PK Sport at Le Mans – Monday Preview

PK Sport is back at Le Mans again this year for their third successive assault on the Vingt Quatre Heures. Their debut in 2001 was a highly emotional occasion which saw the British team reach the flag with great credit after losing several hours to a succession of damaged radiators – ironically, the result of one of the wettest Le Mans on record. For some while they had lead the class and, despite their difficulties, had impressed many observers with their professional attitude both on track and in the garage.

Their return in 2002 saw them buoyed by some good results in both the European and American Le Mans Series and an established line-up of experienced Porsche drivers. Once again preparation was the key, with the drivers instructed to view qualifying as another opportunity to fine-tune the Porsche 911 GT3-RS and resist any temptation to push for pole. It was a solid performance, with Robin Liddell posting a best of 4:13.912 (in race trim) to set fourth in class. His opening race stint converted that into a solid second place, while both David Warnock and Piers Masarati were able to consolidate the car’s progress such that the PK entry started to look like a serious challenger for class honours. Five hours into the event, however, and the team’s hopes were dashed as the first signs of a significant engine problem became evident. With characteristic determination they pressed on, but repeated visits to the pitlane and a worsening situation under the bonnet eventually heralded the closing of the garage doors. If 2001 had achieved a rosy glow of elation, albeit with slightly Pyrrhic overtones, 2002 knocked everyone back several pegs.

Undeterred, however, Mike Pickup and the other long-standing members of the team – and it’s a virtually identical squad this year once again – have continued to deliver excellent performances on tracks all around the world, especially in the Americas. They’ve certainly caught the Stuttgart eye, and enjoy a healthy relationship with the Porsche factory. They have also continued to benefit from a mutually advantageous relationship with Italian tyre giant Pirelli, which remains a cornerstone to much of PK’s success.

So they face the 80th anniversary running of the Le Mans 24 Hours with the same line-up of drivers, the same collection of engineers and mechanics, and the same gritty determination. Mike Pickup was looking remarkably relaxed when we caught up with him on Monday afternoon in the team motorhome. He’d just returned from a scooter trip around the Village.

“I’ve never seen the pits from the other side of the track,” he said. “I wanted to get an idea of what the garage looked like to the fans, but you can hardly see anything!” It’s early in the week, of course, and a good many teams are still setting up, but the PK pit is already complete and resplendent in eyecatching yellow and black.

“It’s fantastic to be back,” he enthused. “We’ve built a completely new car from the ground up, and done all those mysterious things that you learn to do to strengthen it up. The first time it ever turned a wheel was here for the test day in May. It ran faultlessly – didn’t miss a beat all day! All credit to the guys for that, of course.”

Mike is obviously proud of the team he’s built up, and never misses an opportunity to give credit where it’s due. Unsurprisingly, he seems to have garnered a special mix of respect and affection from the men and women he’s worked with for so many years and, let’s face it, that’s quite a rare achievement in this sport.

In some respects the car PK is running this year is much the same as the 2002 car, although the likelihood of a repeat of last year’s engine failure has been seriously addressed, both by PK and Germany. When it comes down to the smaller details, however, this is very much a 2003 spec car. “We’ve got the wider front track, suspension arms, and bodywork,” explains Pickup, “so it’s significantly different in that way, and there are many other small ways in which it’s been improved. We also have a factory engine arriving on Thursday, and that will be fitted ahead of final qualifying.” That will assure the team enough time to give it a serious running-in before the race. “We wouldn’t want to turn up for warm-up on Saturday and find any problems,” he smiles.

Memories of 2002 are evidently still a little painful, but Mike Pickup can look back slightly less than 12 months to a much more satisfying run in the Brazilian twelve hour race in January. On that occasion they not only finished, but won handsomely. “Doing that twelve hour in Brazil was certainly interesting,” he admits. “I think it was the easiest race we’ve ever done! The car just pitted every hour and a half and we simply refuelled, fitted new tyres, did the necessary driver changes and sent it back out again.” It was clearly an exemplary lesson. “If the car runs faultlessly, you’ll always be there, or thereabouts, at the end.” he adds, clearly suggesting that he’d like much the same story to unfold here in France next weekend.

Having the same squad certainly improves the odds. “I think they’re significantly better prepared this year,” suggests the Team Owner. “Everyone did a great job at the (May) test, but the drivers have been putting in a lot of extra effort since then. They’ve all been down to the workshop and we’ve spent time going through a lot of preparation work – the kind of thing that sometimes gets left until the last minute, or overlooked completely. They took time out especially to come and do that, which is very encouraging. Keeping the same squad together is certainly a bonus.”

So what are the team’s chances? “I don’t go motor racing for any other reason but to win,” insists Mike. “In fact, the whole team is full of winners, and their attitude is very strong because of it. That’s been our mindset for the last twelve months. All we have to do now is to make the most of that strength. To be honest, with the combination of our drivers, the tyres, and the level of preparation we’ve done this year, we’ve every chance of being there at the end, but it’s a long race, and as we all know, anything can happen at Le Mans.”

Mike Pickup won’t commit beyond that, of course, but it’s easy to sense an optimism that is probably more than simply an offspring of the buzz any team owner (or manager) gets from racing this famous circuit. He is clearly chuffed at being back for the third successive year. “There were 56 places on offer in May,” he says. “I had two of them! Yes, of course I’m disappointed that the second car didn’t get an entry in the end, but one did, and that’s all that truly matters. There are, what, 160 GT3s out there (in the world), maybe more? We’re one of just eight to have been given the chance to race here at Le Mans.” You can’t underestimate the pride this man feels in the single fact of his presence here. “There’s a tremendous pool of knowledge in this team,” he continues. “They’ve all been there, done that, and are probably wearing the T-shirts even now, but we’ve all retained the humility to realise that it’s still a great privilege to be here. Talk to anyone in the team and I promise you, it’ll be the same. It’s an honour to be involved once again.”

Monday has been a day of final preparation for PK Sport. Mike Pickup effuses a laid-back attitude, although it shouldn’t be misinterpreted. The fact he’s able to relax on a day like this is a positive reflection of the months of preparation that have gone into this one race. Tomorrow they head down to the town centre for a mid-afternoon scrutineering slot. “I’m remarkably relaxed now,” he admits, “but I may not be tomorrow.”