11.06.2004 After crashing his Ferrari early in the session, Tomas Enge produced a sensational flying lap in the darkness of the dying moments to snatch pole position for Prodrive from the rapid Corvettes

Qualifying resumed yesterday evening, and immediately the first car out of the pits was a red Prodrive Ferrari 550 Maranello, the Banbury-based team looking to chase down the gap to the rival Corvettes immediately.

Within 15 minutes Thomas Enge had banked a 3:53.771 lap, to put the no66 Ferrari second only to Olivier Beretta in the no64 Corvette in GTS. However, by 8pm Enge was reporting rear end damage, so Rickard Rydell in the second Prodrive entry took up the cudgels with a 3:51.755 to claim provisional pole.

Tomas Enge had in fact gone into the gravel at the Porsche Curves and hit the wall sustaining considerable damage to the right-hand rear end of the Ferrari. The team had to endure an agonising wait until the break before the car could be recovered for repairs.

As 8.30pm approached Christophe Bouchut improved the no69 Labre Ferrari's best lap time to 3:55.778, so the dogfight in GTS was almost even, Rydell's Prodrive Ferrari heading Ollie Gavin's Corvette, Enge in the other Prodrive Ferrari next up, Papis in the second Cprvette following, and Bouchut in the Labre Ferrari rounding out the top five. The Corvette team, who were busy working on race set up, did not respond to the challenge.

However as the opening session wound down to the end, again there was more drama, as Oliver Gavin came on track to recapture the provisional GTS pole with a 3:49.750.

The second of the evening's practice sessions kicked off at 10pm, and shortly afterwards, the no62 Barron Connor Ferrari 575 GTC which didn’t run in the earlier session, was out on the track with Jean-Denis Delatraz at the wheel.

As 11pm approached the no69 Labre Ferrari headed to the pits for brief repairs after a loose front wheel caused steering problems.

The 64 Corvette still held onto the GTS pole but they could not improve during the final two hours. On the other hand, the no63 car made it a Corvette 1-2 in class thanks to a 3:51.378 by Max Papis. Importantly, the quickest of the 550 Maranellos was a mere four-tenths of a second behind the second Corvette.

Most teams spent the final hour practising pit stops, checking settings, and determining their best pace for the night hours of the race this weekend. The Prodrive Racing team most certainly did not take it easy during the final sixty minutes. Tomas Enge had hit the wall earlier causing substantial damage, forcing the mechanics to work flat out to change the suspension, splitter and other damaged components.

A penitent Enge returned to the circuit with less than fifteen minutes remaining in the session. Despite the darkness, the rapid Czech driver turned in a stunning 3:49.438 on his one flying lap to shave three-tenths of a second from the no64 Corvette’s previous class provisional pole spot.

The timing of the lap was excellent from a strategic point of view as it came with far too little time left for the Corvette team to respond, although they tried their best. So the first skirmish goes to the Prodrive Ferrari team as they now prepare to defend their GTS crown from the front.

Photos: ACO/Nikon