Here we are, KCMG’s first race in prototype sportscar racing is over, and what a start! For our first competitive outing, the team had elected to run in the opening round of the World Endurance Championship at Silverstone. For sure not the easiest race for a start but again, we are not here for easy races, we are here to prepare for the challenge of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Silverstone offered the perfect opportunity to have a real-life test session while giving the drivers and the crew a critical experience in a race environment: pitstop, traffic management, etc…
To be honest, coming into the race weekend I wasn’t sure what to expect. Mostly because I had had so little time behind the wheel up to that point… The team was put together from scratch in just under 3 months, which is a huge achievement by the crew. But it also meant we could only organize a shakedown test in Magny Cours 2 weeks before Silverstone. As with every shake down, we had teething issues, which we could identify and solve on the first day. It was very important to work on those to get to the race in good shape. However, the weather decided it would play tricks on us and after a very cold but at least dry first day, it snowed (yes, yes…). Then rained on the second day, which meant no meaningful running. All-in-all, we came away from Magny Cours with a big list of things to work on and solve ahead of our race debut but little idea in terms of setup or performance and even less in terms of long distance runs.
Silverstone started in much the same way with less than ideal weather conditions. In fact up to the race, I had not turned a single wheel in dry conditions on a circuit which I was discovering. However, Matt had shown the car had a good potential when he ran near the top in FP2 so that was an encouraging sign!
Unfortunately, qualifying didn’t quite go according to plan… The new qualifying format calls for 2 drivers to take turns at the wheel during the 20 minutes session and the average of 4 laps determines the starting grid: the best 2 laps of each driver. If any driver fails to post at least 2 laps, the car has to start at the back.
It started to rain two minutes before the start of qualifying, but the team (believing it would be short lived) opted to start Matt on slick tyres. In these treacherous conditions, Matt had an off on his outlap and the car got stuck in gear: it took a few minutes to get the car back to the pit for a change of tyres and he was on his way again to set 2 laps. By the time he came back in, there was only 5 minutes left on the clock! By then the track had dried but we had no time to change to slick tyres or we would miss the cut. I pushed as hard as I could in these conditions and we beat the flag by 5 second… A close one! Running on the wrong tyre at the wrong time meant we had to settle for 8th, which didn’t reflect our potential.
In the race, Matt started the car and started turning in fast laps to climb through the field, but lost some time after a contact with another car. Never mind, we were still in a good position. By the end of his double stint, Matt gave me the car in P5. I took where he left off, going faster as I learned the track and enjoying every second of it. Silverstone is an amazing circuit, very flowing and with some really fast sections. A dream for every driver. Soon, we were fastest on track and climbing. Right at the end of my first stint, rain started falling and the race director put the circuit under full course yellow (no overtaking allowed) as cars were going off track in very slippery conditions. At our scheduled pitstop, we opted for wet tyres, but that proved to be the wrong decision and we were soon back in the pits for a set of slick tyres. Trying to make up the lost time, I pushed throughout my second stint and brought the car to P1 by the time of our pitstop. It was good because it meant we were in the mix for the podium!
Kato took over the wheel and, at the same time, the team operated a routine oil top-up. Unfortunately something failed with the oil procedure and the car had to be pushed back into the garage. The boys worked incredibly hard and it took them just over 7 minutes to solve the problem before Kato could be sent back out. Kato did a good job avoiding trouble in his two stints as the first Chinese drivers in WEC, but by that time, the podium was already lost.
I jumped back in for the run to the flag (last 1h20). Despite having nothing to play for anymore, I pushed hard and the pace was good and very consistent, which is good for our confidence ahead of our next big milestone: the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This last stint was a ton of fun and I really enjoy the endurance aspect of sportscar racing: you have to keep your focus up for a long time, make zero mistake, take risks in traffic but not too much. It’s a fine balance, and all the while you have to drive fast.
We crossed the line in P6 after 6 hours and I think it was a great effort by everyone at KCMG. To come from scratch to finish 6th in our first endurance event is a top result and everybody did a tremendous job. Most importantly, I believe there is a lot of room to go further up!
Now, we have to work flat out to keep improving for Le Mans. The bonding within the team is starting to take and there is an excellent atmosphere to build on. There is a lot of respect between the drivers and we are all extremely motivated. Talking of team-mates: for Le Mans, Ho-Pin Tung will be joining us after he had to miss Silverstone due to commitments in Asia. He is a nice addition to the team. We were team mates in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia last year and he is a quick and professional guy who will bring top-level experience. In the meantime, Kato did a good job at Silverstone and will now focus on his US racing project. Best of luck to him!
As I write this blog post, I am in Mogan Mountain, Zhejiang province, 2h30 from Shanghai where I’m working on my fitness. Physical and mental preparation is in full swing ahead of Le Mans: 24 Hours in La Sarthe will be grueling and we must be ready to meet the challenge!
Source : KCMG