Van Merksteijn Motorsport quickest on Le Mans testday

Published on 02 June 2008 by Niels Hendrix

The premiere of the Porsche RS Spyder on the legendary race track of Le Mans (France) ran successfully. At the pre-test of the Le Mans 24 hour race, which will be contested on 14/15 June, both Spyder teams led the LMP2 class. Le Mans rookie Jos Verstappen from the Netherlands posted the fastest time in 3:42.191 minutes for his Van Merksteijn Motorsport team. The second best time (3:43.736) went to the 476 hp Weissach-built sports prototype driven by John Nielsen (Denmark, Essex team).
The traditional test day was plagued with changing weather conditions. In the morning the track was partly wet and partly dry, with a dry phase for an hour after midday where the top times were posted, before the rain set in again.

Holding 16 overall victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The 13.629 kilometre race track, much of which runs over national roads, is regarded as one of the fastest circuits in the world. Almost 75 percent of one lap is driven at full throttle. To fit the track characteristics, a special Le Mans kit was developed for the RS Spyder, with most changes being made to the components that reduce drag. As part of this, the mudguards are now five centimetres longer and flatter. Correspondingly, the headlight glass was modified slightly. Additionally, the two flaps left and right as well as the wheel arch venting on the front guards were modified. A light attachment to the middle of the rear section also serves to reduce the air resistance.

"It's really wonderful to be the fastest in class at my very first Le Mans outing," said the Jos Verstappen, "but I was lucky enough to be the only one in the team to go out on a dry track. All in all the track conditions today were difficult. Our plan was not to take any unnecessary risks in damaging the car. With all this rain, we weren't able to get as much practice in as we had hoped. But I'll stay calm because I know from the Le Mans Series that the RS Spyder is a true racer. I can't wait for my first ever Le Mans race!" Verstappen contests the race on 14/15 June with his Dutch team mates Peter van Merksteijn and Jeroen Bleekemolen.

Niels Hendrix