Team LNT Mid-Season review

As the 2006 racing season reaches mid-point, the Team are in a buoyant mood with race results that have exceeded most people’s expectations.

To recap; Team LNT only took delivery of their Panoz Esperante cars towards the end of 2005. A vigorous winter testing program saw a smooth transition from the Team previously racing TVRs and a steep learning curve with the unfamiliar American V8.

The 2005 race season began in America with a 5th place finish at the 12 hours of Sebring. A fantastic result for the Team’s Panoz debut at a tough circuit well known for really putting a car through it’s mechanical paces. 

Onto Istanbul for round 1 of the Le Mans Series season, where Yorkshire duo Lawrence Tomlinson and Richard Dean qualified the Esperante on the front row, led the race for long periods and finished in 3rd place after the race was cut short to four hours due to a fuel shortage at the Turkish circuit…..

The Team improved on this first podium at the famous Spa-Francorchamps Grand Prix circuit for round two of the LMS taking a fantastic 2nd place with young LNT protégé Tom Kimber-Smith making a guest LMS appearance alongside Tomlinson and Dean for the 6 hour race. A crash involving the Warren Hughes and Rob Bell car somewhat dampened the teams spirits and efforts to have two cars on the podium.

So to the British GT Champonship and the duo of Tom Kimber-Smith and Luke Hines. So far this season the LNT Young Guns have enjoyed some close racing with their nearest rivals - the 2005 Championship winning Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari team - entertaining crowds on some of the UK’s toughest circuits. The fact that the new Ecosse Ferrari 430 and the LNT Panoz Esperante both finished on the podium at Le Mans shows the strength of competition in the British series.

The opening weekend at Oulton Park produced a pole position and two 2nd places in the young drivers’ debut sportscar race in the championship.

Dominating the second round, a two hour race at Donington Park, the Team finished 2nd with pole position and fastest lap of the race after rain came into play.
 
As the Yorkshire based team moved into the half way point of the season preparations for the famous Le Mans race began. Based on the early season results a win wasn’t too far away but dare we even dream it would come at Le Mans? Certainly the belief was within the team and everybody was ecstatic to take their first ever Panoz win at the prestigious 24 hour Le Mans race. Reliability, strategy and great driving combined to defeat the might of Porsche, Ferrari and co. in the GT2 category for the first time ever.

The British GT crew continued the winning form with two further pole positions, two fastest laps and two 1st place finishes at Mondello Park in Ireland the following weekend. Another historic moment for Panoz, the home for many years to the Panoz family and shamrock within the Panoz crest.

The Team are currently leading the British GT championship by 5 points and lie in 2nd place in the LMS standings - trailing by a mere 4 points with three LMS races and five British GT weekends remaining.

And so onto this coming weekend, the first time Team LNT have run parallel programmes over the same weekend. The British GT squad head to Snetterton in Norfolk and The LMS European crew heading to the famous Nurburgring in Germany.

The results so far are a real testament to the way the team has worked together since major changes last October. For that we thank everybody involved, including all our partners, sponsors and supporters.
 
Sebring - 5th
Istanbul - 3rd
Spa - 2nd
Oulton Park - 2nd
Oulton Park - 2nd
Donington Park - 2nd
Le Mans - 1st
Mondello Park - 1st
Mondello Park - 1st