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Low cloud shrouding the Spa-Francorchamps circuit failed to dampen the
opening round of the 2005 Le Mans Endurance Series, fiercely contested
from start to finish by the Pescarolo Sport team, Audi Team Oreca and
the eventual winner, the Zytek Engineering Zytek 04S of John Nielsen,
Hayanari Shimoda and .phper Elgaard. FIA GT Champions BMS Scuderia Italia won the GT1 category first time
out in the LMES, with Fabrizio Gollin, Miguel Ramos and Matteo Cressoni
placed sixth overall in the Prodrive-built Care Racing Ferrari 550 M. Antoine Gosse lost control of the JMB Ferrari 575 GTC under braking for
Les Combes. The Ferrari turned right, hit the guardrail and bounced back
into the front of Kurosawa’s Team Jota Zytek 04S. They set the class pace through most of the weekend's sessions but the team's luck began to turn in qualifying when a fog-shortened session put paid to the chances of pole position. Andrew Kirkaldy started the 1000km race on intermediate tyres as the track was damp from earlier rain and a persistent mist that had arrived at Spa on Saturday. From third on the GT2 grid the Scot had a trouble-free first stint and soon battled his way up to first place before pitting for slick tyres; as he did so the safety car made its first of many appearances. Once the safety car turned in, the GT2 lead had gone to Tim Sugden; not for long though as Andrew soon caught and passed the GruppeM Porsche. Andrew kept a comfortable lead until his second pit stop where he handed the car over to Nathan after running for an impressive three hours. Nathan Kinch was launched straight into a long battle with the TVR of Jonny Kane, the two drivers taking turns to lead the GT2 field. After over an hour of close fighting, Nathan pitted for fuel and tyres and got straight back out into the race which was now half way into its fifth hour. Unfortunately the combination of a slippery track at turn 10 and brand new slicks resulted in Nathan going off. A few other cars went off at various points at the same time so out came the safety car again. Nathan got the Ferrari back to the pits where the team set about preparing it to rejoin the race; he was back on track just as the safety car pulled in and was immediately the fastest GT2 driver on the circuit. Ultimately it was 'game over' with just fifteen minutes to go due to dropping oil pressures. The duo were forced to retire and were not classified. "For a triple stint that went really quickly!", commented Andrew. "The car was running well but there was a lot to think about as there were people going off all around me. Of course it's a shame we couldn't finish as we were on for a good result but that's GT racing for you. We'll be back!" "I really enjoyed my first stint; it was good to have such close racing in an endurance event", said Nathan after the race. "At the start of my second stint the car just understeered off at turn 10; a combination of the slippery track and new slicks. It's very frustrating but there's no point in dwelling on it so we'll have a good debrief and move our thoughts onto Magny Cours." Scuderia Ecosse Team Principal, Stewart Roden, commented, "We're obviously disappointed but if I look on the bright side I can say it's all good practice for Le Mans in June. The boys did a fantastic job in the pits today; they have all upped their game and operate as a slick team now so well done to them. I think overall we did a good job in our first LMES race and we have learnt a lot through this weekend. I would just like to say it was thoughtful of the weather to make us feel so at home; it's just like Scotland at Spa today!" The next race for Scuderia Ecosse is the British GT Championship round
at Magny Cours where the British racers will join the FIA GT field for
a three-hour race at the home of the French Grand Prix. All four Scuderia
Ecosse drivers will take part in this event.
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