European Le Mans
Asia: Okayama: Series qualifying report
The LM GT1 & GT2 Aston Martin disqualified! The 2 Aston Martins that set the quickest times in LM GT1 and LM GT2 have been disqualified because their wings do not comply with the technical regulations. T. Tsuchiya (GT1) and Thomas Enge (GT2) will ...
Published: Oct 31, 2009, 7:02 PM
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The LM GT1 & GT2 Aston Martin disqualified!
The 2 Aston Martins that set the quickest times in LM GT1 and LM GT2 have been disqualified because their wings do not comply with the technical regulations. T. Tsuchiya (GT1) and Thomas Enge (GT2) will start from the last row of the grid tomorrow (Saturday). " The scrutineers saw that the rear wings of the two cars, which complied during scrutineering, were no longer in compliance with the regulations after the qualifying session, " stated Jacques Olivier, the President of the Stewards of the Meeting, made up of Takashi Mitarashi from Japan and Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Baudriller.
Okayama Asian le Mans Series: The Drayson Racing Lola-Judd on pole!
Qualifying for the inaugural round of the Asian Le Mans Series produced a big surprise. The battle for pole was expected to be fought out between the Pescarolo-Judd, the Oreca-AIM, or the works Lola-Aston Martin with the Team Kolles Audi R10s as outsiders.
But 23-year-old Johnny Cocker didn't see things that way. In his pretty green Lola-Judd coupe the young Englishman snatched pole from his more fancied rivals! His team-mate is none other than Paul Drayson, the minister of science in the current British government. Christophe Tinseau immediately set a very similar time on his first flyer, only 1/10s off Cocker's, but like Nicolas Lapierre and Stefan Mucke (who went into a gravel trap), he was unable to pip the British driver. The Lola had only 2 races to its name, and had had a big shunt in the Petit Le Mans on the Road Atlanta circuit that necessitated a rebuild. " This morning in free practice, we had a problem that prevented us from fighting at the front, so that's probably why you're a bit surprised! But we knew that we were capable of such a performance," said a delighted Johnny.
The quickest time in LM P2 went to the OAK Racing Pescarolo-Mazda driven by Jacques Nicollet, while LM GT1 was dominated by Japanese drivers Tsuchiya-Tsuzuki,'s Aston Martin DBR9 from the Larbre Competition Saleen of Van Dam, Lemeret and Berville. GT2 produced another upset: for the first time in a Le Mans Series event neither a Ferrari nor a Porche set pole, but the Hong Kong Racing Aston Martin Vantage. It is in fact, the factory test car in which Tomas Enge drove a stunning lap.
The start of the first race (500 km or 3 hours maximum) will be given tomorrow (Saturday) at 12h30 local time, and the weather looks like being the same as in qualifying: fine and sunny with a maximum temperature of 25 degreess. This not Florida, but Okayama, which is a kind of mixture of a small Vallelunga in a Spa-Francorchamps decor -- an ideal setting for a grande première !
-credit: aco
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