Scuderia Corsa gains from experience
The TUSCC GT entrant was here last year for the first time and ran steadily with its 458 to finish third. Though supported throughout this event by Kessel Racing, their position at the front was gained deep into the night after a low-key start that managed treacherous conditions and balanced driver abilities with solid strategy. They hung in and came good for the victory in the spirit of the best privateer winners in this category.
AF Corse, strength in numbers
Notwithstanding other commitments here, supporting four cars on the Am grid was a huge commitment by the Ferrari ‘semi-works’ operation. There may be criticism that many Ferraris deny opportunity elsewhere, but the marque’s presence at Le Mans in any form is welcome should the racing be as professionally turned-out, competitive and reliable as we’ve seen this weekend. Their own cars ran hard in the hands of seasoned drivers such as Emmanuel Collard, who in the end made it a 1-2 for the Ferrari brand.
Commendable performance has to be acknowledged by the team and crew of the fifth placed #55 car. Matt Griffin was able to demonstrate his true pace and racecraft to place the car in touch with the leading group, Duncan Cameron and Aaron Scott doing a sterling job to uphold the privateer spirit of the event.
Clearwater Racing, shining performance
Their radical chrome livery should go down as one of the classics, and their own reflections on this event should be nothing less than a success. Rob Bell had the pace to grab pole and anchor their attack and the 2015/16 Asian Le Mans Series champions turned in a strong performance to finish fourth at their first attempt.
Porsche, evolution or revolution now?
Patrick Long drove the wheels off the #88 Proton car in typical style, he and his team mates netting 24 valuable WEC points from their third-place finish. The early hours of this year’s race delivered highly competitive running in tough conditions, as this and the KCMG car slugged it out at the front. But in terms of sustained pace, the 911 RSR seemed a little too uncompetitive over the distance, the Porsches in GTE Pro having an experience they’ll certainly want to forget.
As a proven platform the car is peerless, but following this performance and that of other recent GT series, perhaps a rethink of the Porsche GT approach should be on the Stuttgart agenda.
As a footnote to this, the privateer Gulf Racing UK Porsche overcame early issues to rise through the order to grab a well-deserved fifth place, points earned that will surely compensate for their WEC fortunes this season so far.
Aston Martin challenge
Congratulations to the #99 car and to its ‘British GT graduates’ Andrew Howard and Liam Griffin. Alongside former ELMS P2 champ Gary Hirsch, theirs was a gritty performance from the back of the grid that delivered a deserved seventh in class.
The #98 sister car had stronger form and was always the more fancied for a good result and particularly after its dominance of last year’s event, vengeance seemed reasonable. However, the car lacked cohesion and suffered from a string of failures and incidents throughout the race before its eventual demise. With the Pro Astons also off the pace, there may yet be life in the Vantage, but does this suggest the clock is ticking down for the car with such rich history here?
