The 6 heures V de V de Jarama- French Championship and Challenge Endurance VHC V de V 31.03.2010: The little prototype sports cars (fitted with two-litre BMW engines) played cat and mouse with the Lola T70 Spider, whose massive V8 required more refuelling stops. David Ferrer and Yvan Mahé were finally able to compensate

Power versus agility

The little prototype sports cars (fitted with two-litre BMW engines) played cat and mouse with the Lola T70 Spider, whose massive V8 required more refuelling stops. David Ferrer and Yvan Mahé were finally able to compensate with some incisive driving that took them over the finish line in first place.




It was logical that David Ferrer and his Lola T70 Spider took the lead straight away, since they started in pole position. Behind them, Christian Perrier’s Osella PA 4 (which had notched up the second-fastest qualifying time) sat forlornly on the line with a dead battery. So it was up to the Chevron B16s of Michel Quiniou and Philippe Scemama to battle it out for second and third place in front of the Elva MK8 of Yann Le Calvez, the three-litre Porsche RSR of Bernard Moreau and the other Elva MK8, driven by Marc Alloend-Bessand.

In the rankings reserved for the French Championship cars, Jean-Marc Bachelier’s Ford GT40 took the lead over the group of two-litre Porsche 911s headed by Franck Lamanna. Christian Perrier finally retired with a broken wheel bearing, the only driver not to complete the six-hour race.

Handicapped by its high fuel consumption, the Lola T70 carved out a serious lead but had to stop after an hour and a half to fill up. Yvan Mahé exited the pits in third place behind Philippe Scemama’s Chevron B16 and the Elva of Yann Le Calvez. Michel Quiniou dropped down to fifth place after stopping to fix a bonnet clip following a slight collision.

In the GT, Bernard Moreau led the way in his three-litre Porsche 911 RSR, in front of Didier Denat and his 2.8-litre RSR. Also in that group was Denis Tolman and his 3-litre RSR, which suffered slow punctures on its two front tyres, obliging him to make regular pit stops. Bernard Salam fought with Daniel Durand, finally coming out on top and finishing third in the category.

 Durand, however, was unfortunately slowed down later on and his co-drivers could not get back in the car.
At the halfway point, Yvan Mahé, who had taken over the wheel, stopped again for fuel and David Ferrer set off again in third behind Loïc Deman, who was top dog over the Elva MK8 and Yves Scemama who held third. Jean-Jacques Paoletti had taken over the wheel from Michel Quiniou and was moving up, but Miguel Langin was in front of him, at the wheel of his Porsche Polybaie, leading the GT.

Eric Vincenot was enjoying himself in the Ford GT40, still leading the Championship in front of Séverine Moreau-Langin, untouchable in the two-litre class, but now it was the Italian Porsche who was second  with Mario Sala after Andrea Damiani’s stint at the wheel, followed by the Swiss drivers Henrique Gemperle and Jean-François Weber, who was now driving.

Two cars slipped down the rankings after fighting for a podium place. The 2-litre number 6 was stuck in the pits for 25 minutes after a rear trunnion broke during Philippe Burel’s turn at the wheel. Now fixed, it was Charles Van de Vyver who jumped into the seat for the first time in this race before handing back to Patrick Brossard to finish off. As for the reigning French Champion, Sébastien Morales, it was the stop to fix a rocker arm that had broken during Gérard Cayeux’s stint at the wheel that wiped out the effort made by Christian Morales at the start of the race.

As night fell, David Ferrer led by a lap and went on to win the race despite a final fuel stop half an hour before the finish. Yann Le Calvez finished his second turn at the wheel but had to battle Philippe Scemama, who was making his way up the field and overtook him into second place. But unfortunately for Scemama, he was handed a two-minute “stop and go” for having started his car with a push in the refuelling zone after his starter motor broke. So he finally finished third. Philippe Bermudes just missed the podium, while Michel Quiniou will have to wait for next time to notch up his tenth win.

Bernard Moreau won the GT class (sixth overall), despite his gearbox missing third gear, which is essential for accelerating at Jarama. Didier Denat and Marc De Siebenthal were placed second, followed by the 3-litre RS of Bernard Salam, Dominique Nury and Eric Van de Vyver, which ran like clockwork.

Jean-Marc Bachelier and Eric Vincenot took the French Championship in the first race with the superb Ford GT40, outpacing Séverine Moreau-Langin and Franck Lamanna and the other 2-litre Porsche of Sébastien and Christian Morales, and their co-driver Gérard Cayeux. The Italian Porsche of Andrea Damiani, Mario Sala and Enrico Nervi didn’t score any points in the French Championship, but took second place in the GTS11, followed by the Swiss drivers Suisses Henrique Gemperle and Jean-François Weber.

The next race for the historic cars will take place on the brand new Motorland Aragon track, running for two hours on 28, 29 and 30 May.


- Marion Scaramella - photo VdeV