Archive for the ‘Highlights’ Category
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
2009 Season Review
Ron Gerritse sits down with Charles Zwolsman to discuss a successful 2009
Was the transition from the Champcars you drove before to these Le Mans cars a big one? “It was some time ago I had last done races. That was probably the biggest adjustment. But all in all it didn’t take me long to get to grips with the R10 even though this car is much heavier than the ones I had driven before.” Is that very different for a driver? “It does make some things different. For instance if a heavy car starts sliding it’s a bit harder to straighten it out.” Do you mis single seater racing in the States? “I’ve always loved Indycar racing and I still do. But I enjoy racing anywhere as long as I can be on the edge and fight against strong competition.”
Looking back at 2009, what is the first thing that springs to mind. “That must be the big tough but very rewarding 24h race in Le Mans.” Was it a surprise for you to be suddenly competing in the Le Mans Series? “Yes it was a pleasant surprise. Kolles gave me a chance and thankfully I haven’t let him down.”
first taste of the R10
There was a relative short amount of time to prepare for the season with the new to the team Audi R10. Did this pose any problems? “The hardest thing was having to share the car with so many drivers during pre season tests. So it was impossible to make many kilometers. Of course we would have benefited from having a longer pre-season. In the first race weekend I was still learning a lot about the car during the practice sessions. Preferably these things are taken care of in the pre-season because you want to focus on car setup on this specific track. But it was what it was and I think the whole team has done a good job of making the best out of the situation.”
Do you think you have been good help to the Kolles team to get the Audi R10 at it’s best? “I think so. Together with the engineers (Jacky Eeckelaert and Jos Claes) we made good progress with the car during the season. I like to think my input contributed to these improvements.” At what circuit was the car at it’s best? “This was at the La Sarthe circuit in Le Mans. You can feel that the car was made with this track in mind.”
a great group of people
When looking back at this season immediately the great result in the 24h of Le Mans stands out. It looks impossible to do this race with only two drivers. “When I was told Narian (Karthikeyan) could not compete because of an injury sustained by jumping the pitt wall I thought something similar. I couldn’t believe what I was told. I had to ask again because I thought it was a joke. But it wasn’t so I grabbed my gear (which I had prepared just in case) and jumped in the car. I had about 3 minutes to let it sink in that Andre (Lotterer) and I were really going to do our first 24h of Le Mans with just the two of us. After that it was go time. No looking back because the race was starting!” We can say that this performance was your best performance of the season. And that with this performance a bit of history was written. Afterwards the press was very excited. “It was a very exciting race! Surely when you look at the fact that we didn’t just finish the race with 2 drivers but we were very competitive. We both did a consistent and flawless race. Normally you can be happy if you do that in a normal 2 hour race. So you can imagine the amount of concentration that was needed to do a 24h one.”
lots of practice goes into a fast driver’s change
You can also be proud to be the best finishing Dutchman. “Of course. Beforehand this is not a particular goal for me. I just want to perform to the maximum that is possible with the car. But I’ll take it!” Was it conditionally tough or does the adrenaline carry you trough the race? “I did get tired, but I was in the “zone” so I could continue at the level which I was performing. I didn’t sleep so the body can’t recuperate very well. But it really hit me after the race. I slept for a good long time :)”
In endurance racing you always share the car with other drivers. Isn’t that hard? Aren’t there situations in which you would have done something different compared to your teammates. “Of course these things happen. And it was something new I had to get used to. My teammates were “co” responsible for the my result and this gives me a whole new level of connection to their performance when they are in the car. But I know that everybody is trying their hardest to get the result. Luckily most of the time everything went according to plan so I wasn’t frustrated much at all.” As a driver did you push over 300% to get the most out of the Audi R10? “You bet! Although in endurance racing this doesn’t always mean to be on the absolute limit of the car all the time. You have to know when to throttle back so you can spare the tires and the car at certain points in the race.”
Some websites thought you did the best job out of all the Dutch International drivers this year, what do you think about that? “I don’t know about that. I haven’t read it. I am proud of my performance this season but I’m sure there are many Dutch drivers who had a good season.” If you walk by the “Wall of Fame” in Zandvoort surely you can smile at your name being up there? “Back when I was inducted I thought it was an extreme honor to have my name between all the greats in Dutch auto sport history. And that feeling of proudness is still there.”
How was your relation with team boss Kolles? “I’ve known him for a long time now. We don’t need a lot of words to know what is going on. I would have loved to give him a podium finish but sadly that was just out of our reach. That is the only blemish on this season.” Is he a man who reigns with an iron fist? “He has his moments where he can tell everybody what this is all about. And what our goals are. This helps to realize that it’s not a game here and we really need to focus on the job at hand.”
The 2010 season is just around the corner. Plans? “I’m in touch with some teams. In the coming months it will be clear where this leads.” Do you also look at the quality of the team. In other words, does it have to be a team who can take the best out of you and the car? “It depends on more factors. First priority is competitiveness. Be it already competitive or working with a motivated group who wants to get competitive. But I also have a family to support so there are other interests as well.” Do you have a preference for a certain series? “I liked racing in the Le Mans series this year. But to be honest I like all sorts of GT cars and I wouldn’t rule out formula cars either.”
Have you spotted young talent in the Le Mans series? “We had an excellent feeder series that raced on the same weekends as we did. I’ve seen guys like Nico Verdonk who we can expect to see in the big league soon.”
What is it you do in the winter time? “This winter I had my first baby daughter and that changes a lot! Right now I’m training to get as fit as possible.”
Tags: 24hrs, Audi R10, Karthikeyan, Kolles, Le Mans, Lotterer, Zwolsman
Posted in Algarve, Barcelona, Featured, Highlights, Le Mans, Nurburgring, Races, Silverstone, Spa |
Monday, August 31st, 2009
Nürburgring Review
Le Mans Series 2009
Charles Zwolsman looks back at the 1000 KM of the Nürburgring.
“We’re still improving trough the experience.”
After having a bittersweet experience in the Nürburgring Charles can look back at a good race. “Even though we didn’t reach the podium and I was bitterly disappointed by that we still be reasonably proud of this race. I knew we had the opportunity to finally grab a podium finish so we went all out for it. Being the one who had to do the last double stint and finish the race it was really exciting watching the race unfold. I must say the most exciting race so far this season.” Your car, the Kolles Audi R10 nr.14 seemed to be running pretty well? “After this weekend I can say that the track really didn’t suit our car as much as we would have hoped. Despite that we were still able to fight for a good result.” Does this mean the Kolles team is making giant leaps forward? “I wouldn’t say giant. But Experience has made both the team and the drivers stronger.”
We drove a pretty good race.
Whilst looking at the monitor during the race I could see that there was a steady improving line in position. “Apart from the extra pitstop we had to make we did drive a pretty good race.” Your lap times in the race were around the 1.46 mark, are you happy about that? “In Qualifying I did a 1.44.0, so it was quite a big gap to that. But looking at everybody else’s lap times a 2 second gap to qualifying and sometimes even more was normal. Consistently I did a good race laptime wise.”
Before making the extra pitstop third place was ours.
You were very close to the podium. “Narain ran into tire trouble in his second stint and had to do an extra pitstop. Right then I knew it was going to be hard to reach the podium. Before this we were running a strong third and I’m sure we could have kept it until the finish. As it was I started my double stint at 4th place with a pretty big gap to the 3rd Aston Martin. I managed to close it to 15 seconds by the time the race ended.” Do you think that your car was the only car that had an answer to the Aston Martin sweep? “We had no answer for the first 2 Aston’s. But I think we were faster that the 3rd Aston. I would say that the Aston Martin was certainly the strongest car here.” Looking at the race the podium finish really is within grasps, isn’t it? “Yes for sure! Next race in Silverstone we will be battling against Aston Martin, Pescarolo, Oreca, Ginetta and the Lola for the podium positions. That is a lot of cars for 3 places. So it’s exciting times.”
Giving up would have made it easy for him.
In the last part of the race you were really catching the 3rd placed Aston. “Yes, I was pushing hard because I wanted to be on the podium so badly. I came pretty close.” Was the last fast pitstop of the Aston Martin instrumental in giving them 3rd place? “It was about 5 seconds faster which is the time we as a diesel team lose refueling. It’s a pity but those are the rules.” Even though at one point you could see that it was not possible to close the gap before the end of the race your pace remained strong. Is that the Pro mentality, never to give up? “I wanted to keep him under pressure. If I give up he can relax and take an easy 3rd. Now I still had him under pressure and there was still a small chance I could push him into making a mistake.” How was the crowd at the Nürburgring? “It was busy! One of the better races of the season in that regard. You can see that motorsport is one of the biggest sports in Germany. ”What was Dr. Colin Kolles’s reaction? “He was of course disappointed that we didn’t reach the podium but he was happy with the way I had driven.” Championship standing? “9th at the moment.”
The rules have eliminated every advantage we might have had.
There are rumours that the restrictions voor diesel powered cars will be even tighter next year. What is the bg advantage of diesel engnine compared with normal petrol engines? “Our engines are more efficient. So we should be able to run the race making fewer pitstops. But because of the way the regulations already are with our refueling being slower and our tanks being smaller I would say all of that advantage is already gone. If the rule chances really happen for next year it will be impossible for us to compete. I feel that all these rules to stop the diesels is meant to slowdown the factory Peugeot and Audi. These cars have a big advatage over the rest of the field. I would rather see that they make these rules only effective for the factory cars because for us it doesn’t seem to be fair.”
Our race has to be flawless.
Next and last race of the season is at Silverstone. “Yes, it will be us fighting against another 9 or so cars for 3 podium spots. We are not the quickest of the bunch. But we have proven to be very close come raceday.Our race has to be flawless. Whereas the Aston Martin’s for example can make a mistake or two and still fight for the win.”
Source: Charles Zwolsman Racing Media Services
Website: www.charleszwolsman.com
Image credit: Milo Kol / Planetlemans
Tags: Audi R10, Endurance, Kolles, Nurburgring, race, Zwolsman
Posted in Featured, Highlights, Nurburgring, Races |
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
Algarve Review
Le Mans Series 2009
Algarve Portugal
Review
Charles Zwolsman
“We’re getting closer.”
Zwolsman is not really happy about last race in Portugal. It must have been really disappointing to see your teammate in the nr.14 Kolles Audi R10 collide with the nr.15 Kolles car? “Yes this was the low point of the season.” 8th on the grid wasn’t a bad place to start was it? “We had some traffic in our fast lap so it could have been a little bit better. I wasn’t worried about the speed of our car.” The start looked to be good with both Kolles Audi’s running tail to nose in the first few laps.” We had a decent start and all was looking good.” Was the accident a race incident? “It was all a bit unlucky. My teammate was on the dirty part of the track and the wheels somehow locked. It was double bad luck that he then hit the nr. 15 Kolles car.”
Broken clutch and bodywork
You guys lost about an hour in the pits. That is a long time, was there a lot of damage? “We had some damage to the bodywork and the suspension had to be checked. When the repairs on this were finished we wanted to get going again but found out the clutch was broken too. It al took a little bit longer because of all this.” You’re a professional racing driver, but what did you really feel when your teammates collided? “I thought there goes our possibility for a good result today. It was just very disappointing because we don’t have a lot of race so if you get a chance at a good result you really need to take it.” What was the reaction of the team after the crash? “They were all a bit shocked. Obviously very disappointed and morale dropped. But they had to fix the car so quickly got to work.”
I always keep an eye on things
When the guys were working on the car to get it fixed, what do you do? Do you stick around to see what’s going on? “Yes, I’m there in the pitbox. There is not much I can do. But I always try to keep an eye on things. It’s not that they need my expertise but 2 extra eyes can never hurt.”
We’re getting closer
I’m under the impression that your cars have become faster. It looks like the team has made progression after the 24hrs. of Le Mans. “We don’t do a lot of testing and racing, so we are improving in a slower rate than I would like. But for sure we are improving every time out. This race we could really have been fighting for a podium finish.” Laptime wise there are only a few tenths between the winning Pescarolo and the Audi R10. “We’re getting closer. We are understanding the car more and more.” Is it more difficult to close the last small gap? “The last few tenths of a second are always the hardest. But luckily you don’t have to be the outright fastest to win a race in the Le Mans Series.” In other words, the Kolles team is making good progress? “Absolutely.”
I loved the last corner
There are no real orientation points in the darkness. How difficult does that make the driving? “The first couple of laps are really hard. Your eyes need to get used to the darkness at speed. And even after that there were a few corners were it was just not possible to see the turn in or apex points.” What did you think about the circuit? Especially turn 9 looks nice with a big drop and then a hard left. “Actually that one was flat out! I really enjoyed the track. It was a bit bumpy for such a new track but the layout is pretty cool. The last corner was my favorite, blindly turning in just lifting a little bit. Nice.” Some drivers think this is the best track out there. “I don’t know about that. For me Spa is still the favorite.” Were there any Dutch fans among the crowd? “I saw a few around in the paddock. But I would have liked to see more of them like in Le Mans.”
With these lap times a podium should be possible
With only two races left it will be hard getting the Kolles Audi R10 in the top 5 of the classification. Do you still see possibilities? “A good position in the championship will be hard, but I feel we should be gunning for a spot on the podium during these last races. I would be terribly disappointed if we didn’t achieve that. When I look at the lap times I did in the race it is possible to achieve a podium finish.” Do you want to forget this race? “For the most part yes. We did improve the car a bit again and I’m feeling even better in the car. This is something I take to the next few races.”
Mercedes corner is a good opportunity to pass
After this the next LMS race is on the 23rd of August in Nurburgring, Germany. Do you see the Mercedes corner as a difficult spot or an overtaking opportunity? A lot of incidents happen there normally in the first few laps. “I think it’s a nice opportunity to pass. I always enjoy going to the Nurburgring and I believe it’s a good opportunity to get a good result for us.”
To finish this interview, how is traffic on your www.charleszwolsman.com website? “It’s going reasonably well. I enjoy the fact that people show interest in what I do. I hope more will follow.”
Source: Charles Zwolsman Racing Media Services
Website: www.charleszwolsman.com
Image credit: Marcel ten Caat / Planetlemans
Tags: Algarve, Audi R10, Endurance, Kolles, Zwolsman
Posted in Algarve, Featured, Highlights, Races |
Twitter Updates
