K2's Le Mans Prototype Challenger Breaks Cover

06 May 2004

K2 Racing's definitive LMP2 challenger completed a successful inaugural test session on the Donington circuit on Thursday 29th April.

The Pilbeam MP 91 has been extensively developed to accommodate a Judd 3.4 litre V8 engine and features lengthened wheelbase and revised rear suspension and bodywork. The car has been engineered at Pilbeam's Bourne, Lincolnshire headquarters and at K2 Racing's base in Uckfield, East Sussex.

The car's specification should ensure its competitiveness in Europe’s leading sports car racing championship, the Le Mans Endurance Series which opens later this month in Italy.

Scots GT and single seater race ace Robin Liddell was at the wheel for the car's first shakedown at Dunsfold, Surrey, aerodrome on Tuesday 5th April and subsequently at Donington. The team used the former Hawker Aircraft base - where such revolutionary designs as the vertical take-off Harrier were developed - to prove the basic systems. Thereafter the K2 race car ran for four sessions at Donington in very adverse conditions. All four sessions were run in very low temperatures and were rain affected offering no opportunity for fast, dry laps. In spite of this, after early systems checks the team was able to undertake development to the wet weather set-up of the car, with encouraging results.

"This was a very encouraging first outing," said Liddell. "The car ran well from the outset, and there were no problems at all with chassis, engine or systems. The team has done a really good job to get the car sorted so well right out of the box," said Liddell the conditions were extremely difficult and it was my first experience of this class of car. But I was very impressed with the work the team, and Pilbeam had done, to ensure that the car was immediately reliable, and quick. I think it has real potential to be very competitive in the LMP2 class."

Late on Saturday, K2 reluctantly decided to withdraw from the opening round of the Le Mans Endurance Series, at Monza on May 9th. Team spokesman Mark Winsor said: "The engineering work took three weeks longer than expected, and while the car showed well at the first test (at Donington) we really do not have enough data and information to be competitive at Monza. We will not run unless we are confident of our whole package so we have decided to postpone our race debut."

K2 have yet to finalise the full driver line up.

See series calendar for the Le Mans Endurance Series 2004