[04-09-2016]
ON THE PACE BUT OUT OF LUCK FOR PIERRE RAGUES IN MEXICO
French endurance ace Pierre Ragues finished in sixth place in the competitive GTE-Am class in today’s inaugural 6 Hours of Mexico but the Frenchman was among the quickest in class over the weekend.
The pace of the #50 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R promised much more with Larbre Competition firmly in the fight for the podium in the early stages of Saturday’s race, and even showing the potential for GTE-Am victory. However, an incident caused by an LMP2 car at the race’s halfway point resulted in a nine-minute stop in the pits for the team. Then, in the closing laps, Yutaka Yamagishi crashed out in tricky rain conditions bringing an unfortunate end to the team’s race.
Pierre and Larbre had been chasing a fourth podium of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Mexico this weekend. Although they showed their ability to achieve that result, it was not to be.
The opening day of practice for the 6 Hours of Mexico saw an additional 90-minute Collective Test to allow all participants the chance to get up to speed with the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit. This was followed by the usual two free practice sessions, bringing total track time to 4h30 on Thursday. Larbre completed 81 laps in practice in which Pierre – and team-mates Ricky Taylor and Yutaka Yamagishi – set a strong foundation for the weekend.
The team added a further 30 laps during Friday morning’s session and set a respectable fourth place in qualifying. The race got underway in dry conditions, but with the threat of rain in the air, with Taylor on driving duties. A good start for the American saw the #50 car up into third place at the end of the opening hour, with a full course yellow declared.
A trouble-free second hour moved Larbre up to second, showing impressive pace ahead of a driver change to Yamagishi. The Japanese driver made a strong start to his stint to keep the team in contention for the podium. Unfortunately, at the three-hour mark, he was first put into a spin by a competitor GTE-Am car and then shortly after he was hit by an LMP2 car. Initially, he was able to keep driving but it was clear that he was losing time so the team pitted for repairs to the car.
Losing nine minutes in the pits, the team handed over to Pierre who emerged for his opening stints with rain falling. It required a careful and confident strategy from the team for Pierre to navigate the tricky conditions so professionally. He was one of the quickest cars in class and ran faultless and competitive stints. The team’s race was, however, brought to an unexpectedly early end when Yamagishi was caught out by the increasing rainfall and crashed into the barrier.
Pierre commented: “We were definitely able to finish on the podium in Mexico and we’re obviously disappointed with the way our race ended. It is a fantastic place for a WEC race, and very challenging from a driver’s point of view. I got up to speed very quickly in practice and could feel the potential of our Corvette. The race started well with Ricky and Yutaka. Unfortunately, Yutaka was affected by two separate incidents. Following the coming together with a P2 car, we lost time through damage and spent six laps in the pits before I took over. The weather conditions at that time were not easy so we had to manage our tyres very well, which thanks to the team we did. I enjoyed myself out there and did all I could to push hard. I was pleased with my stints and my overall pace. We must take the positives from this weekend, though. We were definitely in podium contention, and even showed that we could have fought for the win. The atmosphere was amazing and I was honoured to have played a part in this landmark race. We now prepare for COTA in two weeks from now. Thanks to my partners GroupAuto, Sparco and Ellip6 for their support, as always.”
The next round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) will take place at Circuit of The Americas in the USA in two weeks’ time.
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