Martin Short's overview : Le Mans Series, Le Mans... and the Mosler.
Date : 06 septembre 2008 :: Sujet : In english !
Before the final round of the 2008 Le Mans Series, we contacted Martin Short who kindly agreed to answer a few questions about Rollcentre Racing’s season...
What is your feeling about Rollcentre Racing’s performances in the Le Mans Series so far?
"As expected, to be honest. We qualify nowhere as the pace of competition has moved up, but we race well and hope to profit from our competitors problems. Unfortunately we have had a few self induced problems, some involving driving, some involving component failures. So it’s been tough."
What are your best and your worst memories of the season?
"Le Mans is the best, yet again we were the leading true private car, with no factory liaisons, and yet again the first British team. Monza in LMS was good, Vanina and new boy Duncan Tappy drove really well and we finished 7th. We felt like we had won. Worst was Spa, Vanina was fast, then lost concentration and trashed the car. We had Mikael Forsten driving with us for that race and his stint was after we repaired the car. His experience was then pretty horrible after that. I felt really bad for him."
Your drivers have done a pretty good job so far, haven’t they?
"Joao is always perfect. He does an amazing job every time. He is now driving Pro in the USA in Daytona Prototypes with JC France, a gentleman driver, and they are now 3rd or 4th in the Championship. At the last race Joao got in the car in 12th, and was 2nd on the last lap and he got knocked off to 4th. The race before he un-lapped himself by overtaking the first 3 cars, finished 4th, and again setting fastest lap of the race. And he is against full pro driver pairings....... He's just incredible, but he is so quiet, nobody ever notices. He should be driving an Audi, or a Peugeot. No question. I wrote an e-mail to Doctor Ullrich about Joao but never got a reply. I am obviously too much of a romantic!
"Vanina came in very well, did a great job at Monza, then threw the car at the Lavaggi at Spa, badly damaging it. She puts such pressure on herself its incredible. She's a little fireball, she won't give up, and tries really hard to be as fast as Joao, and at times she gets close, but then she sometimes has a spin.....we are working on that : ) At Le Mans she anchored the team in the night when it rained. She has always been really good in the wet, and in the dark as well. Whatever she does after that, she is forgiven. She was fantastic that dreadful night, and when she got out of the car the team treated her like a returning heroine.
"Duncan Tappy stepped in with no testing and did a great job. He is now in Superleague, and again jumped in, last minute, no testing and finished 3rd in race 1, just behind the car we now prepare. He is a great lad.
"Mikael Forsten was frighteningly quick for somebody with so little experience. He was very Finnish, and very focused. When we tested him at Silverstone before Spa we were just blown away. His commitment into Copse was remarkable. The guy has no fear, and real talent.....it just needs polishing, and he needs more experience.....he has only been racing 2 years !"
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About the Mosler...
Will you enter the Britcar 24Hours with your Mosler .
"Not this year, I have won it, and had a second, but this year we started the Mosler Challenge within the Dutch Supercar Challenge, and I race by myself in 2 x 1 hour races. Its good fun, I really enjoy it, and I am fighting for the Overall Championship, so I will be at Spa that weekend. I don't have to think about anybody but myself......it’s great, I am having fun !"
What is the future for the GT3 Mosler?
"Stephane Ratel promised me that we would be eligible for FIA GT3. I sold 12 cars, many into Germany... and then he went back on that. I did manage to salvage British GT and Belcar out of that disaster, and Gravity and G+A have done a great job in Belcar. The Mosler works great on Michelins. Unfortunately it was awful on the Avons in British GT, and the Belcar Moslers were doing so well, and got hammered with weight and other restrictions which then went on to the Britisg GT cars, but the British cars just didn't perform on the Avons. So the Moslers were down the order.
"After much pressure on the SRO I have been told that the Mosler will not be allowed in British GT... Well that's not much of a loss as not a single Mosler has been in it this year, though I was going to do the last race. I do not know what they are going to do in Belcar. I hope they keep the car in. They have got that Championship working well. People have invested in them.
"So... I have concentrated Mosler efforst on Britcar and Dutch Supercar, which use power loggers to balance power to weight ratios, and have races (in Britcar) that are longer, and up to 24 hours. We have the Mosler Challenge in Dutch Supercar, and we are going to extend that into Britcar. We have podiums and prize money, and the cars are from £150,000, with paddle shift, traction control, heated screen, electric power steering, and an engine that needs a £3000 rebuild after 50 hours. The engine in my car has done over 100 hours. We can't kill it yet... we are trying... and that has 550bhp, it has say 100 bhp less than my Judd, but costs £230,000 less... and for £3000 more I can have 650 bhp in my Mosler. Great!
"I have a nice factory here building 10 Mosler race cars this year, we have a support truck with all the parts to rebuild a car that goes to the races, and I am dealing with nice people that enjoy racing. Its nice. Drivers are realizing that they can do big races, go fast, in a good looking car, for relatively little money. I love it.
"One thing I have to say about the LMS and Le Mans though, is that while we personally are not having much fun on the track... we are very fortunate to have great organization... and believe me, we do. Patrick, Cedric and Aurelie and the team do a great job. Their passion with racing fills the paddock.
"And it’s very reassuring to see that the ACO apply the rules uniformly from top to bottom. We saw that last year at Silverstone when the Peugeot lost the safety panel behind the rear wheel, and we benefited with a third place. They are completely consistent with the rules. Whilst it may be tough for us with the Diesel regulations, at least we know that there is fair and honest consistency. I hope they get it better for us all next year, and I really hope that I will be part of the scene again, and to enjoy it again." |
Did you expect better results?
"Not really. It’s very tough now, so many manufacturer cars in front of us.....2 x Audis, 2 x Peugeots, 2 x Pescarolos, 2 x Oreca Courage, 2 x Epsilon, 1 x Creation, I think the only other non factory car was the Synergy Lola, and they have gone, so I think I am the last privateer? It’s then amazing that we are regularly in front of a lot of these cars. But it’s very tough..."
What can you tell us about the Pescarolo Judd?
"It’s a great car for a privateer, very reliable unless a manufacturer part sometimes breaks (usually gearbox...) and Henri’s new cars have had their own problems. It’s not the most modern car, but it’s pretty bloody strong, and easy to run on a tight budget, and Henri’s support is very good, and the car parts are very reasonable. It’s been a great experience, but last year was the amazing one. We were competitive... it was great... and Le Mans... wow. Just that race last year was worth every penny and more we invested in Henri and that car."
For a while, you have chosen a different way regarding aerodynamics than Henri Pescarolo’s one? What was the best solution in your opinion?
"Both solutions were good, though we never got to compare as our splitter made a nice dent in the barrier at Spa, and never lived again! Henri's solution had much better drag figures, and now with the latest revision it’s really good. It was some fun for us to try playing with aero. We learned a lot, but in the end, it makes little sense, and there are a lot of other people that are very good at it !"
Has funding been a problem this season?
"It’s a problem every season, and to be competitive now, I need to find a lot more money to update my car to same spec as Henri’s (my car still has the low rear wishbones through the rear diffusor and old suspension and gearbox). My main sponsor is a bank, and we all know the world of pain they are in now. Next year is going to be... challenging... to remain in the series..."
Speaking of Le Mans, what can you say about the #18 Pescarolo’s race? Could it be better?
"We had the 4th least time in the pits, between Audi and Peugeot.....what does that say? The team did a great job, as did the drivers, the car was strong, the preparation was fantastic: we were just not quick enough."
Stephan Grégoire was one of the drivers. How has his race been?
"What a great guy to have on the team. Good team player, very fast, very honest, we loved him. My kind of driver, no drama, no fuss, just got on with it. I would love to have him back."
Have you tested before Silverstone?
"No, the car hasn't moved, we cannot afford it. Every km costs a fortune, we do not have that luxury. We haven't tested since before Spa... nothing."
Do you already have some plans for next year? Will you keep on with the Pescarolo?
"At this moment I have no plans at all. I do not know what we are going to do. I have a car, I can upgrade it to latest specification, I can convert it to LMP2, but I need to find funding. I would run another car for somebody else, I think we do a very good job with limited resources. Anything is possible at this moment. Call me : ) "
And now, the most FAQ of the moment: what do you expect from the new ACO rules about a new equivalence between petrol and diesel cars?
"The Diesel cars are outrageously fast......Lola have got close, with a full factory (Aston) effort behind it and good funding (Well done Toni), and had flashes of brilliance, but once the flag dropped, the real story emerged, and the Diesels steadily and mercilessly pulled away. You could argue that it’s because they are manufacturer cars with almost unlimited budget, and yes, that is a very large part of the story, but the petrol Audi R8 was not as far away in times as the Diesels are now.
"I can remember passing an Audi R8 down the straight at Le Mans in the Dallara... and then it nailed me into the chicane and fooked off out of it. And then we knew... better chassis, better driver, better aero etc etc. But at least the engine was pretty similar... that cannot be said now, and it’s totally soul destroying. At least back then we thought we just might have a chance. Now, well there is no chance. Everybody has to raise their game again, and spend every penny they have to try and get close... and the little guys fall off the bottom of the ladder.
"We all need a little hope to cling on to that we just might get a good result now and then... like our very first race in the Dallara at Sebring with 3 hours to go (or so) it was Audi, Audi, Dallara, Audi... wonderful..."
What kind of changes would you prefer?
"Similar engine performance, that's all, with similar fuel strategy. I would like to see an award for true privateers though, a prize for best non factory car. That would make me happy, and give me (and my sponsors and drivers) a goal. I would also like to see a price cap on cars and budgets in LMP2. The money required to have an all conquering Porsche is just crazy, and unsustainable... LMP2 is for privateers... not fantastically expensive works cars with privateer names."
We warmly thank Martin for his straightforwardness and the quality of his answers.
Claude Foubert
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