Spa: Zytek race report

Zytek Returns to Winning Ways

LMP2 champions class winners and first petrol car at Spa

Zytek Motorsport has returned to its winning ways with victory in today's 1000km of Spa. Le Mans Series LMP2 champions Olivier Pla and Miguel Amaral in the Quifel-ASM Ginetta-Zytek 09SB took not only the LMP2 class but also finished an impressive sixth place overall, the first petrol-fuelled car home, irrespective of category.

The Portuguese team put behind it the problems of the opening round of the LMS at Paul Ricard and, in typically difficult Spa-Francorchamps conditions, gave a measured performance to win the class by over one minute. The 09SB, which sported improved aerodynamics at the rear, ran faultlessly for 130 laps. It was beaten overall only by five of the cars that complete in the more powerful LMP1 class, all of them factory-entered diesels from major car manufacturers. The win for the privately entered team was, said Radio Le Mans, "richly deserved."

As last year at the daunting Belgian track, Olivier quickly moved up the grid and into the lead of the LMP2 class. In 2009, his bid for victory was thwarted when he was forced off the road by an LMP1 diesel. There was no such drama this time. However, by making his initial pit stop earlier than his rivals, the rapid Frenchman had fallen back by the end of the first hour, A local power failure then caused the race to be red flagged but this did not phase the team and before long Olivier was involved in a close battle to retrieve the lead. With two hours of the race remaining the Ginetta-Zytek was back up front in the LMP2 class, a position that Miguel, who took over the wheel and who improves from race to race, was able to safely maintain to the finish.

The next appearance for the Quifel-ASM team will be at the Le Mans 24-hours on the weekend of June 12-13. It will be joined there by fellow LMP2 contestants, Team Bruichladdich (Ginetta-Zytek 09SB) and WR Salini (WR-Zytek), all three cars using examples of the 3.4-litre Zytek ZG348, which won the class at the French classic in 2007. A further Ginetta-Zytek 09SB, that of Beechdean-Mansell Motorsport, has been entered in the LMP1 class for 1992 Formula One World Champion, Nigel Mansell and his sons, Greg and Leo.

-source: zytek