The Murphy Prototype Racing’s trio of Jody Firth, Warren Hughes and Brendon Hartley finished third in yesterday’s FIA Endurance Championship race at SPA-Francorchamps in Beligum.
The 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps serves as the final event, as well as a rehearsal for, the 24 Hours of Les Mans, the biggest race on the endurance racing calendar and Murphy Prototype Racing can go into the event with renewed confidence after this excellent podium finish at Spa. After qualifying in 11th place, the team fought back through the ranks to take a very encouraging third place. The team’s focus now turns to the 24 Hours of Le Mans held on the 16th of June.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is organised by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and runs on the Circuit de la Sarthe, a circuit containing a mix of closed public roads and specialist motor racing circuit. The race is designed to test both car and drivers’ ability to be quick as well as being able to maintain the performance over a 24 hour period.
Commenting, team owner Greg Murphy said: “As this race is the final event before the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to go into that event after a third place finish yesterday is a great achievement. The team worked very hard ahead of this weekend’s racing and we’ve spent a lot of time making sure that the car was just right. Their efforts have certainly paid off. We can go into next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in a confident mood.”
The debuting Brendon Hartley said: “After a disappointing qualifying session, I was delighted to mark my racing debut with Murphy Prototype Racing with such an impressive result. To make our way through the field like we did shows how impressive the team and the drivers at Murphy Prototype are and that bodes well for this season and beyond.”
Jody Firth said: “It’s great to get back to racing after a bit of a break and our final position shows how hard we worked on getting the car ready for this weekend’s race. We all fought and raced really hard yesterday and we deserved our third place finish.”
Warren Hughes said: “It was tough going but once we were out there we made quick progress through the field and I’m delighted with our finish in third place.
Source : Murphy Prototypes