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European Le Mans Series: Reynard looking for success at Nurburgring

7 July 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
The Reynard 2KQ-LM returns to the track this weekend at the Nurburgring in the second European Le Mans Series event with the American team, Johansson Matthews Racing, entering the LMP900 class with drivers Stefan Johansson, Guy Smith and Jim Matthews, and the French ROC team fielding a pair of Volkswagen powered Reynard 2KQ-LM racers in the lighter LMP 675 class.

Three weeks after the Reynard's Le Mans 24 Hour race debut, the teams will be looking to improve on their performances in the famed endurance race. Although neither team finished the race, both were encouraged with the performance of the car. Both teams suffered engine problems which put them out of the race, but both had also shown potential to be contenders for podium finishes, with the ROC team running first and second in class from the early stages and the Johansson Matthews Reynard lying in 8th place before retirement.

Kieron Salter, Reynard 2KQ-LM Project Manager at Reynard Motorsport, is hoping for a strong showing at Nurburgring saying, "The 2KQ-LM is still young and the 24 Hour race was the first big test for the developed car. It proved to be very competitive, so we are feeling very positive for this weekend."

He adds, "As part of our ongoing windtunnel programme for the 2KQ-LM, we have developed a kit of aerodynamic parts for the Nurburgring. Winning won't be easy here as we're up against the big manufacturers and they have already shown us how quick they can be when we were in France, but if there's any opportunities, I'm sure Johansson Matthews and ROC will take up on them. It's a shame the Raffanelli Lola will not be racing at Nurburgring - we would have liked to have had some similar competition with a comparable engine package to benchmark our performance against."

The Reynard 2KQ sports car was launched in October last year, with further developments and the revised Reynard 2KQ-LM appearing at the Silverstone ALMS race and Le Mans 24 Hour race. A Reynard badged sportscar is a new departure for the winning race car manufacturer, although the company has been involved with a number of customer projects including Chrysler Viper and Panoz.

Text provided by Alison Hill

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