Motor On Line
Notícias-

Final countdown ahead at Portimão after a disappointing P4 at Spa
Reportagem: Panis Racing

Penultimate round of the ELMS season at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) this weekend. After a good qualifying (P3) by Nico Jamin, the race turned out to be quite challenging due to a lack of pace on the wet and an unsuccessful strategy at the end, preventing us to climb on the podium and to gain precious points in the overall standings.

From Wednesday to Saturday morning, the team worked hard in private tests and then free practice sessions to prepare the #65 Oreca 07 for the qualifications. Nico Jamin was on track, with a P3 on the grid at the end of his effort.

Our Silver driver Julien Canal made a cautious start on a partly wet Ardennes track. Safety Car was out at the end of lap 1 after several incidents, and at the restart, Julien was in P5 but lost 3 places in the following laps before a first Full Course Yellow. After 30 laps of racing, Job Van Uitert was in action, back in P8, and made good progress through the field: P7 after a second FCY presented 10 laps later and P5 at mid-race. One of the fastest on track – if not the fastest – the Dutchman gained two more places thanks to some superb moves over Juan Manuel Correa (Prema Racing) and David Heinemeier-Hansson (Inter Europol Competition). He handed over the car over to Nico Jamin for the remaining 90 minutes after a great pit stop executed by the mechanics. The French driver was under strong pressure from Louis Deletraz (Prema Racing), when a new FCY came out with 43 minutes to go. The car went back to the pits for a final splash and dash and finally rejoined the track in P4, behind Prema Racing. The flag had just turned green again because of a competitor slowing down our driver under FCY. So, the Panis Racing #65 crossed the finish in P4. After the race, a shock absorber leak has been detected as an explanation for our lack of pace compared to the potential shown in testing. In the general standings, all will be decided in the final round at Portimão for the overall ELMS victory.

Olivier Panis -Team-Principal: "It's really a shame that United, who overtook before the start line, were not punished the way they should. They were only given a 5-second penalty whereas recently our team was given a much bigger penalty for biting the line during a pit stop. It is unacceptable that all the teams are not treated in the same way and that sporting equity is not respected. Talking about our race, Julien was not performing as he always does, and the track conditions didn't help him. Afterwards, Job did an incredible job again throughout his two stints. Nico struggled with the car, but we certainly didn't choose the right strategy by stopping so late during the last FCY. We have to learn from it. It's a disappointing result but hats off to the mechanics who made some incredible pit stops!"

Nico Jamin : "It was a really mixed-feelings weekend, with a good position on the grid but at a disappointing race. It's a shame as our main competitor Prema Racing was slightly behind us in terms of pace. But in the mixed conditions on track, we lost some time at the beginning of the race. We then managed to climb back up to P3 before an unsuccessful strategy. We lost one position, behind Prema Racing, and most of all precious points. There is still a race to go, and we will work hard to win it!"

Job Van Uitert : "Obviously, it's not the race we hoped for. It would have been difficult but possible to get P3, despite a lack of pace. We struggled to fight with the guys ahead of us. We need to analyze where we can improve. For sure, we won't give up, and there is still a fight for the championship at Portimão. We are 24 points behind, but we stay optimistic. We will push till the last minutes and let see what we can do there."

Notícias

Página inicial