Archive for the ‘Silverstone’ 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, September 14th, 2009
Silverstone Result
“After Narain had done the start of the race it was up to me to go second. At this time we were in 8th position due to some small problems. My part of the race went really well. I managed to keep the tire degradation under control and do a double stint on the same set of tires. This helped me get up to 6th place, which we eventually held on to until the finish. I think we should be happy with this result. The guys in front were also doing a good race with very little mistakes. To make a comeback and get on the podium simply wasn’t possible today.”
Pos Drivers Cl Car Time/Gap
1. Panis/Lapierre LMP1 ORECA-AIM 5h29m12.688s
2. Belicchi/Fassler/Prost LMP1 Lola Aston Martin + 51.760s
3. Charouz/Enge/Mucke LMP1 Lola Aston Martin + 1m01.730s
4. Primat/Turner LMP1 Lola Aston Martin + 1m03.340s
5. Albers/Bakkerud LMP1 Audi + 1 laps
6. Karthikeyan/Meyrick/Zwolsman LMP1 Audi + 2 laps
7. Ragues/Mailleux LMP1 ORECA Judd + 2 laps
8. Kane/Leuenberger/Pompidou LMP2 Lola Judd + 5 laps
9. Watts/Leventis LMP1 Ginetta Zytek + 6 laps
10. Erdos/Newton LMP2 Lola Mazda + 9 laps
11. Nicolet/Hein LMP2 Pescarolo Mazda + 11 laps
12. Buncombe/Hall/Ramos LMP1 Lola Aston Martin + 13 laps
13. Boullion/Tinseau LMP1 Pescarolo-Judd + 14 laps
14. Manning/Firth/Hughes LMP2 WF01 Zytek + 16 laps
15. Ojjeh/Gosselin/Peter LMP2 Zytek + 16 laps
16. Bruneau/Greaves/Sini LMP2 Radical AER + 16 laps
17. Cavailhes/Da Rocha/Ibanez LMP2 Courage AER + 20 laps
18. Schell/Thirion/Metz LMP2 Courage AER + 20 laps
19. Sharp/Kox GT1 Aston Martin + 20 laps
20. Salini/Salini/Gommendy LMP2 WR Zytek + 21 laps
21. Berville/Dumez/Groppi GT1 Saleen + 21 laps
22. Clairay/Jousse/Goueslard GT1 Corvette + 22 laps
23. Bell/Bruni GT2 Ferrari + 23 laps
24. Coronel/Janis GT2 Spyker + 25 laps
25. Pilet/Narac GT2 Porsche + 25 laps
26. Garcia/Mansell/Melo GT2 Ferrari + 25 laps
27. Kaffer/Montanari GT2 Ferrari + 25 laps
28. Tomlinson/Mansell/Mansell LMP1 Ginetta-Zytek + 27 laps
29. Rosa/Montermini/Cadei GT2 Ferrari + 27 laps
30. Lieb/Lietz/Felbermayr Sr GT2 Porsche + 30 laps
31. Ried/Felbermayr Jr/Martins GT2 Porsche + 30 laps
32. Palttala/Daniels/Rich GT2 Porsche + 31 laps
33. Griffin/Bamford GT2 Ferrari + 31 laps
34. Tenchini/Basso/Plati GT2 Ferrari + 33 laps
35. Hartshorne/Kutemann/Daoudi GT2 Ferrari + 35 laps
Not classified:
Jorda/Cortes/Nieto LMP2 Lucchini Judd 135 laps
Ehret/Farnbacher/Beltoise GT2 Ferrari 131 laps
Lahaye/Ajlani LMP2 Pescarolo Mazda 138 laps
Cocker/Drayson GT2 Aston Martin 122 laps
Amaral/Pla LMP2 Ginetta Zytek 32 laps
Tags: Audi R10, Kolles, race, result, Silverstone, Zwolsman
Posted in Races, Silverstone |
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Silverstone preview
Le Mans Series 2009
Charles Zwolsman is prepared for the 1000KM of Silverstone
Starting the 11th of September
“I want to step onto the podium.”
Final race of the Le Mans Series 2009 will be held at the Silverstone circuit in England. De circuit has a length of 5.141 meters, has 14 corners of which 6 left and 8 right handers. This famous English circuit was build in 1950 en situated 32km northeast of Oxford.
Especially the first couple of corners are great.
It will be the first time Charles Zwolsman will drive the Silverstone circuit. Have you had time to study the circuit and what do you think about it? “I only know the circuit from computer games. I hope it is as much fun to drive for real as it is in the games. I did many laps on the computer to prepare myself. Especially the first couple of corners are great!” Can you adapt quickly to a circuit you have never been to? “That shouldn’t be a problem. Usually in free practice I take a couple of laps to absorb everything. This year the Algarve circuit was new to me as well but I was quickly up to speed.”
We want something to show for.
Is the whole Kolles team extra motivated for this last race? “Definitely. We really want something to show for.” I get the impression you are enjoying yourself at the Kolles team. “Although we didn’t do a lot of races this year you do get to know everyone. Also the respect grows mutually because of the performances that are given. With a lot of good people in the team it is easy to feel at home and have fun.” People always like to know what your prognoses is for the next race. Can you give us one for Silverstone? “Of course. I want to step onto the podium. I’ve said the same for our previous race and we were really close. Hopefully this time it works out!”
I feel great.
During qualifying lap times are always compared. Do you also compare your own times with the other teams? “Yes we do. On most circuits come qualifying we are not ultra competitive. Our car is more geared towards the race.” You are a fitness devotee, have you been doing extra workouts for this last race? “Not extra. But I have been training hard. It’s very important to be fit.” So you are in top condition? “I feel great. That will not be the problem this weekend.” Combine this with the race pace and reliability of the Audi R10 and it has to be an exiting race? “It will be exciting for sure. I would say about 10 LMP1 cars are competitive. So if you have the opportunity, go watch the race!”
I get focused and all tension is gone.
I assume you have radio contact with your team during the race. Are you in nay way distracted by this? “No, contact is only there when necessary and when you need information. To me it is more a tool then a distraction. Sometimes you need to drive tactically, especially with these long races. Extra info is really helpful when you want to do this.” Are you ever tense before the race? “Just before doing a start I always get some sort of butterflies in the stomach. As soon as the lights go green I get focused and all tension is gone.”
Driving in the rain would be no problem.
How about the people close to you, do they have tension before the race? “My mom doesn’t even come to the races. It’s a bit too exciting for her. She is one of my biggest supporters though.” It rains a lot in England, would that be a problem for you? “No, I’ve always enjoyed driving in the rain and I think I’ll be able to do a good job. But to be honest for everyone it is of course much nicer if it is a nice sunny weekend.” The car has a lot of power is there much difference driving it in the rain? “There is indeed. You really need to be careful with the power and the brakes.” Do you guys have a reserve car? “No, we need to make sure the car stays in one piece.”
Source: Charles Zwolsman Racing Media Services
Website: www.charleszwolsman.com
Image credit: Milo Kol / Planetlemans
Tags: Audi R10, Kolles, Silverstone, Zwolsman
Posted in Featured, Races, Silverstone |
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