The team behind the #79 Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3 RSR has elected to switch to the Pro GTE class at short notice as a result of being unable to meet the Am driver requirements after Sébastien Crubilé – drafted in to replace injured Bret Curtis – was not cleared to race by the organisers.
The team’s official statement reads: “WeatherTech Racing will run in the GT Pro category for the start of today’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Cooper MacNeil and Jeroen Bleekemolen are up for the challenge of driving the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche RSR prepared by ProSpeed Competition for the full 24 starting at 3 p.m. local time this afternoon.”
The release continues: “As a result of the team’s original third driver Bret Curtis not being able to continue as a result of his accident on Thursday, the team searched for a replacement Bronze classified driver, but could not get one approved in time for the start of the race. Cooper MacNeil and Jeroen Bleekemolen, together with the team, made the decision to run the race with just two drivers. As a result of not having a Bronze driver in the car, the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche will now run Le Mans as a Pro car.”
“The Pro Class has eight cars, we will be the ninth. Maybe a couple of cars will have trouble and we can get a top five or even maybe sneak up on the podium. We have no real pressure on us. We don’t have to push the car 110% as we don’t have the speed to match the pace of the factory cars. We plan to turn laps, take care of the car and get it to the finish line and see where we end up. The team did a great job to get the car together and we are motivated to perform for them. I am excited about the prospect of running the race with just Jeroen for 24 hours. We are looking at triple stints for Jeroen and doubles for me.”
Bleekemolen claims he is up to the challenge. “This will be a first for me,” he admitted. “The most hours I’ve had at Le Mans is ten hours of driving. This weekend I will have to run the maximum of fourteen hours and Cooper ten. You cannot run more than four hours in a six hour period, so we each have to do our part. If the car runs trouble free and some of the other Pro cars have problems we may get a top five result.”
While Bret Curtis’ incident at the Dunlop Bridge prompted the (ultimately fruitless) search for a replacement bronze-rated driver, the team has been able to source a new car. The Porsche the team will now race is a 2012-spec GT3 RSR used by Paul Miller Racing in the American Le Mans Series and currently campaigned by Crubilé Sport in the 2014 ELMS.
Sébastien Crubilé had been earmarked as a possible replacement to drive the car, but having not driven any laps this week the organisers understandably could not give him dispensation to join the team.
If Dutchman Jeroen Bleekemolen and American Cooper MacNeil do end up driving the whole race as a pair this weekend, it will be the first such attempt since 2009, when André Lotterer and Charles Zwolsman drove the #14 Kolles Audi R10 after their third driver – Narain Karthikeyan – injured himself on the morning of the race.
CORRECTION – Stuart Hall, on duty in the Eurosport commentary booth this weekend reminds us that he and Manu Collard drove as a duo in 2012 in the ill-starred Pescarolo 03 Judd. We are happy to stand corrected by such an esteemed driver and talented opening batsman!
SK & MP
