Christopher Haase (DEU) started the race at midnight (local time) from Saturday to Sunday under dry conditions from position 2. Together with the leading Porsche he was able to break away from the field immediately. Peter Kox (NDL) took over without problems. During the race the team benefited from the intense pit stop practice which was done beforehand. “Instead of one minute the tyre change only took about 20 seconds which is almost the standard of 24 Hours of Le Mans,” says Hubert Thanbichler (Reiter Engineering) who joined the Arrows Racing team with three people from his team.
After the first fourth of the race Reiter Engineering’s Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 took the lead and kept it until the finish. “It was important to us to keep the lead over team Joest’s AUDI R8 and not to push any further. The team cooperated perfectly and did great stops. The Pirelli tyres were good and constant. We were able to put pressure on them again at the end of a stint without causing problems,” says Christopher Haase.
Tunku Hammam Sulong (MYS), the team’s third pilot, managed the Gallardo fine as well and reached the lap times of the pursuer. After the race he was more than happy, “I am confident that I will participate again next year, hopefully with Haase and Kox again.”
After 315 laps the team finished the 3.444 miles (5.543 kilometres) long track with more than a lap ahead of the AUDI R8.
Peter Kox: “The cooperation with Arrows Racing Team (MYS) with support from Reiter Engineering from Germany was great. The pit stop practice was very helpful because the team got faster by about 40 seconds.”
Hubert Thanbichler: “The race clearly shows that the Gallardo LP560 is not only good for sprints but for long distances too. The experiences from the race will be incorporated in the further development of the car and will make the Lambo better. Our customer and pilot Tunku Hammam Sulong (MYS) is thrilled and has already talked with us about further long-distance projects. He will come to our Corrida event at the Salzburgring at the beginning of September.”
Results:
1. Hammam/Kox/Haase, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560, 315 laps, 12:01:01.402
2. Biela/O´Young/Werner,Audi R8 LMS, 314 laps, 12:03:15.301
3. Taniguchi/Yanagida/Zaharias, BMW Z4M Coupe, 308 laps, 12:02:07.022
4. Dilantha/Lee/Sasaki, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560, 302 laps, 12:0316.779
Source : Christopher Haase