Le Mans Series, Round 5: The Autosport 1000km of Silverstone

[Dead-Eye]

Was Strakka's DBR9 out testing as well? I take it their new livery will look like the M3's?

[rdjones]

So I am so pleased about the news to come out Wellingbrough today, however I am not really suprised. I can't wait to see it with my own eyes next Friday.

[Aslak Vind]

Originally Posted by Dead-Eye

Was Strakka's DBR9 out testing as well? I take it their new livery will look like the M3's?

Which spec are the DBR9?

It seems its not 2008?

[Tom908V12]

Superb looking car the MG Lola Coupé of RML !!!!

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by Dead-Eye

Was Strakka's DBR9 out testing as well? I take it their new livery will look like the M3's?

If it looks like that then, it is a pretty boring livery.

Originally Posted by Aslak Vind

Which spec are the DBR9?

It seems its not 2008?

Think it is a 2007 spec with one or two 2008 things added before Le Mans.

Tom.

[Dead-Eye]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

If it looks like that then, it is a pretty boring livery.

I think it would look pretty cool...simple, but there's nothing wrong with an all black Aston

[JAG]

This is shaping up to be the best UK Sportscar race for almost two decades, matching the '89-'90 Group C races.

[Thumper]

Since nobody else seems to have answered this earlier question, the driver in the Zytek with the all-white helmet was Olivier Pla. I understand that we are not to draw too many obvious conclusions from this, but time will tell.

The news of RML's coupé was also carried on their own website, naturally enough, where there are also some more photos from today's run at Snetterton. (www.mg-lola.com) As noted by an earlier post, the roof-line on the RML variant differs from both the Speedy LMP2 and the Charouz LMP1 because it does not have the roof-top air-intake. That makes the roof appear lower and sleeker. Instead, the AER-derived XP-21 engine has the snorkel intake on the left-hand side beside the cockpit.

Also picking up on some of the earlier comments, Strakka's Aston and BMW are now both in all-black livery with largely white-out sponsors' logos etc, but from questions asked, there's some thought being given to introducing a second colour. The Aston worked so well in the Vitaphone livery at Le Mans that I think there has to be some mileage down that route - although not turquoise blue, of course. Darren Turner shared the running with Peter Hardman, while Nick Leventis spent most of his time in the BMW.

Also testing at Snett was the Radical LMP2, with Michael Vergers doing some development on revised aero, and Ross Kaiser enjoying his first run in the "big" Radical.

[TheNewBob]

One thought, I'm probably going on all three days of the meeting - given the lack of info being mentioned, I'm assuming entry is free on the Friday?

[minimangler]

Sweet machine!

[LeMans.pt]

Originally Posted by Thumper

Since nobody else seems to have answered this earlier question, the driver in the Zytek with the all-white helmet was Olivier Pla. I understand that we are not to draw too many obvious conclusions from this, but time will tell.

ASM going Zytek???? Don't think so....

[cptkablamo]

Originally Posted by TheNewBob

One thought, I'm probably going on all three days of the meeting - given the lack of info being mentioned, I'm assuming entry is free on the Friday?

I assume so - I've seen no price mentioned anywhere...

The RML coupe does look good, the colour scheme really suits a coupe, will be interesting to see how it compares with the Speedy/Sebah car, and whether RML will immediately decide to upgrade their engines

[rich07]

Wow!! That RML coupe looks so good, the white based livery really does suit the lines of the coupe well, it would be great to see them beat the Porsches at home.

[Cuttlefish]

Was the RML announcement unexpected? Did I miss something?

Usually all the new car announcements are pretty well known, especially seeing that this announcement was only made with 2 weeks until Silverstone?

Either way, damn nice car! Great to see more of the Lola Coupes.

Same engine as Speedy?

[Thumper]

The RML announcement was totally unexpected, I think. Mutterings had suggested they were considering the Acura route, so combining an announcement like this with a shakedown test on the same day caught quite a few people on the hop.

The engine is not the same as the Speedy Sebah Coupé, since the RML example retains the MG XP-21 AER-developed unit - hence the car's on-going designation as an MG Lola.

[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by Thumper

The news of RML's coupé was also carried on their own website, naturally enough, where there are also some more photos from today's run at Snetterton. (www.mg-lola.com) As noted by an earlier post, the roof-line on the RML variant differs from both the Speedy LMP2 and the Charouz LMP1 because it does not have the roof-top air-intake. That makes the roof appear lower and sleeker. Instead, the AER-derived XP-21 engine has the snorkel intake on the left-hand side beside the cockpit.

Terrific news, the car looks spectacular!

Snett was clearly just a shakedown for the new package, and although appearances may suggest otherwise, this is clearly evolution rather than revolution. I assume, therefore, that Tommy may have 'had a go' yesterday. Can you give any indication of his quickest laptime?

[Aslak Vind]

I think this Lola package might surprise us. I was not surprised by the fact, that the current car had to be pensioned of, RML themselves confirmed that earlier in the year.

But launching the car today in shape of a coupe, surprised me, however logical it might seem.

[Aslak Vind]

Interesting to see, which powerplant RML chooses next year. I was also surprised by Oliver Pla in the Zytek?

[Bentley03]

..........I do think the RML news deserved a dedicated thread!

[mariantic]

Originally Posted by WMUCarGuy

RML has 2 B05/40s. HU03 was the Judd powered car and was only used in 2005. HU05 was the AER/MG powered car they've used in 2006-present.

Note the chassis number from LMS Silverstone entry list:-

http://www.lemans-series.com/en/s51_...php?voiture=59

N° Chassis: B0880-HU03

Interesting?

Mariantic

[Aslak Vind]

Very interesting, and now we are on the subject:


Structure:

Chassis: R10 TDI
N° Chassis: 1:R10T-301 - 2:R10T-204

#2 is a tub from last year?

Configuration:

Chassis: Lola
N° Chassis: Lola HU01

The Lola Aston Martin has returned to the first tub, after racing the second at the ring?

[Graham Goodwin]

Just an indication that Lola and RML can keep a secret longer than most!

[Aslak Vind]

The R10 204 tub from last years just goes to show, that the damage done at LM means that Audi will not bother to build another R10 tub only a few races from retirement. Especially in a championship, with no chance of winning.

Audi Sport is probably busy building R15 tubs instead. The A4 DTM for 2009 will probably be named R14Plus

[isynge]

Originally Posted by Bentley03

..........I do think the RML news deserved a dedicated thread!

Absolutely - but this is what happens when they spring a surprise on us instead of whipping up our appetites like Rollcentre did with their Pescarolo!

In fact, there's so much to speculate about I would have thought "Yesterday at Snetterton" would have been a pretty decent thread too.

Beyond the obvious RML news there was the Zytek:ASM connection, Michael Vergers in the Radical, sundry Strakka news, and probably a whole lot more.

[Graham Goodwin]

Verge does lots of work with radical - Ross Kaiser's first run is probably the more significant SR9 snippet