The least that can be said is that the Languedoc-based team’s fourth event in LMP2 did not go to plan, as their British adventure came to a premature end during the first stint…
Xavier Combet, the team principal, gave an account of this weekend in Britain, which came to an early end :
« Pierre Thiriet was first out on track in the first free practice session, in order to give us some initial technical information. He did a very good job, as he was immediately on the pace and up at the front, which is not easy on this fast circuit. When he handed over to Jody Firth, he was fastest among the LMP2 cars. This first session was positive, as our Oreca-Nissan set the second-fastest time, 28 thousandths of a second behind its sister car, the official Signatech-Nissan entry.
During the second free practice, Mathias Beche set the best time among the three Oreca-Nissan entries, despite not having used new tyres. Session Three confirmed the good work we had done, as we set the third-fastest time, two tenths behind the leader.
Jody had been chosen to qualify the car, a gesture to him as he was racing at home. Right away he set a good pace, taking the lead, but the weather was uncertain at that point. When the lights went green, it began to drizzle. The track dried quickly, and Jody kept calm. The rain came down in earnest half-way through the session, when he had a lead of almost a second over his nearest rival. Strakka and Greaves went out again despite the rain and took advantage of the drying track during the last two laps to overtake us.
As he had not driven as much as the others, Mathias did the warm-up on Sunday morning, setting the best LMP2 time.
Jody Firth took the start, from 13th place overall on the grid. He made a very good start and managed the situation well. The track was very dirty and rather tricky at the start, as proven by a spin for an Audi during the formation lap. There was a lot of dust, and some artificial grass along the side of the track was coming unstuck. However, things went well, as Jody was second and setting similar lap times as Kane and Kimber-Smith, who are both professional drivers. It was a fine performance, considering that Jody is a gentleman driver.
But unfortunately, after fifty minutes, while he was catching up with a Ferrari GT, it suddenly slowed coming into the braking for the last corner before the pits. Jody wanted to avoid it by slowing on the inside, but the rear of the car swung out. He tried to hold it as best he could, but it was too late and backlash threw him into the wall, hitting first with the front and then the rear. The damage was too serious, as the gearbox and its casing were torn out. There was no hope of rejoining. It is a real disappointment as our strategy looked to be very good. There was no reason for it not to go well. The result is a retirement, and sixth in the championship. »
The whole TDS Racing team got back to work as soon as their equipment returned from Britain. There is now a race against the clock in the Vendres workshop in order to repair the car, with less than a week remaining before the equipment is due to leave for Estoril and the final round of the Le Mans Series.
« We would like to thank all our mechanics who are working hard, especially considering that the team also needs to take part in the next round of the World Series by Renault at the Castellet this week. »
Source : TDS Racing