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Donington Park ELMS

14/04/2001

PK Sport - Ricardo

Outstanding At Donington

Mike Pickup’s PK Sport / Ricardo team are experienced international racers – two time entrants at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, for example. The first round of the European Le Mans Series at Donington Park on April 13 / 14 was something rather different though. Daytona has a huge entry of 80 or so cars, but many are owned by wealthy racers, out for their once a year fun. The ELMS is rather different – these are the fastest, most expensive, best prepared sports prototype and GT cars in the world.

Donington was in effect a shakedown for many of the teams for the Le Mans 24 Hours in June – PK Sport / Ricardo included. Everyone was therefore entitled to feel a little nervous before this one, Mike included. So what better to dispel those nerves than an official greeting from the delegate of the Automobile Club de L’Ouest, the organizing body of the Le Mans 24 Hours? That made Mike feel.....well, like a million francs, and also provided the confirmation that here was an automobile club that really wanted the yellow PK / Ricardo car to play a significant role in its historic race. “That was a great start to the meeting; from then on I knew that we belonged here,” said Mike late on Thursday.

The free practice day hadn’t been the perfect start to the event for the team; the #60 Porsche of Mike Youles and Robin Liddell had had a new clutch fitted leading up to the race, and although it worked perfectly in the workshop, it didn’t once the car was fired up at the track. Sod’s law. That meant Mike and Robin missed the whole session, so they’d start from scratch on Friday morning – and Qualifying was down for Friday afternoon.

Mike Youles: “We used Friday morning for basic fuel consumption tests. We had a strategy worked out for the race which was different from everyone else, and we needed to know our exact fuel consumption. It turned out we were using a little more fuel than the #61 car. But we’ve tested extensively and we’re very happy with the set-up of the car.” Robin managed a quick spin into the gravel, but that was the only hiccup from here on in. Well almost.

Mark Humphrey and Piers Masarati (above) were in the sister number 61, and their first two days went almost exactly as they would have wished. “We’ve made some small set-up changes,” explained Piers, “and our only problem is getting traction out of the corners. It’s not the ideal set-up for Qualifying and one quick lap, but it will be very good over a race distance.”

Mike Pickup was confident that these two would do very well in the race. “They’re both running at a pace that I’m very pleased with.”

Mark and Piers were new to this level of racing. So what is it like, sharing the track with the likes of those Audis, Mark? “They come upon you very quickly, so you have to keep one eye on your mirrors. But they’ve been no trouble at all.” The subject of the prototypes lapping the GT drivers came up in the briefing, one experienced GT driver making the point that the Porsches do move around in the corners – they don’t just hold one line, as a prototype seems to do so effectively.

Qualifying times and grid positions deserve a mention, but only for the sake of record. The whole plan thus far was to have the drivers and cars ready to run a long distance race, not to set one blinding lap. It would be a little pointless anyway, as the two factory BMWs and the Alex Job Porsches (receiving a lot of factory support) are convincingly faster than the rest of the GT class – at the moment. None of these four cars are going to Le Mans. Who said ‘Good’?

Robin set the time in #60, a terrific 1:36.565, fast enough for fifth in class and less than half a second behind Johnny Mowlem in the lead Seikel Porsche. Piers was content to let Mark set the time in #61, a sensible 1:39.492, which would be more or less their race pace. One of the BMWs would start from the back of the grid after an engine problem on Friday morning, so Mike and Mark would have one eye on their mirrors for that one coming through at the start.

“They do all the presentation so well,” commented Mike Pickup of the pre-start ceremonies – before he dashed off for a last cigarette before the race. The PK / Ricardo cars may have had smaller national flags than most, but they were both down to play very significant parts in the race. Strategy would be very important – and the team had thought it through very carefully. “I’m going to start,” said Mike Youles, “with about 80 litres of fuel. I’ll do an hour, Robin will take over on a part full tank, and he'll split the rest of the race into two more or less equal stints. This way, we won’t have to carry a full load at any time. That should help the tyre wear.”

Mark and Piers were getting slightly better fuel mileage, so they had a chance to run through on one pit stop, obviously at the mid point of the two and three quarter hour race. It was cold and just about dry for the first round of the new ELMS.

Completing lap one and Mike (above) was rattling along behind the pole BMW, the two Alex Job Porsches and the Mowlem Porsche. JJ Lehto was already on his tail. “I let him go.” Mark was a couple of places further back, and both of them were down to their race pace straight away. This is endurance racing, but Mike Youles likes the racing as much as the endurance. “I had a brilliant dice with Marc Sourd in the French car. He’s a good old peddler, and we were passing and repassing continually." Mike’s use of the expression “the good old Sussex side swipe” may suggest that contact was made, but it never happened. Here were two experienced drivers racing hard, but fairly. They were even acknowledging each other as they swapped places again and again.

Mark (above) stayed out of trouble a little further back, so apart from the Mowlem car edging away, everything was looking very good. Even better when one of the BMWs pitted and dropped right out of contention. Only three factory cars left. They put Mike a lap down after 27 laps of the race, but in endurance racing, you just have to drive your own race and not worry about the pace of others.

‘Youlesy’ pitted on schedule after 65 minutes, handing over to Robin Liddell for the remaining 100 minutes. Robin dropped in just behind Mark (yet to stop), the pair of them sixth and seventh in class. They changed places, Robin then setting his sights on Tony Burgess (in for Mowlem) for what became fourth place in the GT class, after everyone had made one stop. It didn’t take him long to catch and pass the American, so that was fourth, just the three factory cars ahead. Great stuff.

Could Piers – in for Mark – make it a PK / Ricardo fourth and fifth? He was charging along in sixth place at about two thirds distance, and gaining at three seconds per lap. Could it even be a PK / Ricardo third and fourth? The JJ Lehto / Jorg Muller BMW made a long pit stop with flames flashing out of the exhaust on one side – and the car finally retired with a failed differential. Robin was third.

He made his final stop on the leaders’ 90th lap, and a quick change of rear tyres saw him out quickly enough to stay third. Worn tyres at the back had badly needed changing, but fresh ones allowed Robin to up his full pace again, if necessary. It wasn’t. Piers was right with the Burgess car for fourth place, passing it briefly, before starting to struggle with failing power steering. “It got heavier, then stopped altogether. Then warning lights came on, so I had to stop to save the engine; a belt had failed, and that drives the water pump. We showed what we could do though.”

No such problems for our third placed man. The crew gathered on the pit wall to welcome him home to an excellent third place, beaten only by those factory Porsches.

Mike Pickup was overjoyed, the whole team were elated, and a fine celebration was due on race night – because the following day, Sunday, was Mike Pickup’s 44th birthday. Oddly, Robin and Mike were told they weren’t needed on the podium, where the first and second placed drivers (and the champagne) were waiting for them. That was a minor hitch in the American planning for what was a marvelous event, witnessed by a good crowd of 13 000.

Next stop is the Le Mans Test Day. They know they’re going to be very well received there. What a team, what a start. A bit lonely at times though, Mike?