because of the impossible driving conditions – at times the speed was only 20 miles an hour.  Going through the standing water behind the safety car the engine in the LMP would stall for fractions of a second in the deepest parts due to the weight of the water.  There was a team manager’s meeting during the third hour to see if the race should continue;  Laurence agreed that it should.  This is endurance racing so conditions have to be overcome – during the heaviest rain the safety car should be brought out to keep the pack safe.  However, strategy was made difficult due to the erratic safety car organisation – in normal circumstances the safety car should pick up the leader of the race (it never did),  the pit lane should be open immediately after the train of cars had passed (sometimes it was, sometimes it was closed for two laps and sometimes it was open for the full lap).

Justin started and moved rapidly up the field.  He kept the LMP out of trouble – just one 360 spin!  An early pit stop was made during the first hour to block off the radiators – the car was running too cool.  We lost out at our first refuelling stop in the second hour -   Justin followed the safety car into the pits as it came in (a good decision as he would lose very little track time), the car was re-fuelled, then left the pit lane just as the lights turned red for another safety car.  Justin was caught behind this safety car and lost a lap. 

The maximum driving time for any driver during a six hour race is 4 hours;  during the first 3 hours of this race the safety car must have been out for 2 hours – Justin needed to make his second fuel stop at 3 ½ hours so it was time for Jens to finish the race.  Justin brought the car to the pits in 4th position.

Jens found the wet conditions difficult to begin with but quickly became used to them;  unfortunately,  during the 5th hour,  he spun into the gravel;  he was pulled out and got the car re-started but lost 15 positions in the process.  He continued trouble free until the end of the race bringing the LMP1 Hybrid home 7th in class.

Interestingly, only one set of the Dunlop wet tyres were used for the full 6 hours and, upon examination following the race, they are still in good condition.

In conclusion, it was a challenging debut for the Storm LMP1 Hybrid, but it performed faultlessly apart from a minor problem with the gearbox shift system.  The Chevrolet engine was powering down the straights;  the larger restrictors and airbox making it sound superb.  Justin was able to pass the Audi to unlap himself early on in the race and regularly set lap times within fractions of a second of the leaders. 

Lister’s immediate plans for the prototype?  To continue with the testing and development of the Hybrid to unlock its’ full potential and complete the design of the new LMP1 tub for  2006.