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Le Mans Series, round 5 in Silverstone, Great Britain

The final LMP2 race in the Le Mans Series was spectacular! Such a great spread of manufacturers, al of which could win at any moment. The Van Merksteijn Motorsport team was only off the lead by -4 laps.

It was a season final made to measure: The gripping last race of the Le Mans Series (LMS) in Silverstone ended with a double victory for the Porsche RS Spyder in the LMP2 class. Jos Verstappen and Peter van Merksteijn (Netherlands) claimed the fourth win of the season for the Van Merksteijn Motorsport team on the British Grand Prix circuit. Second in the 476 hp sports prototype from Weissach went to Fredy Lienhard (Switzerland), Jan Lammers (Netherlands) and Didier Theys (Belgium) of the Swiss Horag Racing squad. The Danish Essex pilots John Nielsen and Casper Elgaard secured sixth after a sensational charge through the field. With this result, the RS Spyder teams, Van Merksteijn, Essex and Horag occupy positions one, two and three in the LMP2 team championship – and Porsche ranks a clear first in the manufacturers’ classification. There was also good reason to celebrate in the near-standard GT2 class. Claiming second at the final race, Marc Lieb (Germany) and Alex Davison (Australia) secured vice-championship honours.

The LMP2 double victory in Great Britain is the crowning of a highly successful maiden season for the RS Spyder in the hands of European customer teams – with wins at the season-opener in Barcelona and on the Nürburgring as well as triple victory in Monza and Spa.

“In all my career, I’ve never experienced such a fantastic season,” said a grinning Jos Verstappen. “At the first tests with the RS Spyder almost a year ago I said that I’d never driven a better car. And our fantastic car was the key to success today. It was huge fun, especially on this circuit with its extremely fast corners.” The ex-Formula 1 driver, who already claimed the LMP2 drivers’ title at the penultimate round on the Nürburgring, can be proud of his achievement. Together with Peter van Merksteijn, he celebrated three victories and one second place (Monza) and in the Eifel he won with his compatriot Jeroen Bleekemolen. The Dutch trio also triumphed in Le Mans mid-June. At the prestigious 24 hour classic, the Van Merksteijn pilots netted first place in the LMP2 class.

It was with mixed feelings that Fredy Lienhard climbed the podium in Silverstone. After the final race of the LMS, the Swiss entrepreneur hung up his helmet after a good 40 years of motorsport as hobby racer – and this on his 61st birthday. “The RS Spyder is a dream,” said Lienhard. “It’s wonderful to have driven such a car in my final active year of racing. And second at the last race is a great way to finish my career.” For Horag Racing it marked the third podium result of the season after claiming third in Monza and second in Spa. “The race was not easy,” summarised Jan Lammers. “After countless accidents, spins and offs the track was dirty and slippery. You certainly had to keep your wits about you.”

Satisfied with second in the team classification, but disappointed about missing out of a podium result aptly describes the mood in the Danish Essex camp. From fifth on the grid, Casper Elgaard fought his way through the field with his blue RS Spyder in the first race hour and delivered a spirited duel with Xavier Pompidou (Lola-Judd) for second. In the 62nd lap the two-time Danish touring car champion lost his front wheel. “Luckily I realised that something was not quite right and braked,” said Elgaard. “So I avoided an accident. But by the time I made it back to the pits and could take up the race again we’d lost seven laps to Jos Verstappen and were at the back of the pack.” After a breathtaking charge through the field, Elgaard and 1990 Le Mans winner John Nielsen claimed a sensational sixth. After three third placings and a win in Monza, this was the first time the Danes did not climb the podium.

Porsche works driver Marc Lieb (Germany) and Alex Davison (Australia) secured the vice-championship title in the GT2 class with their 911 GT3 RSR after claiming second in Silverstone. It was the fourth second place result for the Felbermayr-Proton team at the fifth round of the series – and the second straight runner-up title for 28-year-old Lieb, who won the GT2 championship in 2005 and 2006. Extremely bad luck plagued factory driver Richard Lietz (Austria) after qualifying second. He was sitting in a promising second when a competitor catapulted him from the circuit. The hefty collision into the wall signalled an early retirement for Lietz and his team mate Raymond Narac (France, Team IMSA Performance Matmut). “A real shame,” said Lietz. “Our 911 was running like a dream. We would have loved to finish the season with a podium result.”

Statistics: Fifth and final race of the 2008 Le Mans Series in Silverstone:

Race result LMP2
1. Van Merksteijn/Verstappen (NL/NL), Porsche RS Spyder, 191 laps
2. Theys/Lienhard/Lammers (B/CH/NL), Porsche RS Spyder, 187
3. Hughes/Kane (GB/GB), WF01 - Zytek, 186
4. Amaral/Pla (P/F), Lola B05/40 - AER, 185
5. Newton/Erdos (GB/BRA), MG Lola EX 265 - MG, 184
6. Elgaard/Nielsen (DK/DK), Porsche RS Spyder, 184
7. Ojjeh/Gosselin/Sharpe (SAU/F/GB), Zytek 07S – Zytek, 183
8. Noda/de Pourtales (J/F), Lola - Mazda, 182.
9. Lahaye/Ragues (F/F), Pescarolo - Judd, 174
10. Barazi/Vergers/Rees (D/NL/BRA), Zytek 07S - Zytek, 162

Race result GT2
1. Bell/Melo (GB/BRA), Ferrari F430 GT, 172 laps
2. Davison/Lieb (AUS/D), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 171
3. Ehret/Kaffer/Beltoise (D/D/F), Ferrari F430 GT, 169
4. Coronel/Kelleners/Vasiliev (NL/D/RUS), Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R, 168
5. Ried/JrFelbermayr/SrFelbermayr (D/A/A), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 162

Points’ Drivers LMP2
1. Jos Verstappen, Porsche, 48
2. Peter van Merksteijn, Porsche, 38
3. Casper Elgaard, John Nielsen, Porsche, 31
4. Jan Lammers, Didier Theys, Porsche, 25
5. Matthieu Lahaye, Pierre Ragues, Pescarolo, 21

Points’ Drivers GT2
1. Robert Bell, Ferrari, 40
2. Marc Lieb, Alex Davison, Porsche, 35
3. Gianmaria Bruni, Ferrari, 30
4. Pierre Kaffer, Pierre Ehret, Ferrari, 19
5. Ben Aucott, Ferrari, 18