The last time Strakka Racing founder and driver Nick Leventis appeared at Le Mans was back in 2013. A lot has changed since then for him and his team, making it a perfect time to have a quick chat about his hopes for this year’s run at La Sarthe and the future of the Banbury outfit.
Nick, its two years since we saw Strakka at Le Mans. It must be good to be back?
“Absolutely. It has been too long for sure! The race means a lot to me and Strakka. We’ve had great success here, particularly in 2010 but also in 2013 when we were the first P1 privateer. I’m hoping we can add to that success this year, particularly as it is a car Strakka has played a significant role in. Strakka Racing has developed and built the DOME S103 in our workshops so taking it to Le Mans will be special feeling and one that I think every member of the team should feel proud about.
It’s not been an easy journey for Strakka with this car but a podium on its debut at Silverstone was important I imagine?
“Yes – I think that was a real reward for the guys in the workshop who have worked so hard and put in the hours to prepare the car. We’ve asked a lot of them over the past 18 months and they have kept delivering. Securing a podium at Le Mans would be very special in a car we have developed in house and we are all focussed on this now.”
The preparations have included a change from Michelin to Dunlop? Not a decision taken lightly given your long relationship with the French manufacturer?
“No it wasn’t. We enjoy a close relationship with Michelin and will continue that with our FR3.5 team. We have raced together with Michelin for a long time and they were part of the success at Le Mans in 2010 and 2013 so this was not a decision we took lightly. However, from what we saw at Silverstone and Spa we thought we could be quicker on the Dunlops. Homologation rules as they stand mean there is very little you can change on the car but tyres are free so we instigated a change for Le Mans and the balance of WEC. We decided to do the switch now as Le Mans offers important points in the championship.
“We are fourth at present and we are very confident that Dunlop will provide a performance advantage. I think with the Dunlops we can now compete for podiums and even race wins in the second half on the championship. ”
You tested the Dunlops at Spa, how did that go?
“It was actually very good as the car was still set up for the Michelin rubber. The relationship with Dunlop has really blossomed in a short space of time. Interestingly we have the same engineer, Dave Billingham that we had when we worked with Dunlop in GT1 so we have been able to get going really quickly.
“We obviously had fresh data from the WEC race weekend earlier in the month at Spa and we could see from this test that the Dunlops were quicker. We had a few other tasks we had run through at that test; running in the Le Mans gearbox for one and trialling some minor aero changes on the car that are only allowed at Le Mans so it wasn’t just about tyres but it is another step in the right direction. That is what we need if we want to fight for the P2 championship.”
There are a lot of changes in the P2 championship being discussed for the future. This could obviously affect your programme with the DOME. What are your thoughts?
“There have been lots of discussions out there about what will happen in 2017 and the championship is now keeping us informed as this develops. We are expecting more details at Le Mans and we’ll be watching to see what the actual restrictions on number of manufacturers will be. Whatever the decision, it is going to impact us for sure and it may mean we have to look at our own business model for the S103 if we aren’t going to be able to sell them to other WEC competitors.”
“This year has seen real diversity in the class; the cars look really different, sound different and I know from when we meet the fans at the tracks or via our social media channels, they do love this aspect. This year, more than ever, we have had the fans coming up to us saying how much they love the look of the DOME. It would be a shame for those fans if that changes.”
Talking of change, Strakka Racing appears to have changed a great deal in the last year. Can you explain what has changed and what hasn’t?
“What hasn’t changed is that we are very much a racing team that wants to win. That element is very much at the heart of everything we do. But you’re right, Strakka Racing is changing and our vision is to create a more sustainable motorsports business for drivers and engineering. 2014 saw us put in place a ladder where drivers could start in karting with Strakka and progress their careers in a secure and supportive environment right up to FR3.5. We won two FIA karting titles last year so we think we have that part right! We’ve had to put the FR2.0 cars on hold for 2015 but our FR3.5 team is really strong with youngster Gustav Malja and Tio Ellinas, who we also now manage.
“Strakka Performance, where we look at all aspects of driver performance is doing really well; the sim is becoming very popular and is really busy. We’ve got more in house support on the fitness side and we’ll have more to talk about on that in the near future. On the engineering side, we have increasingly led the development of the S103, boosting our engineering expertise and we have introduced new technologies and manufacturing processes, such as 3D printing, that the rest of the motorsports industry is now looking at. The future is very bright and I’m excited about these plans.”
Back to Le Mans, is a podium realistic?
“We know the DOME is a reliable, strong car and the NISMO engine is the class of the field. I’ve got hugely experienced drivers Jonny Kane and Danny Watts alongside me and the team knows how it works at Le Mans. I counted it up and we have at least 22 starts between us!
“The elements are therefore all in place but this is Le Mans and even the most favoured runner can hit trouble with weather, traffic or just bad luck. We are going to give it our best shot and we know we get great support from the British fans, they are big part of the whole event for us. Come and see us, wish us luck and let’s push for a strong result, a race win at Le Mans in the car we have put on the ground would undoubtedly be a very special moment for all of us!”
