The RML MG Lola EX257 was classified 8th in the 3rd round of the Le Mans Endurance Series at Silverstone on Saturday after an eventful 5 ½ hours of running on the Grand Prix Circuit. Tommy Erdos, Mike Newton and Miguel Ramos all endured a frustrating race with contact from other cars and a loss of power hampering the teams chances of finishing higher up the order.
Starting the 1000km race from 8th on the grid Tommy's usual first lap climb through the pack was hampered when the Lister Storm of Justin Keen made contact with him at the first corner. Caution was exercised in the following early laps while the team established if any resulting damage had occurred. Giving Tommy the all clear he began to pick up the pace and managed to climb to 6th during the first hour before pitting for fuel and fresh tyres.
Back on track and taking a double stint Tommy rejoined in 9th position and climbed to 6th before handing the car over to Mike Newton. Mike rejoined in 8th position and a couple of laps into his first stint he began to experience a loss of power. Resetting the ignition he managed to get the MG restarted and continued although a misfire was still apparent. He drove to the scheduled stop however, pitting from 6th position with over 3 hours of the race complete.
An extended stop saw the team investigate the problems that Mike had experienced throughout his first hour in the car and a sensor was replaced. Mikes double stint was further delayed when a starter motor problem forced the team to push the car into the garage while the component was replaced. Rejoining in 9th position Mike worked hard to maintain position and despite being hit by a Porsche he ran almost to his scheduled stop before pitting for Miguel Ramos to take over.
Miguel rejoined in 10th position and had climbed to 8th before pitting for fuel. Back on track for the final stint Miguel was still running in 8th when he lost drive on the penultimate lap. A fire in the engine bay forced him to stop at the nearest marshal's post where he safely evacuated the car. With enough race distance covered at the chequered flag the team still gained an 8th position classification for the race.
Tommy commented "The first corner contact I had with the Lister was totally unnecessary and could have seen us both in the gravel trap. I battled with understeer after that which didn't give me the confidence to push really hard. It has been frustrating but I think the team did well to cover the race distance and get the car classified".
Mike Newton commented "A couple of laps into my first stint I lost power but managed to restart the car and continue. We still had a misfire and tried to resolve it during my stints. A Porsche hit me from behind but luckily it didn't cause too much damage and I continued almost to the scheduled pit time. It has not been the most enjoyable race but it was certainly challenging".
Miguel Ramos commented "It was disappointing not to cross the line but we still managed to get classification which is good as we experienced problems throughout the race".
The 4th and Final Round of the Le Mans Endurance Series takes place at Spa, Belgium on 12th September 2004.
