A crazy race! The drivers of the 49 cars all said that the Spa-Francorchamps event was an exceptional one in which the Hope PoleVision Racing squad scored its maiden victory in endurance, after having almost succeeded in the Le Castellet 8 Hours. Peugeot Sport’s 908 HDi FAPs scored a double from one of the Audi R15 Pluses in the overall classification in a race split into 2 parts. This year at Spa, drivers had to avoid going off and also cope with the caprices of the weather.
A wild start!
Apart from the LM GT2 category at least 1 car got caught out in the opening couple of laps when the start was given at 11h30 in a light shower – a first! André Lotterer in his Audi R15 Plus was the first to make a mistake in the Raidillon in the formation lap! Filippo Francioni destroyed his Lola first time through the Raidillon bringing out the safety car. Five laps later, Olivier Panis went off in the same spot in his Peugeot 908 HDi FAP following a collision. In FLM, Gary Chalandon was punted off on lap 6 in the Raidillon and hit the guardrail both front and rear, but was able to limp back to his pit.
DAMS and Aplewood Seven in the wars
The no. 43 FLM was repaired by DAMS but had to retire at half distance. Thierry Bouvet replacing Loïc David at Spa did not want to let his drivers race on such a demanding layout in a car that was still carrying the scars of its accident. Applewood Seven, another victory contender, saw its chances go up in smoke early on after David Zollinger made a great start in no. 49. Ross Zampatti ran into problems with the front drive train and had a slight off. After a check and a long stop, Toulemonde did one lap just before the chequered flag was waved. It was not enough to be classified.
Nico Verdonck was leading the Formula Le Mans category during the first hour
Hope PoleVision Racing loses a car
A couple of race incident apart from those mentioned above meant that the battle for victory raged between Boutsen Energy Racing and Hope PoleVision Racing. The first was the early retirement of no. 48, driven by Verdonck-Pillon-Capillaire when it was firmly established in the lead.
Then the Boutsen Energy no. 45 FLM had a long stop to change its bonnet, which allowed the no. 47 HPVR FLM to pull out a lap’s advantage. Steve Zacchia and Luca Moro made a great start to the race and handed over the car to the experienced Wolfgang Kaufmann to bring the FLM prototype home at the end of the 6 hours as laid down in the regs. A shower made the final laps a bit tricky, but had no effect on the Formula Le Mans classification. Bernard Delhez, Nicolas de Cren and Dominik Kraihammer came second a lap behind the leaders in the team’s home race. JMB Racing also had an uneventful race, and scored their first Le Mans Series podium finish in FLM with Peter Kutemann, John Hartshorne and Maurice Basso.
Winner’s quotes :
Steve Zacchia, Wolfgang Kaufmann, Luca Moro
Steve Zacchia (CHE): 1st driver no. 47 Hope PoleVision Racing FLM
“I did the first stint and it was really very tricky in the rain. I tried not to push too hard and above all to stay on the track. After a few laps, the track began to dry out and I was able to up the pace. I held on to my position and tried to catch David Zollinger before he stopped. I handed over to Luca in the lead of the category after my two stints. I’m very happy to be here. My last race on the Spa circuit was in 2008 and it didn’t leave a good memory (accident in the Raidillon in the Larbre Saleen due to a mechanical problem). I was very lucky to escape from the crash, and I was a bit apprehensive about coming back here. The Raidillon is the most fantastic corner in the world, and I soon got my confidence back. I’d like to dedicate this victory to our mechanics who rebuilt the car overnight.”
Luca Loro (ITA): 2nd driver no. 47 Hope PoleVision Racing FLM
“After my big accident in the Raidillon on Friday, I’d like to thank the whole team, who did a fantastic job to rebuild the car during the night, working until 07h00 on Saturday morning to give me a competitive machine. My team-mates had a very clean race despite the LM P1s, GT1s, LMP2s and even the GT21s, which overtook on the left and the right, even on both sides at the same time, as well as difficult track conditions. We finished first, you can’t ask for more.”
Wolfgang Kaufmann: 3rd driver no. 47 Hope PoleVision Racing FLM
“It was a very special race, as starting in light rain while the track was dry was a big challenge for all the drivers. The electrical problem was a one-off. I’m delighted to be on the podium and I’d like to confirm what my team-mates said. Luca did a great job after his setback in practice and Steve was just fantastic. The category is interesting even if it’s frustrating as our top speed is about the same as that of the GT2s, and we have to pass them in the corners, which makes things a bit tricky. I didn’t take any risks at the end of the race as I knew we had a lap’s lead. I found myself behind a couple of Ferrari F430 GTs who were at it hammer and tongs. I stayed behind them and I even touched one under braking.”
Benoît Morand; (Hope PoleVision Racing Team Manage, nos FLM 47 and 48)
“Winning at Spa is really great. We were in the lead with our car no. 48 really far in front, and we lost it when everything was turning in our favour. We could have had a one-two finish, but this victory is fantastic. The weekend got off to a bad start. When you think that the team rebuilt car number 47 by working all night from Friday to Saturday, and then it went on to win this crazy race, you have to say it was brilliant.”
Olivier Lainé: (Boutsen Energy Racing Team Manager, car no. 45, 2nd)
“We had a very eventful race and we did our best. We had a headlights problem, which forced us to change the front bonnet but that wasn’t the only thing. There were a host of little items, in particular an unscheduled stop at the start of the race. We’re pleased we’ve shown our ability to score good results, and we hope to pick up a few more. It’s an encouraging result for our home race.”
Jean Michel Bouresche: (Team Manager JMB Racing, no. 46, 3rd)
“It was a fairly eventful race for everybody. We had to bet on reliability together with our consistency, as we had a well-prepared reliable car. We always made the right tyre choice, especially towards the end of the race. We finished in a well-deserved third place taking the circumstances into account.”
Find all the results, classifications, Teams descriptions and news on our website www.formulalemans.com
