Silverstone
LMES , 14 August 2004
Race
Third
place after handling problems
Audi UK Press Release, 14th August 2004: Brentwood’s
Johnny Herbert steered his Audi sportscar to third place in
the penultimate round of the Le Mans Endurance Series at Silverstone
yesterday (Saturday 14 August).
The
40-year-old Essex ace now lies second in the LM P1 category
Drivers’ championship standings having claimed a win and second
place in the previous two races staged in Italy and Germany.
Herbert and co-driver Jamie Davies (Somerset) started their
Audi R8 from second on the 38-car grid with the “sister” Audi
Sport UK Team Veloqx R8 car of Allan McNish and Pierre Kaffer
in third position. But a handling imbalance for much of the
near six hour race, delayed the Davies/Herbert Audi R8.
Johnny
reflected: “On my first scheduled stop, we had to change the
nose section which was possibly damaged when I nudged a kerb
but that didn’t cost much time. The handling was good on new
tyres initially but each time it quickly deteriorated - it
was bizarre.
"We
suffered the same kind of problem in the previous race and
thought it had been cured, there was no problem in qualifying
but 24 hours later it was back. But so will we -at Spa!”
Prior
to the Silverstone race, Herbert was presented by Sir Malcolm
Guthrie with the Eric Thompson Trophy on behalf of the exclusive
Club des Pilotes in the British Racing Drivers’ Club. The annual
award goes to the highest-placed British driver each year in
the Le Mans 24 Hours. The award this year went to Herbert, Jamie
Davies and Guy Smith who finished second two months ago having
started from pole-position and led for the opening 15 hours.
Audi
UK Press Release, 14th August 2004: The
Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx squad scored its third consecutive
Le Mans Endurance Series victory when Allan McNish and Pierre
Kaffer cruised to a comfortable “home” win in the 1,000km race
at Silverstone today (14 Aug).
The
British Audi team had looked set to achieve a third straight
1-2 LMES result but a handling imbalance forced the “sister”
R8 of Jamie Davies/Johnny Herbert to concede second place to
the similar Audi Sport Japan Team Goh R8 with a little over
an hour to run. Despite the problem, the Davies/Herbert Audi
finished third.
Davies
and Kaffer started the 195-lap race from second and third places
on the 38-car grid with the pole-starting Zytek (Robbie Kerr/Chris
Dyson) setting the early pace around the 3.194-mile British
Grand Prix circuit.
Kaffer
moved in to second place on lap 14 and briefly led before and
after the first scheduled pit-stops before the completion of
the first hour. But 80 minutes in to the race, the leading Zytek
touched another car necessitating a pit-stop for repairs.
At
one-quarter distance (lap 49), Kaffer enjoyed a 29 secs lead
over the “sister” Veloqx Audi of Davies with the Minassian/Campbell-Walter
(DBA) a further second adrift in third and the Goh Audi (Rinaldo
Capello/Seiji Ara) fourth.
McNish
and Herbert took over their #8 and #88 Audi R8s from co-drivers
Kaffer and Davies with 107mins and 104mins on the clock respectively
and resumed the 623-mile race in first and second places (lap
64).
At
three-quarter race distance (lap 147), McNish led Herbert by
almost a full lap, the latter’s Audi enduring a handling imbalance
as had co-driver Davies earlier. Herbert relinquished second
place when he made a quick, late stop for fuel. Johnny also
stopped two laps from the chequered flag for new tyres.
Nürburgring
race winners’ McNish/Kaffer crossed the line over one lap ahead
of the Japan Audi with the Herbert/Davies Veloqx Audi, the opening
LMES race victors, a further lap in arrears.
Sam
Li, Team Principal, said: “A third consecutive LMES victory
makes me very proud of the team. It was an especially good
performance by car #8. There are now four points between our
four drivers in the LM P1 standings with Team Goh a further
five points back so there is still everything to play for
at Spa. Our workshops are close to Silverstone while our partner,
Audi UK, is based close by in Milton Keynes so the win is
especially sweet.”
The
final round of the inaugural Le Mans Endurance Series is staged
at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium on 12 September..
Qualifying
Herbert
starts home race from the front row
Audi UK Press Release, 13th August 2004: Johnny Herbert
starts the third and penultimate round of the Le Mans Endurance
Series at Silverstone tomorrow (SAT) from second place on the
39-car grid.
The 40-year-old Brentwood-born race ace swept his Audi R8 sportscar
around the 3.194-mile Northamptonshire Grand Prix circuit in
a time of 1min 35.724secs, an average speed of 120.12mph during
qualifying today (FRI).
Herbert
and co-driver Jamie Davies have already scored a win (Nürburgring,
Germany) and second place (Monza, Italy). Audi Sport UK Team
Veloqx team-mates Allan McNish and Pierre Kaffer, who have also
scored a win and second place in the previous two races, start
the 195-lap, 620-mile race from third position.
Johnny
commented: “My fastest lap during the morning session felt
good and fast but obviously compared to that set by the Zytek,
it was nothing particularly special. But having seen the Zytek
through the chicanes at Monza and Le Mans, we’re not that
surprised. I’m confident that in the race, the gap will not
be as big and it’ll be a good race for us again.”
Audi
UK Press Release, 13th August 2004: The Audi Sport UK Team
Veloqx R8s line-up in second and third positions on the 39-car
grid for the penultimate round of the Le Mans Endurance Series
at Silverstone in England on Saturday.
Johnny
Herbert qualified #88 in second place after setting a 1min 35.724secs
in the opening session on Friday - 1.691secs slower than the
Zytek of Robbie Kerr/Chris Dyson (1:34.033) that starts in pole-position
for the 1,000km (620-mile race).
Meanwhile
Allan McNish moved #8 up from provisional fifth place (1:36.615)
to third position in the second, 45 minute time trial with a
1m 36.395secs around the 3.194-mile British Grand Prix track.
In
the closing stages of the second session, #88 Veloqx Audi suffered
right rear suspension and bodywork damage when Davies was forced
off the circuit lapping a back-marker. In the second session,
Davies set a 1:39.167 with the pole-sitter on 1:37.656.
Sam
Li, Team Principal, said: “The Zytek time is a remarkable
one and so we decided not to chase them. It was more important
for us to get a good race set-up for both of our cars than
to fight for pole-position. We completed our programme which
was very important. I think the race will be close and exciting
and will hopefully result in our third LMES win.”
Preview
Herbert
aims for successful homecoming
Audi UK Press Release, 6th August 2004: Johnny
Herbert lines-up his Audi sportscar for the penultimate round
of the Le Mans Endurance Series on Saturday (14 August) aiming
to add to his impressive tally of Silverstone victories.
The
40-year-old Brentwood-born driver made his début at the Northamptonshire
track 20 years ago and has gone on to score numerous wins during
his illustrious career - including the 1995 Formula One British
Grand Prix. Saturday’s 1,000km (620-mile) race marks the first
“international” race the Essex driver has raced at Silverstone
since the 2000 British GP.
Johnny
commented: “I made my Silverstone début 20 years ago, winning
a FF1600 race, and went on to win there in Formula Three (1987).
My last Silverstone victory was in the 1995 British Grand
Prix while my last race there was in the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hour
race winning Jaguar D-Type last month in a British Grand Prix
support race.”
Herbert
and his three Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx team-mates, Jamie Davies
(Somerset), Pierre Kaffer (Germany) and Allan McNish (Scotland)
are tied in the LM P1 class championship lead of the four-race
endurance sportscar series which concludes next month in Belgium.
“I
drive with Jamie and like Allan and Pierre, we have won and
finished second in the two previous LMES races,” added Johnny.
“Another top-three result would be perfect for our championship
aspirations although there will be no team orders between
the two Veloqx Audi cars and we also face stiff competition.”
A
44-car entry, split in to four classes dependent on engine capacity
and vehicle weight, is expected to compete for honours at the
track located just six miles from the Veloqx Audi team’s workshops.
He
added: “There will be the Le Mans 24 Hour race winning ‘Japanese”
Audi similar to our R8 racing although the Zytek and DBA Creation
cars are also likely to be very fast around Silverstone so
it should be a good race which could possibly be spiced up
further by our summer weather!”
The
Silverstone 1,000km race, which is likely to be attended by
Johnny’s proud parents, Bob and Jane, marks the first time Audi’s
ultra-successful R8 sportscar has ever raced at this venue.
Since making its race début in March 2000, the Audi R8 has scored
47 victories from 56 race starts - including the Le Mans 24
Hours four times in the last five years.
Johnny,
who since the last race for the Veloqx Audi team has driven
a Jaguar D-Type at Silverstone, a Jaguar C-Type in the Le
Mans Classic and a Minardi two-seater Formula One car at Kyalami
in South Africa, concluded: “I’ve clocked up 30 races at this
track - including 10 Grands Prix – and there would be no better
place to return to winning ways than at Silverstone.”
Audi
UK Press Release, 4th August 2004: Audi
Sport UK Team Veloqx makes the short journey to Silverstone
aiming to continue its domination of the Le Mans Endurance Series.
Based
just six miles away in Brackley, Northamptonshire, the Audi
team that has claimed one-two results in both the previous two
races (Monza & Nürburgring), bids for a third consecutive triumph
in Saturday’s (14 Aug) 1,000km race to consolidate its grip
on the LM P1 Drivers’ championship standings.
Veloqx
Audi drivers Pierre Kaffer and Allan McNish (#8) plus Jamie
Davies and Johnny Herbert (#88) start the 620-mile British race
tied on 18-points after sharing a win and second place apiece.
Sam
Li, Team Principal: “After a busy period of racing, Team Veloqx
took a short summer break to both absorb the successes achieved
so far and also to plan ahead for the remaining two critical
races of the LMES season. No venue is better than Silverstone
to kick-start Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx's campaign for the
LMES double crown. The whole team and our tyre partner Michelin
is ready to produce the strongest show to repeat all the successful
results we’ve already achieved this season. It will definitely
be an emotional home race for the team."
David
Ingram, Audi UK Motorsport Manager: "It's really exciting
to be racing at Silverstone again - the first time for Audi
UK since our enjoyable and successful time in the BTCC (1996-98).
It's great for our local supporters as well, people who have
been unable to make the trip overseas to see us in action
up to now. They will get the chance at Silverstone to see
the excitement and drama of the sportscars in the LMES. We're
hoping for a good result, and a great weekend for everyone."
The
Silverstone race will run to a maximum of six hours and marks
the first time Audi’s legendary R8 sportscar has raced at Silverstone
and only the second time the R8 has competitively raced in Britain
(Donington Park, ALMS, 14 Apr 2001) since its race début in
March 2000.
Practice
around the 3.194-mile Silverstone Grand Prix circuit is staged
on Thursday (1700-1815) and Friday (0900-0945) with qualifying
for grid positions also that day at 1305-1350 & 1745-1830. Saturday’s
195-lap race is scheduled to start at 1400.
*
Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx is raising money for British charity
BEN with donations in exchange for driver autographs. Founded
in 1905, BEN is the occupational benevolent fund for employees,
past and present (and their dependants), from the motor, cycle,
motorcycle, commercial vehicle and agricultural engineering
industries, plus associated trades, organisations and industries.
*
The Club des Pilotes will present the Eric Thompson Trophy to
Jamie Davies and Johnny Herbert at Silverstone. The award which
will be presented by Sir Malcolm Guthrie, goes to the highest-placed
British driver(s) in the Le Mans 24 Hours. Davies, Herbert and
Guy Smith, who cannot attend the event, finished second two
months ago having started from pole-position and led for the
opening 15 hours.
*
The last Silverstone 1,000km (a round of the FIA Sports-Prototype
World Championship) was staged on 8 May 1988 and won by Martin
Brundle/Eddie Cheever (Jaguar XJR-9) in a time of 4hr 50m 48.59s,
an average speed of 128.63 mph around the then 2.969-mile track.
An American Le Mans Series race was run at Silverstone in 2000
and won by JJ Lehto/Jörg Müller (BMW V12 LMR) in 2hr 55m 6.379s
(107.27mph) with the track in its present 3.194-mile configuration.
Pole-position went to Mimmo Schiattarella (Lola B2K) with a
1:37.030 (118.504mph). Fastest race lap was set by his co-driver
Didier de Radigues on 1:39.748 (115.27mph).
*
The last Audi victory achieved at Silverstone was claimed by
Frank Biela driving an Audi Sport UK A4 quattro in the 1996
British Touring Car Championship (19 May). Biela, who won the
championship that year, drove for Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx
at Sebring and Le Mans this year. JJ
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