Pegasus Racing Team Total did its new name proud at Imola with an excellent, consistent performance even if the final result didn’t do the team justice. The Morgan-Nissan LM P2 shod with Michelin tyres and driven by Léo Roussel, David Cheng and Julien Schell was third in free practice and fourth in qualifying, and fought at the front for most of the race. Unfortunately, a front brake problem in the final hour led to a long pit stop, which prevented the team from Strasbourg from achieving the reward it deserved, so it had to make do with the two points that went with ninth place in LM P2. No. 29 showed clear-cut potential which bodes well with less than a month to go to the start of the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Pegasus Racing Team Total’s weekend got off to a good start and it left its mark in the first free practice session with a telling third-quickest time on a soaking wet track with Julien Schell having a one-off drive in the Morgan-Nissan LM P2. “We were on the pace straight away no matter what the conditions,” confirmed the Alsatian. “In qualifying Léo was in third place until the last lap when he was pipped by Greaves Motorsport by 54/1000th of a second.”

The no. 29 Morgan-Nissan lined up in fourth place on the grid with Roussel doing the opening stint. He was in third place at the end of the first hour and double stinted on the same set of tyres. He was relayed by David Cheng who was also on an aggressive strategy. The Chinese did what was asked of him by dialling in a series of quick laps. Shell then took over the car on new tyres for the last two stints. He went out in fifth place on the same lap as the leader determined to clinch a top-3 finish. But his fightback was stymied by brake problems. He had to stop for repairs, which cost the Franco-Chinese driver line-up nine laps, and they saw the flag in 17th place overall and ninth in LM P2 at the end of the 4-hour race.

“We’ll have to analyse the problem as it’s the first time that the brakes have let us down in a race of this format,” summed up Schell. “We’re used to them lasting much longer. Nonetheless, the way the meeting panned out was positive and it reinforced our confidence before the Le Mans 24 Hours. We know that we’re capable of playing a leading role in the biggest event on the world endurance calendar.” Keep an eye on the no. 29 Morgan-Nissan LM P2 in the Sarthe! Rendezvous on 31st May for the test day, and from 7th to 14th June for a long week of motor racing and sporting thrills!