Pierre Ragues and Team SARD Morand have claimed a sensational podium in today’s Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, finishing third in the LMP2 class after a thrilling battle. 

 

In the team’s first FIA World Endurance Championship event of the 2015 season, Pierre and his team-mates Oliver Webb and Zoel Amberg put in a professional performance in the #43 Morgan Evo SARD, battling hard throughout the six hours. 

 

The 7.004km Spa-Francorchamps track played host to a spectacular WEC event in dry and often sunny conditions with Team SARD MORAND aiming for a podium finish after Pierre and Oliver qualified third in LMP2 in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session.

 

Webb was on starting duties in the race and had a strong start to take the LMP2 lead and tenth overall after the first lap. The subsequent laps saw the race settle down and the British driver was able to retain a top three place as he continued his double stint.

 

After 21 laps, Webb pitted from second place but lost nearly ten seconds at the restart and was running in fourth place. He handed over to Pierre after 90 minutes of racing in 12th place overall and on the cusp of a podium place in LMP2. 

 

Pierre enjoyed a very competitive double stint at the helm of the #43 car, establishing a strong rhythm and helping the team to keep in the podium hunt. At the halfway mark, Pierre pitted for a scheduled stop to hand over to Zoel Amberg. Unfortunately, at Zoel’s scheduled first stop, with two hours remaining, he lost 35 seconds of time after a delay in the pit lane when traffic forced the team to manually manoeuvre the car into its pit position. Even so, Amberg held onto fourth place and 11th overall thanks to a competitive stint. 

 

Webb was back behind the wheel for the final stints of the race and took advantage of the evolving race situation to claim third place, which he held to the chequered flag. In the closing stages of the race, while out of the car, Pierre began to feel the effects of a fever which had started earlier in the day. He was forced to miss the podium celebrations as he rested in the medical centre. Doctors are remaining with him to make sure that he recuperates fully. 

 

Pierre commented: “Today’s result is absolutely fantastic and I am thrilled for Team SARD MORAND, myself, my team-mates and our partners for this great podium result in our first WEC event of the season. Right now, I am feeling a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, I am happy with our team performance and the result we have been able to secure, but on the other I am feeling down not to have been able to share the podium joy with my team-mates as a result of the onset of fever. I felt the start of something this morning but after my double stint in the race, I felt a lot worse. I just need to rest and make sure that I can recover quickly. It was a shame to miss the podium but I was pleased to see Oliver and Zoel there to collect the trophy. We earned it as a team and will relish this result. From a personal point of view, I am pleased to back racing at WEC, showing a strong performance level and I share this with my personal partners Group Auto and Sparco, as well as with the entire Team SARD MORAND. We can look forward to Le Mans with great enthusiasm. The team did an absolutely fantastic job this weekend and I am proud to have been part of this debut podium with our new title partner Franck Muller.”