Thomas Erdos

This article is about the Brazilian racing driver Thomas Erdos. For the Hungarian surname Erdős, see Erdős

Erdos in the MG-Lola EX264 at the 1000 km race in Spa 2005

MG-Lola EX265C of Erdos and Newton at Silverstone 2008

Erdos in a Lola B08 / 80 with HPD engine at the 1000 km race in Spa-Francorchamps 2010

Thomas "Tommy" Erdos (born October 30, 1963 in Rio de Janeiro ) is a Brazilian racing car driver and currently lives with his wife in Milton Keynes , England .

Career

Beginnings in motorsport

Erdos began his career in motorsport in the British Formula First in 1988. He finished the championship with five wins as runner-up. In 1989 he switched to the British Formula Ford 2000, which he was able to finish third in the championship and with three wins. In 1990 Erdos decided to switch to the still young British Formula Renault series . He won four races with Fortec Motorsport , finished five more runs on the podium and thus collected enough points to win the championship. After this success he took part in tests with a Formula 3 car , crashed and injured himself so badly that he did not take part in any races the next year. Back in the cockpit, he drove again for Fortec Motorsport in the British Formula Renault. Despite a victory in Spa-Francorchamps, he could not match the results of 1990 and lost the championship to Pedro de la Rosa . From 1993 to 1996 Erdos worked as a driving instructor at Jim Russell's racing school. In addition, he drove in the British Formula 3 as well as in the European and British Formula Renault series. During that period he won two Formula 3 races on a Dallara 393 .

BPR Global GT Series and FIA-GT

In 1995 he drove the 4-hour race at Silverstone for the Marcos works team , alongside Chris Hodgetts . In 1996 he moved to Marcos' racing team in the BPR Global GT Series for the full season . There he drove a Marcos LM600 together with Cor Euser . Euser and Erdos drove to two class wins in nine races and finished two more races on the podium. Erdos collected a total of 94 points and finished the season in third class. Together with the second Marcos Racing International car , the team finished the championship in second place in the GT2 . In 1997 the series rose to the GT World Championship under the control of the FIA . Erdos only took part in two runs with two different teams. Both in Donington with a Marcos LM600 and in Spa with a Ford Saleen Mustang RRR he had to end the race early. Then he turned his back on the series until 2003, which after the withdrawal of some manufacturers was no longer a world championship. Together with Mike Newton and Graham Nash Motorsport , he drove a Saleen S7R in the 2003 season . The best result of the driver pairing was two fourth places in the two 500 km races in Donington and Oschersleben . In addition, both of them, reinforced by Pedro Chaves and Miguel Ramos , drove in the 24-hour race of Spa-Francorchamps , finishing fifth in their class. The following year, both Newton and Erdos switched to RML and competed for another season on a Saleen S7-R. The best result in the 2004 season was a sixth place on the Circuit Ricardo Tormo . At the 24-hour race in Spa they drove together with Miguel Ramos and Chris Goodwin , who had previously driven the second Saleen S7-R from RML in the championship. The car broke down halfway through the race with an engine failure. Erdos collected a total of 16.5 points and was twelfth in the drivers' championship at the end of the season. Then he and Newton finally moved to the Le Mans Series .

British GT series

In addition to participating in the BPR Global GT Series , Erdos also drove in the British BRDC Privilage Insurance GT Series from 1995 . In the first season in this series, he started from the sixth championship run in Thruxton on a Marcos LM600 and won three of the remaining six races in his class. In 1996 he continued to drive a Marcos, but for two different teams. Together with Cos Euser, he contested two races at Silverstone and Thruxton, both of which the duo won with a Marcos LM600. They also defeated vehicles from the more powerful GT1 category . Erdos also drove two races with Andy Purvis in a Marcos LM500R GT3 for NCK Racing . His best result in this car was a podium finish in the GT3 category at the Oulton Park circuit . In 1997 Erdos started again in two different teams and classes. In the fourth round of the series, Newton drove a Ford Saleen Mustang RRR from Cirtek Motorsport . He and David Warnock finished the race in third place overall, but were subsequently disqualified. From the fifth championship round at Silverstone, Erdos switched to a Jaguar XJ220 . In the remaining five races of the season, he and Allen Lloyd achieved four podium finishes in the GT1 category. In 1998 he was behind the wheel of three different vehicles. With Colin Blower he drove a TVR Cerbera in two races , with Gérard MacQuillan a Porsche 911 and from the sixth race of the season again for NCK Racing a Marcos LM600. At Spa-Francorchamps he won the GT2 class together with Andy Purvis. While the Marcos was canceled at Donington, both races ended on the podium of the GT2 at Silverstone. In 1999 he stayed with NCK Racing and took part in all championship races. Together with Purvis, he finished five races in the top three of his class, but dropped out early in the other races. 2000 was Erdos' last season with NCK Racing and Purvis. The driver pairing was canceled in seven of twelve races, compared to a podium finish in Croft and several midfield placements in another four races. 2001 Erdos paused in the British GT Championship and came back with Graham Nash Motorsport in 2002 . He and Ian McKellar won eight of the twelve championship races on a Saleen S7-R and ended the season as British GT champions. In 2003 he only drove in the 1000 km race in Spa , which was held that year together with the FIA Sportscar Challenge . Erdos occupied one of the two Mosler MT900 Rs of the Balfe Motorsport team with Shaun Balfe and Jamie Derbyshire . At the end of the race, the drivers of both Moslers stood on the podium in the GTO class.

British touring car series BTCC

In 2001, ABG Motorsport approached Erdos and signed him for the BTCC touring car series . Difficulties in obtaining and assembling the second Lexus IS 200 delayed its first use until the 13th championship run at the Knockhill Racing Circuit . Erdos finished fourth in five of the eleven races, but was unable to prevail against the Vauxhall factory team with the privately owned Lexus . In the championship he was in seventh place at the end of the year, although he had only participated in 11 of 26 races.

American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series

In 2000 the American Le Mans Series hosted two races in Europe. Erdos drove, together with Xavier Pompidou and Stephen Watson , for Chamberlain Motorsport in the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring . After 160 laps, the driver trio took second place in the GTS class behind the Chrysler Viper GTS-R from ORECA . Two years later Erdos contested another race in the American Le Mans Series. At the 12-hour race in Sebring he started again for Graham Nash Motorsport in the GTS class. The race for Erdos was over after 36 laps with a damaged suspension. In 2003, Erdos competed in Ray Mallock's team , in addition to his involvement in the FIA ​​GT, also in the 1000 km race at Le Mans. Together with Mike Newton and Chris Goodwin he drove an MG-Lola EX257 , but was unable to finish the race due to a gearbox failure. The individual race in November 2004 led to the Le Mans Endurance Series , in which he competed again with Newton in the EX257. During the season Erdos collected points and finished fifth in the LMP1 championship. In the following year he and Newton stayed in the series, but switched to the small Le Mans prototype class LMP2 with the new MG-Lola EX264 . The duo achieved podium places in three of the five races and drove to class victory in the 1000 km race in Istanbul. In the driver and team championship they lost one point to Gareth Evans and the Chamberlain-Synergy Motorsport team . A year later, Erdos only just lost the championship. At the 1000 km race in Jarama, his vehicle crashed minutes before the end of the race with an engine failure. For Juan Barazi and Michael Vergers one finish was enough to relegate Newton and Erdos to second place in the 2006 season . Despite a class win and another podium finish, the duo were missing two points in the drivers 'and teams' championships in the LMP2 category. In the 2007 Le Mans Series season , the tide turned in favor of Erdos and Newton. Although the team did not compete at the Mil Milhas in Interlagos , it won the LMP2 drivers' championship. At the end of the season, he had two class wins in the 1000 km races in Spa and at the Nürburgring. In addition, the team collected a total of 36 points in three other races. In order to continue to compete for a class win, RML switched to an expansion stage of the previous year's car for the 2008 season . Compared to the Porsche RS Spyder, however, the MG-Lola EX265 proved to be insufficiently competitive. Although the team consistently finished all races among the best six LMP2 cars, they lost the championship prematurely to Jos Verstappen . Therefore, team owner Ray Mallock decided to use a closed prototype coupé for the last 1000 km race of the season at Silverstone. In the following season the team separated from engine supplier MG and switched to the Japanese manufacturer Mazda . The choice of the aggregate ultimately turned out to be the wrong decision. In the five championship races of the 2009 season, he and Newton only finished two races without engine failure. The engine could not cope with the gasoline additives that were changed at the beginning of the season. Although the driver duo finished the last championship run in Silverstone on the podium of the LMP2, the team collected more penalty points than counters due to the multiple engine changes and therefore ended the year at the bottom of the class. Like all other Mazda-AER customer teams, RML also switched to another engine supplier for the 2010 season. In contrast to the competition, however, the team concluded a contract with the manufacturer Honda, which had previously mainly used the engine under the name Acura in the Acura ARX-01 .

Le Mans 24 hour race

In total, Erdos contested nine races of the annual long-distance race on the Sathre , six of them with Mike Newton. His first job was in 1995 with the Marcos factory team. The Marcos LM600 he was piloting, however, dropped out prematurely after 123 laps with electronic problems. In 1996 he returned with Cor Euser and Pascal Dro , but had to give up the race due to technical problems on the Marcos. In 1997 Erdos drove a Lister Storm GTL together with Julian Bailey and Mark Skaife . Now in the GT1 he started from 25th place on the grid and had to park the car in the race with a gearbox damage. In the following year Erdos was registered in Gérard MacQuillan's Porsche 911 GT2 , but neither he nor MacQuillan or Richard Jones could qualify the car. Erdos recorded his first finish the following year. In the Viper GTS-S from Chamberlain Motorsport , he finished the race together with Christian Gläsel and Christian Vann in 22nd place overall and ninth in the GTS category. From 2000 to 2002 he did not take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and returned in 2003 with Graham Nash Motorsport . He, Pedro Chaves and Mike Newton were registered in the GTS class on a Saleen S7-R, but retired early in the race with an engine failure. In 2004 Erdos, Newton and Nathan Kinch drove a Le Mans prototype for RML. The team started the race from 13th position on the grid, but had to give up the race prematurely with engine failure. As in the Le Mans Series, Erdos and Newton drove an MG-Lola EX264 in the small prototype class at Le Mans in 2005. The duo was supported by Warren Hughes . On their second finish in six years, the driver pairing drove to class victory in the LMP2 and 20th place overall. In 2006 Newton and Erdos defended the result together with Andy Wallace . With the second class win, Erdos also achieved his best overall result. The trio finished the race in eighth place overall. In 2007, the successful team from the previous year remained untouched, but could not repeat the success. On lap 251, the vehicle crashed with a piston damaged. In 2008 the driver team returned with an unchanged line-up. On the fourth lap of the race there was a collision between Erdos and the Lola B07 / 10 , driven by Greg Pickett . Ray Mallock's team was able to repair the ailing car and send Andy Wallace back on the track. However, Wallace pitted again after a few laps and the team withdrew the car from the race. For the race in the following year, the driver pairing was slightly changed, instead of Wallace, Chris Dyson took the wheel of the Lola Coupé with Mazda engine. The driver trio was in 4th place in the LMP2 class until Sunday morning, when Erdos had to park the car after laps 273 with an engine failure. After Erdos was out for three years in a row, he was able to show a finish again in 2010 with a podium in the LMP2 category.

Daytona 24 hour race

Mike Newton in Coyote CC / 08 with the number 51, drives for the introductory lap at Daytona 2008

Erdos also competed several times in the Daytona 24-hour race from 2002 onwards. When he first participated, he shared the cockpit of the Saleen S7-R with Ian McKellar, Ron Johnson and Bobby Verdon-Roe . Erdos set the second fastest lap time in its class in the race. However, there were technical difficulties so that the vehicle had to be withdrawn from the race after 428 laps. Nevertheless, the Saleen was rated in 39th overall position in the end. The next outing at Daytona followed in 2004 for Michael Shank Racing on a Doran JE4 . Erdo's first job in a Daytona prototype was played alongside Mike Newton, Kelly Collins and Cort Wagner . Erdos finished the race in seventh place overall, while the team only just missed a podium in the DP class. In 2005 Erdos and Newton ran together again. As in the previous year, both drove a Doran JE4, but were reinforced by Burt and Brian Frisselle . After 523 laps, the gearbox of the Doran used by Synergy Motorsport went on strike , so that the team had to give up the car. In 2006 Erdos drove again in the DP class, this year he switched to Cheever Racing . Mike Newton, with whom he had previously contested three of the four Daytona 24-hour races, was registered on the Crawford DP03 but did not drive. Erdos finished the race with the support of Stefan Johansson and Warren Hughes in 22nd place overall. The following year Erdos drove again for Cheever Racing , now again with Newton. In addition to the duo, Eddie Cheever Jr. and Harrison Brix the Fabcar FDSC / 03 . After driving 579 laps, the team finished 18th in the DP class. Also in 2008 Newton and Erdos competed in America , Erdos had to park the Coyote CC / 08 in the 49th lap with a major engine failure.

statistics

successes

• 1990: British Formula Renault Champion
• 2002: Champion of the British BRDC Privilage Insurance GT Series
• 2005: LMP2 class winner in the Le Mans 24-hour race
• 2006: LMP2 class winner in the Le Mans 24-hour race
• 2007: Le Mans Series driver and team champion of the LMP2

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1995	Team Marcos	Marcos 600LM	Cor Euser	Chris Hodgetts	failure	electronics
1996	Team Marcos	Marcos 600LM	Cor Euser	Pascal Dro	failure	engine
1997	Newcastle United Lister Storm	Lister Storm GTL	Julian Bailey	Mark Skaife	failure	transmission
1999	Chamberlain Motorsport	Chrysler Viper GTS-R	Christian Gläsel	Christian Vann	Rank 22
2003	Graham Nash Motorsport	Saleen S7R	Mike Newton	Pedro Chaves	failure	engine
2004	RML	MG-Lola EX257	Mike Newton	Nathan Kinch	failure	engine
2005	RML	MG-Lola EX264	Mike Newton	Warren Hughes	Rank 20 and class win
2006	RML	MG-Lola EX264	Mike Newton	Andy Wallace	Rank 8 and class win
2007	RML	MG-Lola EX264	Mike Newton	Andy Wallace	failure	piston
2008	RML	MG-Lola EX265	Mike Newton	Andy Wallace	failure	accident
2009	RML	Lola B08 / 86	Mike Newton	Chris Dyson	failure	engine
2010	RML	Lola B08 / 80	Mike Newton	Andy Wallace	Rank 8
2011	RML	HPD ARX-01d	Mike Newton	Ben Collins	Rank 12

Sebring results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
2002	Graham Nash Motorsport	Saleen S7-R	Ian McKellar	Ron Johnson	failure	suspension
2003	Graham Nash Motorsport	Saleen S7-R	Pedro Chaves	Gavin Pickering	failure	Gearbox damage

Web links

Commons : Thomas Erdos  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• official website of Thomas Erdos

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Harald Gallinnis: http://www.gt-eins.at/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4284&Itemid=2