The Team THIRIET by TDS Racing could not hope better for the opening round of the European Le Mans Series! Indeed, the team took the pole position on Saturday, set the fastest lap time and claimed the victory on Sunday. The team is delighted and left the HTTT circuit with a maximum of points!
Everything was looking promising for this Easter weekend. On Saturday, Mathias Beche confirmed the good results of the free practices by realizing the pole position in 1’48”171 with more than three tenths ahead of the Lola B12/80 Judd of the Status GP.
Nevertheless, at the time of the start, the Lola was leading at the first corner! Mathias Beche explains: “Everything went well but, at the time of the start, lights didn’t turn green as expected. I thought of a false start and when I saw the Lola driver taking the lead, I understood that the race started.” Second, he remained in the wheels of his opponent throughout his first stint while widening the gap with the other LMP2 cars. After 24 laps, the Swiss driver went to the pits and, thanks to a very good pitstop managed by the team THIRIET by TDS Racing, he was back on track as a leader. After a stint of one hour and forty minutes, he headed back to the pits and Pierre Thiriet took the wheel while the team was changing tires and refuelling.
When back on track, the Oreca 03 Nissan n°46 was 3rd. The French driver kept this position throughout his stint and pitted at the 79th lap (only fuel). Thanks to this brief pitstop, Pierre Thiriet was back on the lead. After 100 laps and two good stints, Pierre went back to the pits to let the steering wheel to Mathias Beche. Tires were changed and the Swiss driver was 3rd behind the 2011 LMS Champion (Greaves Motorsport) and the Oreca 03 of the eighth time WRC world champion team, the Sebastien Loeb Racing. Knowing it was the right moment to make the difference, Mathias set his best lap time, got back to the second place, only a few seconds from the Greaves Motorsport Zytek. After an amazing overtaking on the Zytek, the Swiss took back the lead but had to pit. After a very fast pitstop (only fuel), he was second, 50 seconds behind the leader.
At the 132nd lap, Mathias took back his leading position after the pitstop of the Zytek. Twenty laps later, Mathias pitted for the last time, his job was finished. Pierre Thiriet got back behind the wheel and kept the first place. He did a double stint and, in spite of the change of the front bonnet, took the chequered flag as the winner of the race. The Beche / Thiriet line-up made no mistake, set very good lap times throughout the race, the team did a very good job so it is quite logical that they won the race. That is a good start for the season !
Mathias Beche: “After the first laps, I was faster than Yelmer Buurman but he had a higher top speed. I remained behind him, saving fuel and tires. After my double stint, I let the car to Pierre with more than 20 seconds ahead. During my second double stint, I set very good lap times, even setting the best one! The goal was not to make any mistake and to overtake the latecomers LMP2 cars, which was not easy. This victory delights me and I wish to dedicate it to my mother I lost a few months ago. With Pierre, we did an amazing race. He was solid and did a good job. He set very good lap times and he is going on improving. I wish to thank the Team Thiriet by TDS Racing which has relied on me. I wanted to prove them that I could be a leader, a fast driver, that I know how to set up a car and lead a race. “
Pierre Thiriet: “Mathias took a good start and did great stints. I did not make any mistake and I tried to save my tires. I am delighted, I have improved thanks to the physical preparation begun last year. It makes especially the difference when we are only two drivers. I also learnt a lot of technical things and I always go on learning such as the braking points, for example. I have worked a lot on the way to make the best use of the old tires. I am also more consistent and I still work on my weaknesses. Everything went well, we did not make any mistake, did not have any problem and the mechanics did an incredible job. Even when they were asked to change the bonnet at the last moment, they did a fantastic job! “
Xavier Combet, Team THIRIET by TDS Racing team manager :“We followed the established plan. We had no problem of reliability and the mechanics did a great job. Mathias has just confirmed his driver skills, he does not have to blush in front of the other professional drivers of the paddock. For Pierre, even if he still has to improve, he has evolved very quickly. In front of professional drivers, he did not tremble and has contributed to this victory with Mathias. The team, the car and the drivers were perfect, the strategy was good. This is the result of the work realized this winter and it just confirms the potential of our team. We have definitively established our position in the Endurance world. Last year, we surprised people with our two victories. This year, in spite of a higher level among the drivers and the teams, we continue to forge ahead as you can see with the pole position, the best lap time and the victory. We have become a reference in the LMP2 class. “
Source : Thiriet by TDS Racing