WEC
RML Lola MG win LMP2 class
RML Lola MG won the LMP2 class at Le Mans 24 Hours that saw an extremely high level of attrition. Twelve cars started in the class but only four cars finished and the technical problems that those cars encountered put them way down the overall order ...
Published: Jun 19, 2005, 4:16 PM
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RML Lola MG won the LMP2 class at Le Mans 24 Hours that saw an extremely high level of attrition. Twelve cars started in the class but only four cars finished and the technical problems that those cars encountered put them way down the overall order of finishers.
The RML Lola MG of Mike Newton, Thomas Erdos and Warren Hughes endured a lot of problems during the race but was still running at the end and so finished first. The car suffered a gearbox failure, followed later by more required gearbox fixes, then electrical problems and a spin into a gravel trap, but the team held on to second place and then took the lead when the Courage Ford of Paul Belmond slowed.
The #36 Paul Belmondo Racing Courage Ford of Claude Yves Gosselin, Karin Ojjeh and Adam Sharpe started in eighth position but dropped back to tenth over the first hour. The team quickly moved up through the ranks and within 90 minutes was running in fourth position and in the lead by midnight. The car exchanged first and second with the sister #37 car but had to stop to have a starter changed and this dropped the team down to second place.
The #37 Paul Belmondo Racing Courage Ford of Paul Belmondo, Didier Andre and Rick Sutherland started in pole position but dropped down to sixth place after several off track excursions. The car suffered no other dramas and this allowed the team to creep back up by to first position midway through the morning and hold on to the position until the final hour when Belmondo drastically slowed with smoke pouring out of the left hand side of the back of the car and eventually stopped within sight of the pitlane.
The final car to finish the class was the #30 Kruse Motorsport Courage Judd of Phil Bennett, Ian Mitchell and Tim Mullen which suffered two stop go penalties and a couple of spins that dropped them down to seventh place but they recovered to be classified fourth behind the #37 Belmondo car.
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