Lola had a strong start to the 2010 European sports car season with a 2nd and 3rd placed finish in LMP1 at Paul Ricard over the weekend. A 3rd place in LMP2 by the RML squad cemented a generally positive weekend for Lola runners in the South of France for the 8-hour endurance race.
Aston Martin Racing and Rebellion Racing both took their Lola designed and built Le Mans Prototype sports cars to podium positions during a tough event that finished in wet conditions.
Stefan Mucke/Harold Primat and Adrian Fernandez put an early puncture behind them to take the runners-up position as they strive to retain the title they won in 2009. The Aston Martin powered Lola led for a short while in the early running after brief contact between eventual winners Audi and the ORECA run Peugeot.
“This is a really good car and we’re working hard to make it the best we can but there is still a gap to the diesels,” said Adrian Fernandez. “I’m here for three years so hopefully I can see that big trophy one day in Le Mans.”
The #13 Rebellion Racing Lola of Jean Christophe Boullion/Guy Smith and Andrea Belicchi took 3rd place after a trouble free run to the chequered flag in the 2010 spec Lola. The sister car of Nicolas Prost and Neel Jani finished despite losing time early on due to repairs to the left rear suspension after contact with a GT2 entry. In what was an impressive recovery drive the gold and red Lola came through the field to eventually finish in 7th position in the LMP1 class.
Third placed points at Paul Ricard for AMR and Rebellion bodes well for the Le Mans Series Championship attack because the longer race this weekend counts for double points. With Audi and Peugeot not entered for the full season, both Lola entries could be in prime position for title spoils come the end of the season.
“We have changed the name but it’s the same people in the team,” said Andrea Belicchi. “I’m part of the team from three years ago and I can say that we have improved year by year. I think the Lola is a very nice car indeed.”
Signature Plus took the chequered flag in 6th position with Pierre Ragues/Franck Mailleux and Vanina Ickx showing well in the teams first outing with the ex AMR Lola-Aston Martin. Despite several long pit stops and a spectacular spin by Ickx, the team were pleased to get points in the first race of the season.
In LMP2, RML scored another podium position with the red,white and blue liveried Lola-HPD. The trio of Tommy Erdos/Andy Wallace and Mike Newton led the class at times and ran as high as 7th overall but finally took 3rd place in what was a great return to form for the Wellingborough based team.
Racing Box returned to the LMS fray with both of their Judd powered Lola LMP2 entries. Brothers Andrea and Giacomo Piccini joined team owner Ferdinando Geri and enjoyed a trouble free race to score points with 6th place in LMP2. The #30 car of Marco Cioci, Luca Pirri and Piergiuseppe Perazzini started the race well but hit trouble mid-race with electrical problems and were forced to retire.
Kruse-Schiller Motorsport were back for their first race since Le Mans last June. Now with Judd power, the open cockpit Lola overcame gearbox issues in the early running to claim a classified finish and useful points for Jean De Pourtales/Hideki Noda and promising British racer Jonathan Kennard in 7th place.
The next round of the 2010 Le Mans Series takes place at the spectacular Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium over the weekend of 8/9th May.
