When the Le Mans Series moves to the famous Hungaroring Circuit near Budapest next weekend (August 21-22) no team will have a bigger appetite to race than Team RLR.

The British team, based in Bolton, Lancashire, will be making its debut appearance in the world’s premier endurance racing series, fielding the MG Lola EX265 in the LMP2 category in the hands of drivers Barry Gates, Rob Garofall and Warren Hughes.

Despite being a newcomer to the prestigious championship Team RLR is confident of being competitive from the word go. The MG Lola EX265 has class-winning pedigree, having taken the honours in the Le Mans 24-hours in 2005 when Hughes was driving it for a former team. The squad has also completed thousands of kilometres of testing in 2010 ahead of its first appearance in the Le Mans Series in order to make sure it is fully prepared for the challenge.

The Hungaroring will present a stern test as the eastern European circuit also makes its first appearance on the Le Mans Series calendar next weekend. The track, which is situated just outside the Hungarian capital of Budapest, is notoriously tight and twisty with precious little room for drivers to manoeuvre even on its narrow straights. With the added difficulty of racing at night the Le Mans Series drivers will have to ensure they approach overtaking opportunities wisely and garage crews make the best of pit stops to avoid dropping out of contention early in the race.

While the MG Lola EX265 may concede some performance in terms of sheer horsepower to its rivals in the LMP2 class, Team RLR believes the car will more than make up for it with its grip and handling capability in the Hungaroring’s unforgiving corners. And while the team is confident of being able to take the fight to the opposition, its main goal is to establish its credentials by getting the car to the finish of the squad’s first Le Mans Series round in one piece.

A solid result in Hungary would be the perfect platform for Team RLR’s home debut at Silverstone for the finale of the Le Mans Series season in September.

Warren Hughes, Team RLR driver, said:
“We had a very, very good test last week and I could not have wished for it to have gone better. The car is very well sorted and we didn’t have to change much. The team has looked after the car very well and have not underestimated the level of preparation required, it’s immaculate. It’s got a nice balanced feel to it and that gives me confidence for going to Hungary. A huge amount of effort has gone into pulling this project together and everyone involved deserves a great deal of respect and recognition for that. The Hungaroring will be a tough track for the team to makes its debut, there won’t be many opportunities to pass around there, but everyone else is in the same boat so we need to stay out of trouble and aim to be as consistent in our approach as we can be. If we make the best of what we’ve got I think we can produce a very creditable result and surprise a few people.”

Barry Gates, Team RLR driver, said:
“The team has done a lot of work to the car since the beginning of the year and we feel we’ve got it where it ought to be for the race.  A couple of days testing in Hungary earlier in the year were obviously very useful in that regard.  As we are going into our first Le Mans Series race there are obviously still a few unknowns but our aim is to be competitive in the LMP2 class.  Overall the team is really looking at the final two rounds in Hungary and Silverstone as part of our development in preparation for the 2011 season, we hope we will be a very strong package by then.”

Rob Garofall, Team RLR driver, said:
“I was delighted with how our last test went and we improved our performance and moved on once again since our last visit to that circuit [Snetterton]. It was great to get Warren involved as he brings so much experience to the team, and that will definitely help us in Hungary. We’ve been to the Hubgaroring before so we know hard it will be there. However, I don’t think we could have done any more in terms of preparation, it’s been very well structured and the guys in the garage have worked so hard. If anything goes wrong it won’t be down to a lack of effort. Now we’re all just looking forward to hitting the track and competing against the other teams in the Le Mans Series.”

Source : RLR