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 |

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Q&A after Spa

“6th place in Spa was a good solid result”

 Charles is down-to-earth about last weekends result. “It was a step in the right direction. This is a result we can build on. I think it was hard on everybody to get in a good rithme as the weather was constantly changing. In the end my team mates and I managed to do a good solid race which gave us a nice result.”

 Result no reason to party yet.

 “No, with all due respect it was not yet the result we really hope for. I think if for one of the remaining races this year we could get a podium there will be a small celebration.” There was however a good spirit and optimism for the upcoming race in the Kolles racing team. Any problems with the R10 during the race ? “In the first stint my team mate Andy made contact with an Aston Martin damaging the car lightly. We had to come in early and lost alot of positions but after that we made a good recovery”.

 Not a lap without overtaking.

 51 cars at the start  of the race must give an immense sense of business on the track ? “Yes it’s the same for everybody though. Not one lap in the race was without overtaking somebody else, it keeps you focussed.” In what area can you still improve the car? “The balans of the car is not yet what it’s supposed to be. There is little time to practice during the race weekend so it’s hard to improve. Practice before Le Mans is longer and I hope we can get further towards an ideal balance there.”

 Le Mans is a different discipline.

 Between the nr1. Peugeot and the Kolles Audi R10 there’s a gap of about 3sec. a lap. Is the Peugeot that quick ? “The difference in the race was about 2-3sec. avarage, and yes that is alot. But this is to be expected. Peugeot has been developing their car and is really fighting against the Audi R15. The R10 in which we compete was already lacking speed compared to the Peugeot last year. But in a race like the 24h of Le Mans other laws abide and Audi still managed to beat Peugeot. Even in this race of Spa we managed to beat alot of cars who can do better time’s than us over a single lap.

 You Never know.

 “I hope we will do a good job in Le Mans. On pure speed we will not be able to compete but we have a reliable car and it’s a long race so you never know.

 Charles Zwolsman in the gym before Le Mans.

 “Physically  I am happy to say I have no problems with the car. Power steering makes it easy on the arms. The neck muscles have to most work so I will be focussing on that area as much as I can. Never the less I will be in the gym doing my workout routine and get as strong as I can be.”

 Prognoses for Le Mans.

 “We need to finish the race first, maken no mistakes and have no incidents. If we manage this I think we have the opportunity to do well.

The next race is the 24h of Le Mans (13,14th of June.)

Photo taken by Marcel ten Caat / Planetlemans.com and edited by Charles Zwolsman

Tags: Audi R10, Kolles, Le Mans, Spa, Zwolsman
Posted in Featured, Le Mans, Spa |

Monday, May 11th, 2009

P6 in the 1000KM of Spa for Charles

Click here to download the full results in PDF format.

Click here to download the championship classification in PDF format.

Tags: Kolles, race, result, Spa, Zwolsman
Posted in Featured, Races, Spa |