2010 Le Mans Series

39 entries for 1000 KM of the Hungaroring
A provisional entry list on the Le Mans Series website shows 39 entries for the fourth round of the Le Mans Series at the Hungaroring. Five LMP1’s, twelve LMP2’s, seven FLM’s, two GT1’s and thirteen GT2’s can be found on the list, seven more than the last race at the Autodromo do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal.

The 1000 KM of the Hungaroring will take place on August 22, 2010 and will be a night race starting at 4 p.m. local time, finishing at 10 p.m. at the latest. Last year, also at the end of August, the 4.381 km / 2.722 mi circuit hosted the FIA GT World Championship. The event on the twisty and narrow circuit was described back then as a thrilling race. CRS, AF Corse and ProSpeed all raced there in 2009.

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In LM P2 the two Racing Box cars are back on the list, with Piergiuseppe Perazzini, Marco Cioci and Luca Pirri lined up for the nr 29 Lola and Fabio Babini, Ferdinando Geri, Federico Leo for the nr 30. New in the series is the RLR msport MG Lola for Barry Gates, Rob Garofall and experienced Warren Hughes. Race Performance will also return to the Le Mans Series at Hungaroring, with Chris Buncombe racing the Radical SR9. KSM is also back on the entry list after being a late no-show for the Portuguese round.

no team will have a bigger appetite to race than Team RLR.

The British team, based in Bolton, Lancashire, will be making its debut appearance in the world's premier endurance racing series, fielding the MG Lola EX265 in the LMP2 category in the hands of drivers Barry Gates, Rob Garofall and Warren Hughes.









Despite being a newcomer to the prestigious championship Team RLR is confident of being competitive from the word go. The MG Lola EX265 has class-winning pedigree, having taken the honours in the Le Mans 24-hours in 2005 when Hughes was driving it for a former team. The squad has also completed thousands of kilometres of testing in 2010 ahead of its first appearance in the Le Mans Series in order to make sure it is fully prepared for the challenge.

The Hungaroring will present a stern test as the eastern European circuit also makes its first appearance on the Le Mans Series calendar next weekend. The track, which is situated just outside the Hungarian capital of Budapest, is notoriously tight and twisty with precious little room for drivers to manoeuvre even on its narrow straights. With the added difficulty of racing at night the Le Mans Series drivers will have to ensure they approach overtaking opportunities wisely and garage crews make the best of pit stops to avoid dropping out of contention early in the race.

While the MG Lola EX265 may concede some performance in terms of sheer horsepower to its rivals in the LMP2 class, Team RLR believes the car will more than make up for it with its grip and handling capability in the Hungaroring’s unforgiving corners. And while the team is confident of being able to take the fight to the opposition, its main goal is to establish its credentials by getting the car to the finish of the squad’s first Le Mans Series round in one piece.

A solid result in Hungary would be the perfect platform for Team RLR’s home debut at Silverstone for the finale of the Le Mans Series season in September.

Warren Hughes, Team RLR driver, said: "We had a very, very good test last week and I could not have wished for it to have gone better. The car is very well sorted and we didn’t have to change much. The team has looked after the car very well and have not underestimated the level of preparation required, it’s immaculate. It’s got a nice balanced feel to it and that gives me confidence for going to Hungary. A huge amount of effort has gone into pulling this project together and everyone involved deserves a great deal of respect and recognition for that. The Hungaroring will be a tough track for the team to makes its debut, there won’t be many opportunities to pass around there, but everyone else is in the same boat so we need to stay out of trouble and aim to be as consistent in our approach as we can be. If we make the best of what we’ve got I think we can produce a very creditable result and surprise a few people."

Barry Gates, Team RLR driver, said: "The team has done a lot of work to the car since the beginning of the year and we feel we've got it where it ought to be for the race. A couple of days testing in Hungary earlier in the year were obviously very useful in that regard. As we are going into our first Le Mans Series race there are obviously still a few unknowns but our aim is to be competitive in the LMP2 class. Overall the team is really looking at the final two rounds in Hungary and Silverstone as part of our development in preparation for the 2011 season, we hope we will be a very strong package by then."

Rob Garofall, Team RLR driver, said: "I was delighted with how our last test went and we improved our performance and moved on once again since our last visit to that circuit [Snetterton]. It was great to get Warren involved as he brings so much experience to the team, and that will definitely help us in Hungary. We’ve been to the Hubgaroring before so we know hard it will be there. However, I don’t think we could have done any more in terms of preparation, it’s been very well structured and the guys in the garage have worked so hard. If anything goes wrong it won’t be down to a lack of effort. Now we’re all just looking forward to hitting the track and competing against the other teams in the Le Mans Series."

2010 Le Mans: Mission Accomplished For Team RLR On Le Mans Series Debut

Le Mans Series newcomers Team RLR achieved the team's objective of finishing the squad's debut race at the Hungaroring - and collected a top ten class finish in the process.

The Bolton-based outfit, comprising of LMS debutants Barry Gates and Rob Garofall plus former Le Mans 24 Hour class winner Warren Hughes, guided the MG Lola EX265 to eighth from 17 starters in the LMP2 category and 18th overall of 37 in a demanding night race at one of Europe's most technical circuits.

A good qualifying run by Hughes in the morning session placed the number 31 car 13th overall on the grid, setting the team up nicely for the 1000km race.

However, the opening laps proved to be testing for the squad as Barry Gates suffered a spin then a momentary engine failure that resulted in the MG Lola being collected by another car. A twenty minute pit stop was required to fix the damage caused by the shunt, dropping Team RLR right to the back of the field.

However, once Gates returned to the track he started to find his rhythm and immediately set about making up the lost ground. By the time he handed over to Warren Hughes a third of the way through the race Team RLR was 13th in class & 33rd overall.

Warren Hughes wasted no time in showing his well-known ability to produce consistently fast lap times in a prototype endurance racing car. The Newcastle-born driver began to cut his way through the field in clinical fashion as the light faded over the historic track outside Budapest. Hughes' pace, combined with the high attrition rate among competitors ahead in the field, saw Team RLR move up to 10th in class and 26th overall before he came in to hand over to team-mate Rob Garofall to drive the final third in the inky black of the Hungarian night.

Despite it being his first ever outing in the Le Mans Series Garofall picked up where his more experienced team-mate Hughes had left off, and racked up consistently quick times on par with the front runners. The jovial Team RLR pilot enjoyed a very smooth run through the closing stages, stopping just once to put on fresh rubber and refuel before the final laps. By this point he was taking ten seconds a lap out of the GT2 cars ahead in the overall classification, and Garofall signed off his debut outing by snatching 18th overall from Tom Coronel in the Spyker with only minutes to go on the race clock.

That handed Team RLR its desired result of a strong finish in the squad's first Le Mans Series race and a creditable 8th place in the hugely-competitive LMP2 class.

The result will serve as a major confidence boost for Team RLR as it looks forward to racing in the championship finale at Silverstone on September 10-11-12

Nick Reynolds, Team RLR team principal, said: "Mission accomplished as far as I'm concerned. We had the speed to be up there with the big boys who have been doing it for years if it hadn't been for a few small problems in the opening laps. We weren't the quickest when it came to the pit stops but we were precise and tidy and got the job done. I'm very happy with drivers, the car and the whole team."

Barry Gates, Team RLR driver, said: "I'm a little bit frustrated to have run into a few problems early in the race as that cost us dearly, but we fought back very well. Apart from that we were on a similar pace to the front runners and all three drivers showed how competitive they were. We have gained experience as a team that will set us up for the next round at Silverstone and also next year, which is where our real objectives lie."

Warren Hughes, Team RLR driver, said: "It's a shame Barry [Gates] had such a difficult first stint as we were effectively out of contention before I even got into the car. Looking at it after the race we could easily have been in the top six on another day, but that's racing. The team did an outstanding job on their first Le Mans Series event, the car was consistently quick and reliable and we had no issues at all. We showed we had good pace and there were so many positives. I'm sure all the guys will have learned a lot and that will help their confidence massively going forward."

Rob Garofall, Team RLR driver, said: "It's an incredible feeling just to be competing in such a great championship, and to pull off a result like this in our first race is superb for everyone involved in the team. I'm delighted for them because they have worked so hard to give us a car capable of taking on a really tough field and bringing home a result. To do what we did today was a big achievement on our first outing. I really enjoyed my time in the car towards the end as it was going perfectly and I knew I could keep putting in consistent laps and pass other cars right to the finish."

Great start for Warren Hughes' team


WARREN Hughes guided Le Mans Series newcomers Team RLR to a top-ten finish in the team’s debut race at the weekend.

The Wearside driver teamed-up with rookies Barry Gates and Rob Garofall to pilot the team’s MG Lola EX265 in the 1000km of Hungaroring night race on Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Hughes and the squad finished eighth in class out of 17 starters and 18th overall from a field of 37, to give the Bolton-based outfit something to cheer about in their first venture into the hard-fought series.

After a solid qualifying run, the former BTCC driver secured 13th spot overall on the grid for the start of the race, and hopes were high that the team would be celebrating a top-ten result when the chequered flag fell in the small hours of Sunday morning.

But disaster struck early on when Gates spun a couple of laps in and then suffered a momentary engine failure. As he fought to get the car restarted he was hit by another car, and was forced to limp around to the pits for urgent repairs.

It took 20 minutes for the team to be able to repair the stricken Lola, and Gates headed back out on track lying dead last. However, he wasted no time in clawing back some places, and by the time that Hughes got behind the wheel as the race reached one third distance, the car was lying 13th in class and 33rd overall.

Immediately his skill as a world-class driver came to the fore, as he produced consistently fast laps and began to sear his way through the field as the light faded on the historic Budapest track.

While many of his rivals suffered mechanical troubles, Hughes drove a faultless stint, taking the car up to 10th in class and 26th overall before handing over to Garofall to complete the race.

With a smooth final run, Garofall was able to pick up where Hughes left off and kept reeling in the cars to finally cross the line eighth in the LMP2 class.

The result came as a well-deserved boost to the outfit, which is now preparing to tackle the final round of the series at Silverstone on September 12.

And Hughes believes next time out there will be much more to celebrate.

“It’s a shame Barry had such a difficult first stint as we were effectively out of contention before I even got into the car,” he said. “Looking at it after the race we could easily have been in the top six on another day, but that’s racing.

“The team did an outstanding job on their first Le Mans Series event, the car was consistently quick and reliable and we had no issues at all. We showed we had good pace and there were so many positives.

“I’m sure all the guys will have learned a lot – and that will help their confidence massively going forward.”

Nick Reynolds, Team RLR team principal, added: “Mission accomplished as far as I’m concerned. We had the speed to be up there with the big boys who have been doing it for years, if it hadn’t been for a few small problems in the opening laps.

“We weren’t the quickest when it came to the pit stops but we were precise and tidy and got the job done. I’m very happy with the drivers, the car and the whole team.”

Windy wrote:

Pos Cl Drivers Car Time

9. P2 Lahaye/Nicolet Pescarolo-Judd 1m36.024s

patpending wrote:I see the race went on into the night.

The 1000 KM of the Hungaroring will take place on August 22, 2010 and will be a night race starting at 4 p.m. local time, finishing at 10 p.m. at the latest.

Windy wrote:

patpending wrote:I see the race went on into the night.

That was probably to be expected given that it was a "night race"!

From the first post:

The 1000 KM of the Hungaroring will take place on August 22, 2010 and will be a night race starting at 4 p.m. local time, finishing at 10 p.m. at the latest.

Well spotted

patpending wrote:

Windy wrote:

patpending wrote:I see the race went on into the night.

That was probably to be expected given that it was a "night race"!

From the first post:

The 1000 KM of the Hungaroring will take place on August 22, 2010 and will be a night race starting at 4 p.m. local time, finishing at 10 p.m. at the latest.

Well spotted

I'll not try to work it out from the commentary next time, then.

Mind you "in the small hours of Sunday morning" is a bit different from "finishing at 10 p.m. at the latest". So when I said at 20:31 BST that "it looks like the race will finish in the next hour" (i.e. by 10:30 CEST) I should have been right! I knew the race was partly in the dark but it looked like the chequered flag would fall before midnight...

A top ten class finish was cruelly snatched from Team RLR in the final round of the 2010 Le Mans Series at Silverstone today (September 12), as a mechanical failure just 15 minutes from the end of the 1000km race denied the Lancashire-based squad a confidence-boosting end to the season.

Having elected to contest the final two rounds of the championship at the Hungaroring and Silverstone the newcomers were looking to gather as much experience in the MG Lola EX265 as possible before taking on a full campaign in 2011.

With one box ticked after finishing eighth in class in Hungary, Team RLR sought a similar result at the home of British motorsport to help push forward the development of the squad.

However, after 141 drama-filled laps the LMP2 challengers were brought to a shuddering halt - with a suspected drive shaft problem putting paid to their hopes while sitting ninth in class and 21st overall of 45 starters.

The weekend had started well for the new kids on the block, showing good pace in free practice and Rob Garofall then placing the MG Lola 9th in class & 20th overall on the grid after qualifying despite changeable conditions that made the track swing between dry and wet.

Sunny weather arrived in time for the start of the five hour race though, and Barry Gates made a great start for Team RLR in the opening laps. He picked off two class rivals, and was rapidly closing on those ahead of him, before an off resulted in a pit stop to tidy up the car and dropped the MG Lola back to 36th overall.

Once Gates returned to the fray he had made steady progress though, and by the time he handed over debutant Simon Phillips almost two hours in, Team RLR was on the comeback trail. Phillips settled quickly to the task in hand and drove a very clean stint to recover some of the ground lost earlier in the day. With no major dramas and his lap times consistently improving throughout, the London-based driver had moved up to 33rd overall before handing over to team-mate Rob Garofall.

The Leighton Buzzard man used all of his seven years experience as an instructor at Silverstone to quickly make inroads into the field ahead of him, and four hours into the race Team RLR was up to ninth in class and 24th overall. As the speed of rival cars began to wane going into the final hour of the race Garofall was on a mission, recording Team RLR’s quickest times so far and consistently upping the ante.

Even a quick pit stop to fit a new nose to the MG Lola, as a result of some minor damage to the front end bodywork earlier in the race, didn’t halt Team RLR’s momentum much. However, shortly after a much bigger problem did. Garofall was powering out of a corner when a suspected driveshaft failure brought him to a stop and the fight was over for Team RLR only minutes from the end of the race.

Despite the bitter blow so close to the finishing line the Team RLR line-up was buoyed by the fact it had once again shown its intention to compete at the very top level and build towards becoming a strong presence in the Le Mans Series in seasons to come.

Barry Gates, Team RLR driver, said: "Despite a slightly frustrating start to the weekend on Friday, mainly due to the weather, we had a very good day on Saturday and started to show the kind of pace we knew we could produce. When it was fully wet it helped us, as the difference in power between us and some of our rivals was cancelled out a bit, and we had a good qualifying session. When it came to the race I think all three drivers showed they had good pace, but we ended up in the pits too often and that cost us. I felt I showed some speed out there when I got a clear run, but had a few issues with certain corners. However, it has all been good experience for next season. All of our pit stops went very smoothly and the team have worked so well together, both here at Silverstone and in the previous round in Hungary. We think from where we are now once we get a competitive engine in the car we can show what we are truly capable of in 2011."

Rob Garofall, Team RLR driver, said: "I’m gutted to have got so close to the finish and not made it. Not sure what happened but everything had been going well until I came out of a corner and there was a big bang and I lost all drive. The car had been absolutely mega until then. It would’ve been nice to get to the finish but there’s not much you can do when these things happen, it’s just bad luck. I felt I drove well and the car handled superbly throughout. We know it’s lacking a little bit of outright pace but everything else is in place to make it a competitive package. We can solve the power issue and it’s been great to get out there and test ourselves against some very strong competition over the last two rounds. I’ve loved every minute."

Simon Phillips, Team RLR driver, said: "As a team we didn’t get the result we wanted, but it was another steep learning curve coming here and competing against a field like this. I’m pretty happy with my debut in the Le Mans Series overall. I didn’t have any traction control during my stint which made it pretty hard work, but it also made the car feel a bit like the CN prototypes I’ve raced before so it didn’t throw me too much. I got my lap times down to a good level and had no dramas at all, so I hit the targets I set myself before this weekend. Now I have that experience, especially of the type of decisive overtaking that is required out there in traffic, I will be able to push harder next time."

Nick Reynolds, Team RLR team principal, said: "What can I say? I’m so disappointed to have got that close to the end and not got to the finish. There were a bit too many dramas early in the race and that’s something we’ll need to cut out to be successful going forward, but the drivers all did themselves proud by clawing their way back from the position we were in. Simon Phillips did an outstanding job considering he was a race behind the rest of us having missed Hungary, he progressed really well throughout the weekend. We’re all frustrated but we’ve also taken a lot from it. The boys in the garage have not missed a beat and worked ever so hard. We’ll look at our engine choice for next year during the close season and continue to push as hard as we can to develop the team in every area."

Windy wrote:
We’ll look at our engine choice for next year during the close season and continue to push as hard as we can to develop the team in every area."