Zoom A Porsche RS Spyder battle planned for Le Mans

When looking at the results so far this season on both sides of the Atlantic, Porsche seems the favourite of the LMP2 category at Le Mans. However, the French classic will be the RS Spyder's first try at a 24-hour race...

With Penske Racing and the Horag-Lista team not participating in the event, only two RS Spyders will line up on the starting grid. It will therefore be an almost discreet return to the prototype field for a constructor which has displayed much more ambition in the past.

Hopefully that will change, even if Hatmut Kristen, Porsche's Competition Director, considers that all the requirements for a full return to the LMP1 category have not been met as things presently stand. To achieve that, the ACO must modify its equivalence regulations between diesel and gas-powered engines, but Audi and Peugeot are obviously not encouraging such a proposal.

The LMP2 entries will not be frontrunners on the hyper-fast Le Mans track, but a reliable and well-driven car could very well end the race somewhere between the overall 5th and 10th positions. Closely followed by the factory's customer service crew, the two Porsches should be capable of achieving such a result.

Class winner at Barcelona and Monza, the Van Merksteijn Motorsport RS Spyder has become the European LMP2 reference. At the wheel, Jos Verstappen logically imposed himself as "the Boss," but the surprise comes from his boss and teammate Peter van Merksteijn, who has shown himself reliable and competent – and did so without hampering Verstappen's efforts.

Under the direction of Franz Verschuur, who prepares the car, everything seems in place for a good result at Le Mans. Verstappen and van Merksteijn will be joined by the talented Jeoren Bleekemolen.

Also a rookie of sorts (at least in this class), the Essex Racing team benefits from the great experience of John Nielsen, winner of the 1990 edition with Jaguar. Assisted by his protégé Casper Elgaard and Sascha Maassen, "Superjohn" can hope to repeat his 1000km of Monza success, especially since his trio is probably the closer-knit of the two Porsche crews.

The fact remains that the RS Spyder is a very sophisticated car which has been slow to display its reliability in the American Le Mans Series... The 24 Hours of Le Mans is surely the best place to do so!

Daniel BASTIEN © CAPSIS International
Source: François Hurel