The build of Strakka Racing’s brand new P1 race car, the Honda Performance Development HPD ARX-03a, is continuing on schedule, as the team prepares for the opening round of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship, the Sebring 12 Hours (17 March).
With the new tub, 3.4-litre normally aspirated HPD V8 engine, wiring loom and bodywork at its Silverstone workshop, assembly work is at full speed in preparation for the car’s first private shakedown run.
Team drivers Nick Leventis, Danny Watts and Jonny Kane are currently engaged in an extensive pre-season testing programme, designed to keep their driving skills sharp during the winter months and enhance their already high levels of physical fitness. Nick’s continued driver development programme has seen him cover the majority of the testing miles at Phakisa Freeway near Welkom in South Africa and at the Sebring International Raceway. He’s also run his first marathon, finishing the New York City Marathon in an impressive 3hrs 11mins 33secs. In addition, all three drivers have spent a day with the LMP1 model in the Wirth Research simulator.
For a team only established in 2007, Strakka Racing has already achieved so much – most notably in 2010, when it won the LMP2 category (and finished a record-breaking 5th overall) at the Le Mans 24 Hours and became the first team to win a Le Mans Series race outright in a P2 car with victory at the Hungaroring. Last year it demonstrated great tactical aptitude and fantastic team-work to finish 2nd in the LMS P2 category for a second consecutive season, despite its car running all season with an air-restricted performance disadvantage.
This year, Strakka Racing aims to revive the tradition of the small British privateer sportscar team taking on the giant car manufacturers on the world stage, as well as challenge for WEC World Cup for Privateers.
Nick Leventis: “I’m very excited about 2012 and the first FIA World Endurance Championship. We have a big challenge ahead, but our aim is to try and win the Privateer category. It’s encouraging that there are a number of quality privateer teams entering the WEC with petrol-engined cars, so I’m confident it’s going to be a very competitive series. We’re really looking forward to starting the WEC at Sebring, because competing in the United States and racing against the top American sportscar teams has always been an ambition of Strakka Racing. It’s going to be a special moment in the history of the team and I’m looking forward to showing what we can do over there. It’s an exciting opportunity to race in other places we haven’t been to as a team as well, especially going to Japan and seeing where the Honda brand derives from. Our home race at Silverstone and the Le Mans 24 Hours are always very special, and wherever we race we have the experience and ability to perform at a very high level.”
Danny Watts: “Competing in a world championship will be a new experience for me, and one I relish and look forward to after finishing runner-up in LMP2 for the last two years. To race in the WEC is a natural progression for me as a driver and for us as a team, and with it comes a whole new challenge in many areas. We have a new car from HPD, there are new circuits to learn along with new competition. As a team we will rise to the challenge with the expertise we have on board here at Strakka Racing, and with everything we have learned over the past seasons in endurance racing, we are ready and prepared for the challenges ahead. Personally, Sebring, Interlagos and Fuji are all circuits that are new to me, but as always I’ll prepare one hundred percent with simulation, on-board footage and track notes from friends who have been there before, and the homework will be done before arriving at the track.”
Jonny Kane: “After predominantly racing on the same circuits for the last four or five years, I’m really looking forward to the challenge of the WEC. There are tracks I haven’t raced on for a number of years, and I’m especially looking forward to returning to the Sebring 12 Hours, which is the biggest sportscar race outside Le Mans, and to Interlagos, which I raced at in 2007 and has a lot more elevation than you see on television. I’ve never raced in Japan, so to have the opportunity to race at such an historic circuit as Fuji is very exciting. Spa and Silverstone are particular favourites of mine, and of course with your home circuit family and friends can come along and see what I do, so that’s always extra special. The WEC will be a great challenge, and I’m confident we can go to Sebring and start the season with a strong performance.”
Piers Phillips, Team Principal and Technical Director: “As a small British team proudly carrying the BRDC logo, we’re relishing the challenge of competing against the big manufacturers in this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship. We’re there to race at the very highest level, measure ourselves against the biggest teams in sportscar racing and, just like to big guns, aim for poles, podiums and wins. We’re very excited by the WEC calendar, as it includes two of the greatest sportscar races in the world – the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours. Silverstone is also a very special race for us and we’re looking forward to racing at some of the world’s most iconic circuits, like Spa, Mount Fuji and Interlagos. We really can’t wait for the series to begin and are confident that we have the necessary experience and a competitive package to be very competitive.”
Source : Strakka Racing