Motorsport News
Aggressive Strategy Enables Convincing Win for PSR S60 Racer
By source: PSR
May 31, 2007, 11:41

Ulli Andree and Fredy Lienhard jr. scored yet another victory in Saturday’s Reinoldus Rennen, round 5 of the German Endurance Championship. The Volvo pairing experimented with an aggressive one-stop strategy, which paid off. The sister Volvo S60 of Remo Lips/André Lips/Stephan Herter could not start the race after a water leak on the first lap in qualifying.

The arrival of former Sports Prototype driver Fredy Lienhard jr., of Switzerland, opened up the doors to a new tactical approach to the four-hour races which make up the GEC. „Right from the very first laps, we saw that he was using a lot less fuel per lap than most of the other drivers,“ remembers PSR team principal Danny Berk.

Lienhard explained: „When I raced together with my father in sports car races like the Rolex 24 at Daytona, I learnt a very special driving style: Gentle on the throttle, smooth acceleration, shifting early rather than using maximum revs. This is a must in professional sports car racing, where fuel consumption and length per stint ’till the next stop plays an integral part of the strategy. After a while, I got so used to this style that I applied it to the Volvo as well – without actually thinking about it.“

After analysing the first few races, Berk realised: „Fredy showed us the potential of a different approach. Before the Reinoldus race, no Volvo had ever done more than 11 laps under green until the next stop. Fredy’s style enabled a distance of 13.“

Hence, the team agreed on a two-approach to round 5: André Lips/Remo Lips/Stephan Herter were meant to go on a two-stop strategie, splitting up the turns evenly between the three of them – while Andree/Lienhard were set on a spectacular one stopper.

The direct comparison has to wait until the next race, though: Lips/Lips/Herter could not start after a water hose of their cooling system broke. Remo Lips was on his out-lap in qualifying when the technicality happened. „We tried to repair the car but when we fired up the engine again, we noticed strange noises“, says Berk. „There was too much internal damage inside the engine, which requires an engine change. Sadly for André Lips/Remo Lips/Stephan Herter, this robbed them off a potentially very successful race. I deeply regret that.“

Andree, meanwhile, thundered his Volvo S60 on pole position. Lienhard drove the start and quickly established himself in the lead, bulding up a comfortable cushion and still sticking to the game plan of preserving fuel and driving not overly aggressive. „It wasn’t difficult for me to do, as I was just driving as I always would,“ he said. „I felt safe and quick at the same time.“

His stint was closely watched by his father, the well-known sports car driver and Lista owner Fredy Lienhard who visited his son’s new team for the first time. „I took a stroll around the Nordschleife and looked very closely at how my son and the team were performing,“ said father Lienhard. „I have to take my hat off to the guys. This team is second to none of the outfits I’ve raced for in the States and in Europe. They are doing a brilliant job.“

As did his son, who stayed out 13 laps including the warm-up lap and handed the car over to Ulli Andree, still safely in the lead. Andree then had to do another 12 laps until the end. „We weren’t really sure whether our strategy would work out,“ sighed Berk – „but it did. Ulli adapted his style perfectly and drove a safe race.“ The victorious driver confirmed: „Our new strategy brought us further up front than before. It was a good way to go – even though I had to shift way earlier and had to avoid any close calls. It was a different way of driving – but at the same time, a successful one and thus highly enjoyable, too.“


All information Copyright © 1999-2003 Swedespeed. All rights reserved.

No photos, news stories, graphics, or Swedespeed logos may be used or reproduced without written permission.
Volvo is a registered trademark of Volvo Car Corporation and Ford Motor Company. Swedespeed is an independent media publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Volvo Car Corporation