GTE’s history book has finally been closed after the 2023 FIA WEC season finale in Bahrain last weekend.
The race provided a historic result with the #85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR taking the victory, a first for an all-female crew in any FIA World Championship event.
But that result was in doubt in the closing hour of the race thanks to a fightback to the finish from the #777 D’Station Racing Aston Martin, Casper Stevenson piling on the pressure throughout the final two hours of the race and ensuring that of the Dames were to take the win, they’d have to fight for it!
It was an important result for 20-year-old Stevenson, the Bahrain race coming hot on the heels of the FIA doling out a Gold categorisation to the young Londoner for 2024.
But pretty much nothing could have been further from his mind in the final hour at Bahrain than attacking for the win, as Casper explained to the DSC Editor this week:
“To have finally been in a position to show what I, and the team, could do was fantastic. All year we’ve had a great team atmosphere and there has been fantastic support from (Team Managing Director and Driver Tomonobu) Fujii San.”
The Astons have been struggling for pace almost everywhere until Bahrain where the Vantages were given a reasonable BoP boost.
“That put us back into the mix. And, it’s fair to say that I was delighted to leave Bahrain as the quickest Aston driver after a season where we simply didn’t get the luck of the draw.”
It’s perhaps a mark of the difference the change made that across the seven WEC races the trio of Aston Martins scored just four podiums, and two of them came in Bahrain!
Bahrain saw a change in the D’Station team’s line-up, Liam Talbot stepping in and doing an early-race Iron Man bronze triple stint leaving Fujii and Stevenson to bring the car home.
“Liam did an amazing job (in what DSC believes was his GTE debut!), and I got in and did a double before handing over to Fujii San.
“He did a great job too and I took over the car with two hours to go to run to the end. We were in a strong position in the running order, second, but 30 seconds back.
“At that point, there was little thought of the win, it was about a strong pace and bringing it home. I can remember saying to the Engineer, let me know what the gap behind (to third place) is.”
That’s a perfectly understandable mindset from a young driver with a tough season for his team behind him and with just four seasons in circuit racing on his cv before a call-up for the FIA WEC: (Ginetta Jrs 2019, British F4 2020, Euroformula 2021 and GT World Challenge Europe with AKKA ASP in 2022).
“Getting the opportunity from Fujii San to finish the push has been pretty typical of the atmosphere in the team. I first got talking via social media with him in late 2022, after Charlie Fagg was upgraded. He’s a tough taskmaster but has taught me so much. Now I am just hungry for more!”
Back to the Battle of Bahrain and Stevenson had a mountain to climb against a fired-up Michelle Gatting.
But then the call came that the gap to third was growing, but the gap to the leader was coming down.
“Once I knew I had a strong car still underneath me it was time to push, but it was a big gap, over 30 seconds – but the rising thought within me was to go for the win, to show what I could do and to say thank you for the faith that Fujii San and the whole team had shown all year in me.”
The first of the closing stints from Stevenson saw the gap reducing steadily, 33 seconds down to under 20 with an hour to go.
“The team gave me tyres for the final hour and that added some real punch and the gap was now – just – visual, I could see Michelle braking for Turn One As I came out of the final turn. That visual cue really helps.”
It certainly did, the gap was tumbling, from 18 seconds as the #777 rejoined from its final stop to under 2 seconds after 40 minutes.
“I was judging progress not only with what I was hearing from the team but also with what I could see in front of me on the pit straight, no mistakes, pushing like crazy and then, I was right there!”
Indeed he was, just under 20 minutes left and the 33 second gap had been reduced to just 1.6! A lead change seemed almost inevitable, Stevenson punctuating his presence with a flash (or several) of the headlights to add to the pressure, but then….
“But, just as I got to her a pair of LMP2s got involved, and, quite simply, the leader got the better run with them passing.”
“When LMP2s pass you on the straight – it’s heaven, but they caught me at the wrong place for my push. LMP2s have lower traction than us out of low speed corners and compromise us on the exit. I lost a second immediately.
“And that was without the reality that as the chase really got underway, my brakes got hotter and tyre temperatures were compromised too – Getting to the Porsche was one thing, but getting past her this deep into a stint where I had pushed so hard was going to another thing altogether.”
Stevenson’s assessment was entirely on point, the two Orecas got between the battling GTEs costing the Aton Martin time and momentum, and then passing the leading Porsche on the straight to twist the knife just a little more.
It was – just – enough, to give Gatting the opportunity to fend off a real fight and to get back into the groove, extending the gap little by little.
“I gave it my all, expended everything getting to her. My thought process through it all was that it would be a big job to get there, but I got that done. Of course the pan next was to attack, pass and then defend, but I couldn’t get by!”
It also made for great TV, a looming threat from a young charger to a potentially, and then actually historic result, Casper sums it up beautifully!
“It was nice to witness history, but I would have preferred making headlines of our own. For me it was all about taking the win, the fact that it would have taken it from the girls never occurred to me.” And that, for everyone concerned, the winning Iron Dames crew and the still impressively finishing second placed D’Station squad, is entirely the point of the exercise!
What Gatting and Stevenson had given us was a fight worthy of a finale for GTE, an era that Casper now has a fond final memory of to match his first impressions.
“When I first tested at Monza in Feb with TF it was immediately like a race car not a converted road car, there was more reward for when you get it right than in GT3, the performance window was slightly smaller and so a good driver can make a difference. These really were great cars.
Here’s hoping that young Casper Stevenson can be part of the next chapter in LMGT3!
