LE MANS SERIES – 1000 KM OF SILVERSTONE – RACE REPORT

The weather was mild all weekend long in England for the last round of the 2009 LeMans Series at Silverstone, and even though clouds appeared in the sky on Sundaymorning, they didn’t prevent SPEEDY RACING TEAM SEBAH from standing on thepodium for both of their cars.

The first free practice session started smoothly for the #13 Lola-Aston Martin LMP1,driven by Andrea Belicchi, Marcel Fässler and Nicolas Prost, even though a brokendamper interrupted their set-up work schedule. After the team quickly changed thefaulty part, the beautiful British car was soon back on track to find the best race setup.Andrea Belicchi set the fourth fastest time in qualifying, which demonstrated thatSPEEDY RACING TEAM SEBAH worked in the right way for the race. Moreover, thecrew posted the second fastest lap during the warm-up, and confirmed the car’spotential.

Andrea Belicchi had a good start to the race and fought for the lead with two of theworks Lola-Aston Martins, as well as the pole-sitting Oreca car. These four cars tookturns in the lead one after the other, depending on the pit-stops. Nicolas Prost thentook over in the #13 and drove a faultless double-stint. He took the lead when heboldly passed the #007 Lola-Aston Martin into Stowe Corner. Emerging from thepitlane in fourth place after a pit-stop to hand over to Marcel Fässler, it was not longbefore the #13 car was back in the lead of the race. Marcel consolidated the leadwith his fast pace, but unfortunately the team were instructed by the race officials tomake an unscheduled pit-stop to replace a damaged bodywork louver a few lapsbefore crossing the finish line. Despite a short pit-stop to carry out the repair, the carfinished second, whereas a great victory had been within reach.

Andrea Belicchi: “We could finish the race and we would have won it without thissmall problem. We have been fast all along the season. Second place is a goodresult, and I am happy.”

Marcel Fässler: “I am disappointed because I think that we could have won this race,but second place is still a good result. We demonstrated that, had the car beenreliable, we would have clinched a good result at each race. I would have settled forsecond place at the beginning of the weekend, but as a race driver, I always wantmore! Especially because the victory was so close.”

Nicolas Prost: “We had a great race with a strong performance from all the driversand we lose the race because of a technicality. This is life, but it is hard to swallow atthe moment. The car and the Michelin tires were great, as well as our strategy. Wedid better than we were expecting because our pace during the free practice andqualifying sessions has not been good. We were there at the end.”

Nice and steady wins the race! That could be the motto of the team’s #33 Lola-JuddLMP2, which ran trouble free during the three-day race meeting. Through freepractice, Jonny Kane, Benjamin Leuenberger and Xavier Pompidou worked steadilytowards finding the best set-up for the race and didn’t try to chase one-off laptimeglory despite the great potential of the car.

Jonny Kane put in a stunning lap in qualifying to take second place on the startinggrid. It was an ideal position from which to try to clinch a well-deserved victory for thewhole SPEEDY RACING TEAM SEBAH.Jonny kept his position at the start of the race and he widened the gap little by littlebetween himself and his closest rival behind. The British driver took the lead of theLMP2 class after 32 laps and continued to lead until the end of his second stint.Benjamin Leuenberger then got into the Lola-Judd and by being fast and consistent,he kept the lead throughout his two stints. Taking over for the final part of the race,Xavier Pompidou only had to stoke the car home to the chequered flag and take along awaited and well-deserved victory.

The #33 Lola-Judd also won the Michelin Green X Challenge at Silverstone. With twowins and two second places in the Michelin Green X classification throughout theseason, the #33 Lola-Judd managed a huge 36-point lead over its closest rival. Itwas the icing on the cake for the #33 car, which could not have put a better end tothe season.

Jonny Kane: “I am delighted with the result of the race. The car was good, as werethe Michelin tires, so we could double-stint easily. We should have won the first raceat Barcelona and the previous one at Nürburgring. It’s great that we’ve finally won arace now, thanks to a fantastic team and drivers’ effort.”

Benjamin Leuenberger: “This is a good result for Speedy Racing Team Sebah today.We had a highly competitive car and tires which were still consistent at the end of thesecond stint. I think that it has been the key to success and I am very happy.”

Xavier Pompidou: “I am very happy with this team result. We have demonstrated ourpotential since the beginning of the season but we could not capitalise on it. I had twoflawless stints and we were able to run with a more conservative pace from midrace.”Bart Hayden, Team-manager: “It finally happened! We have tried so hard to winthroughout the season but we have been struck by bad luck a number of times. It isfantastic to win today with the LMP2 car and to finish second with the LMP1 car. Thisis an almost perfect weekend, which rewards a true team effort.”