SNORAS Spyker Squadron team, sponsored by AB Bank SNORAS and representing the exclusive car manufacturer Spyker Cars N.V., started the last Le Mans Series race of 2009 season from the 9th position.
SNORAS Spyker Squadron team, sponsored by AB Bank SNORAS and representing the exclusive car manufacturer Spyker Cars N.V., started the last Le Mans Series race of 2009 season from the 9th position; however, in the course of the race the team managed to consistently improve the results and SNORAS Spyker Squadron competing in Spyker C8 Laviolette reached the finish in the second position, thus repeating the excellent result achieved at Nurburgring track two weeks ago. In Le Mans Series 2009 SNORAS Spyker Squadron won the 3rd place in the constructive record.
“I rejoice over the unquestionably best season of the team during the entire SNORAS Spyker Squadron history. The 5th place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2nd places at Nurburgring and Silverstone track – superb achievements. The technologies checked at race tracks are also used in the serial Spyker cars. The excellent results of the season will undoubtedly contribute to the growth of sales of Spyker C8 Aileron introduced at the Geneva exhibition this year – after all, sport cars must be test-driven at race tracks. The pilots of our team proved that Spyker can compete with and overtake such cars as Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Lamborghini,” said Naglis Stancikas, the First Vice President of AB Bank SNORAS, a member of Spyker Cars N.V. Supervisory Board.
AB Bank SNORAS group’s investments in Spyker Cars N.V. allowed the factory to straighten up, create and introduce to the market new car models and also to elevate the results of the company’s sports subdivision SNORAS Spyker Squadron to the new heights. Apart from the sports coupe Spyker C8 Aileron introduced this year, the company plans to present to the market the luxury sports all-terrain vehicle Spyker D8 Peking-to-Paris.
“Sometimes I hate this job but at times I just love it! We had a colourless 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. It is great to finish the season with a Le Mans finish and two podium places in the Le Mans Series,” said Peter Van Erp, CEO of SNORAS Spyker Squadron.
According to the pilot 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 and take the third place in the general constructive cup record of the entire season.”
The race in Silverstone started in much cooler conditions than in the previous days. Due to the cold track temperatures the car was understeering in the early stages of the race. Only after the team pushed harder on the tires to get better operating temperatures, grip levels and thus lap times improved.
SNORAS Spyker Squadron pit stops were excellent – many positions were won in the pit lane and then defended at the track by equalling 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 during the whole race and steadily moved forward to finish in second place.