CRT made their debut in endurance racing this weekend at the first round of the European Le Mans Series at Paul Ricard HTTT, taking a stunning first place finish in the LMPC category and 8th overall after the long 6 hour race.
The team started the event on the backfoot, having only just received the chassis from Oreca, after a last minute decision to go ahead and race. Nonetheless, everyone remained positive, although a few issues arose with the brakes and vibrations from the car during practice. The crew put all their efforts together and worked solidly to resolve these matters to make the FLM09 as quick as possible in time for qualifying on Saturday afternoon. The engineers had struggled to find a set up, yet the drivers were happy with their paces, and the progress could be seen on Sunday morning after Phil Keen, proven LMPC pace-setter from 2011, performed super-fast times during the warm up. The staff from Oreca had given full support to the team, and were extremely helpful, guiding us through difficult stages of the weekend. The race began a few hours later, again with Keen behind the wheel of the Oreca-FLM09, immediately passing the rival LMPC car in the opening stages, and built a huge lead all the way through his stint. John Hartshorne, well known and experienced endurance racer was next in the car; completing good consistent lap times, running at the pace we hoped he would, whilst managing to stay well out of the ongoing surrounding battles in the other classes. CRT’s latest driver Alex Kapadia – talented Radical Masters champion – entered the FLM09 last though showed a great performance and set a number of fast laps in the car; from which he coolly stepped at the end of his stint. After 6 long hours, having retained 1st place in class and worked our way into 8th overall, it was Phil who once again took to the track for the final push to the chequered flag. The team were overjoyed and quite emotional as he crossed the line; celebrating first on the pitwall, then during the podium ceremony.
Clare Sweeney, team manager, after being covered in champagne on the podium, commented: “For our debut race in ELMS, the result couldn’t have been better. After such a tough weekend, we managed to achieve a win, which is unbelievable, considering the position we were in a few days ago. We are so thrilled with the support Oreca have provided; we just don’t understand why there aren’t more cars racing in the LMPC category! Our result today has proven that small, new teams like us can succeed. Everyone has worked so hard, and not just over these last few days. We’re now leading the championship and look forward to the next event.”
The next race for CRT will be at Donington Park from the 13th-15th July, although the team should be present at the Le Mans test days at the beginning of June.
Source : Curtis Racing Technologies