Although the team started this morning from ninth position on the fourteen car GT2 grid, both Jarek Janis and Tom Coronel fought their way to the front of the field to finish in a strong second place. It is the second time in a row that SNORAS Spyker Squadron finishes on the podium. In the previous round, the 1000 km of the Nurburgring, the team also finished in second place.
The race started this morning in much cooler conditions than in the previous days. Due to the cold track temperatures both drivers complained that the car was understeering in the early stages of the race. Only after they pushed harder on the tires to get better operating temperatures, grip levels and thus lap times improved.
Again the team showed that their pit stops are unbeatable - many positions were won in the pit lane and then defended at the track by equaling the lap times of the competition. In the later stages of the race, when grip levels got better, the balance of the car improved a lot and a number of positions were won on the track. Both drivers stayed out of trouble and steadily moved forward to finish in second place.
Peter van Erp: “Sometimes I hate this job but at times I just love it! We had a colorless start of the race: The track was very cold resulting in a lack of grip on the front tires. We asked both Jarek and Tom to be harder on the tires and this, together with an adjustment of the tire pressure, worked really well. We could at last meet the pace of the front-running cars and only then it turned into a proper race for us. I spoke with our CEO, mr. Victor R. Muller, on the phone this morning. It was his 50th birthday today and I asked him what present he would love to get. He said that he wanted a podium position. I smiled and told him ‘okay we can get you a podium’. ‘But you are not going to get anything else’ I added. Fortunately we delivered results today! It is great to finish the season with a Le Mans finish and two podium places in the Le Mans Series”.
Tom Coronel: “The car got much better during the race. Although the first stint was a bit challenging, everything was perfect. I cannot think of something we could have done better today. I am really proud that we, a small Dutch team fighting against the big boys, can finish this already great season with another podium position”.
Victor R. Muller, CEO Spyker Cars: “The 2009 season was definitely the best we ever had since we started racing at Sebring and Le Mans in 2002: a fabulous 5th at Le Mans, 2nd at Nurburgring and 2nd today at Silverstone make me very proud of the performance of our team. I take this opportunity to thank Peter van Erp and his dedicated crew who worked day and night to achieve this result. Moreover I would like to thank our loyal sponsors and SNORAS Bank in particular for their support throughout the year. And finally of course our drivers Jarek Janis, Tom Coronel and Jeroen Bleekemolen. Without their efforts we would have never managed to improve so much this year. Spyker has established itself as a force to reckon with in GT2 and this year’s result is a tremendous stimulus to go for the top spot next year”. The team also claimed the third position in the constructors championship, ahead of Aston Martin and Lamborghini.
The team also claimed the third position in the constructors championship, ahead of Aston Martin and Lamborghini.
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