Thomas Enge

[Dobbo]

http://www.the-paddock.net/content/view/241878/49/

I have seen Enge's incidents in the last two rounds and I didn't think they were so bad as to warrant a sacking! I think the punishment dished out during the Mid Ohio race was fair. Mika Salo then went on to make a complete idiot of himself by admitting he retaliated. Does he not remember Sebring when the Risi Ferrari barged its way to victory on the final turn?! All in all a bit surprised to see Enge sacked from White Lightning, surely it is Salo who has attracted all the bad publicity.

[Paddy_NL]

Might be a bit much to sack him over this, but it seems '07 is a bad year for Enge. First there was is crash at St. Pete's, then all the rubbing at Lime Rock and finally Mid-Ohio. Saw him crashing at Eau Rouge during the Spa24. He just did what all others did, going over the curbe further and further every lap, untill he finally hit the wall.

Salo maybe shouldn't have bashed Enge out of the race -and afterwards admit he did that purposefully!- at Mid-Ohio, but I think I can understand why Salo did that.

[Paddy_NL]

More about this on Tomas' own site: http://tinyurl.com/25wuxy

[Pieter]

From Americanlemans.com:

PETERSEN MOTORSPORTS/WHITE LIGHTNING RACING RELEASES ENGE EFFFECTIVE IMMEDATELY; TEAM TAKES TOP-FIVE FINISH AT MID-OHIO

Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing has announced the immediate dismissal of driver Tomas Enge (a native of the Czech Republic now living in Monaco) following today's Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In accordance with the two-time American Le Mans Series GT2 Driver Championship-winning team's written policy on driver expectations and conduct, Enge was released approximately 45-minutes into the two-hour and 45- minute event. Enge was assessed a penalty by IMSA Stewards/Officials for causing damage to a car while on probation. In accordance with a written agreement regarding the driver's probation, Team Manager/Entrant Dale White (Bozeman, MT) followed team policy and protocol and released Enge immediately.

The Michael Petersen (Las Vegas, Nev.) owned team soldiered home with a top-five GT2 class finish today despite a damaged race car. Dirk Mόller (a German now living in Monaco) will continue with the two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winners. The second driver for the No. 31 MMPIE/PAWS/Petersen Holdings/Michelin Ferrari F430 GT is under consideration and will be announced prior to the August 11th round at Road America. Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing is the defending GT2 class race winners at Road America and has won three of the last four seasons at the Elkhart Lake, Wisc. facility.

Quotes
Dale White, Team Manager/Entrant: "We are following our team's policy and have released Tomas from his contract with Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing effective immediately. While this is extremely regrettable to Mike Petersen, myself and the team, Tomas has been on probation with the team, as well as with IMSA, since Lime Rock Park and our policy and understanding with Tomas is clear. It was understood that we would not and could not tolerate any further penalties and that any additional penalty would be dealt with in this manner. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the actual incidents, it is our practice to follow the determination of the stewards."

[rcutler]

He actually crashed the Ferrari twice at Spa, they had to rebuild the front end after morning practice.

In the UK had he cut that curb with 4 wheels twice he would have been black flagged.

It did make the race more interesting knowing they were nearly flat out and inches away!

[Chris24]

Very harash on Enge, I saw nothing in the incident. Then Salo went nuts and deliberately punted Enge off the road and admitted it on TV. For that the stewards should ban Salo for at least one race in my opinion and also the opinion of a friend at work.

[hgb]

He actually crashed the Ferrari twice at Spa, they had to rebuild the front end after morning practice.

In the UK had he cut that curb with 4 wheels twice he would have been black flagged.

It did make the race more interesting knowing they were nearly flat out and inches away!

That was plain dangerous. You come up the Eau Rouge hill nearly blind because A) you can't see over the edge and B) because the circuit makes a left turn. The emergency exits are there for purpose and not to run over them. You could clearly see the difference in speed of those guys who went straight on and those who followed the track. I'm surprised that it didn't come to an accident further up from where we stood. On a second note, the crashed Ferrari blocked the exit of the pit lane. The only car which was allowed out during the time of the clear up was a Dodge and that perhaps only because the marshalls at the pit exit hadn't realised yet what happened. From then on the pits were basically closed for 15 minutes. The cars outside which were low on fuel had to watch every drop. Tomas was under pressure and by that time was the fastest in GT2... do you wonder why ? There was no other car involved as far as I could see. He touched the left barrier with his back, bounced off and smeared into the opposite tyre wall. However, Tomas was just unlucky and I don't blame him. There were so many people who cut the curbs at Eau Rouge/Raidillon. You can see from one of my pictures that they even ignored the racing line at night. I think the one on the picture is one of the Corvettes. Plain mad if you ask me.