James Walker took part in the Le Mans 24 Hours last weekend at the wheel of the stunning yellow and black JMW Motorsport Ferrari 458. The Jersey-born racer was making his debut at the king of all endurance events, alongside his team mates Jonny Cocker and Roger Wills. The trio made it all the way through from 3pm on Saturday until the early dawn on Sunday when they retired due to a technical problem but James has had a taste of Le Mans now so he will be back.
Starting from eighth place in the GTE-Pro class the JMW Motorsport team played the long game and took things steady during the opening stages of the race.
“Our plan for the race was to stick to our own pace and keep out of trouble,” explained James. “You are very aware of the fact that there is a lot at stake in a race like Le Mans. One of the most important parts of our strategy was making sure we were on the right tyre at the right time. Dunlop provides us with different compounds so there are lots of different scenarios to consider. It was very interesting for me to learn the strategy game for a 24 hour race.”
The three drivers cycled through their stints, all posting consistent lap times while the JMW Motorsport team kept the Ferrari 458 running smoothly. As dawn approached it was James’ turn to jump back into the car to race into the morning light.
“That stint was quite a surreal experience,” he said. “It was dark when I got in the car and at one point I noticed that you could just see the moon. Then just three laps later the sun came up as I went down the Mulsanne Straight. I’m no poet but that was a really magical moment for me.”
Not long after this James was heading along the Mulsanne again but this time when he braked for the first chicane the driveshaft went and he had to cruise to a halt by the side of the road. The rules at Le Mans state that if the driver can fix the car and get it back to the pits by himself then he can rejoin the race.
“I jumped out and grabbed the special toolkit we carry for this race,” said James. “It holds basic tools including a long radio lead so I can still talk to the team when I get out of the car, and a mobile phone should all else fail! I connected the radio lead and got to work taking the engine cover off. I could see the broken part but I’m sad to say it was beyond repair with tools so after having a good go at fixing it we had to retire from Le Mans. The journey back to the pits was interesting as first I had to run across the Mulsanne Straight – anyone who has seen how fast the cars go along there will understand why this was an experience – then I got a ride on a scooter through the campsites where it looked like Armageddon. I think the fans had been having a good party!
“I’m disappointed that the race ended in retirement for us but I’ve done my first Le Mans now,” he continued. “I made mistakes which I will learn from and I learnt a lot of tricks that will come in handy in the future. I love this event and I hope I can do it many more times. The car ran faultlessly until the dawn and the team worked tirelessly throughout the full week at Le Mans.
“I’ve never known an event like it in terms of the atmosphere provided by the spectators,” said James. “The scrutineering and driver’s parade in town were very special as you can feel the incredible support you have, especially as a British driver. They played all the national anthems during the grid formation on Saturday and the singalong was definitely the loudest when they played God Save the Queen. I’ve been looking forward to Le Mans for ages and now I have to start all over again looking forward to next year.”
Source : James Walker