[19-06-2014]
PIERRE RAGUES RECAPS STRONG LE MANS 24 HOURS FOR LARBRE COMPETITION
 French endurance ace Pierre Ragues enjoyed a competitive 24 Hours of Le Mans last weekend as he helped the Larbre Competition LMP2 team claim a top 15 finish in the notoriously gruelling race.
The revered Circuit de la Sarthe lived up to its reputation for providing exhilarating racing as the over 50 entrants fought for glory. The Larbre Competition team, making its debut in the prototype category, had a generally trouble-free build up to the race, ensuring the Morgan-Judd LMP2 car qualified for the race with all three drivers – Pierre, Keiko Ihara and Taylor – completing their required night time laps.
Starting from 25th overall, it was Pierre who started the race for the team, adopting a deliberately cautious opening stint to make his way gradually through the field. The race wasn’t without its drama, though, as an extended safety car period neutralised the field on Saturday evening.
As the night-time approached, Ricky Taylor picked up a puncture which caused a lot of damage to the rear end of the #50 car, necessitating a trip to the pits. The Larbre Competition mechanics worked hard to minimise the time lost in the pits but as Pierre took over into the early hours of Sunday morning, he had to recover from 31st place overall.
The remaining hours of the race saw an impressive comeback from the team with Pierre, Ricky and Keiko all delivering strong performances to help the team move back into 14th place by the chequered flag. Pierre completed a total of 149 laps over the 24 hour period.
Pierre, how would you review your week in Le Mans 2014?
“I look back on this year’s Le Mans with a sense of pride and achievement. The whole of the Le Mans experience is just so special, it is an absolute pleasure to be part of it, especially this year which was my eighth Le Mans. Joining the Larbre Competition team was very enjoyable and I think we worked very well together as a team. It was a big challenge for us to get the Morgan Judd LMP2 car up to speed in Larbre’s first Le Mans in the prototype class. We gradually found improvements to the set-up and handling which enabled us to eventually finish in the top 15 – even if we had some bumps on the way”
Your stints were extremely competitive, how did your experience help you?
“My first stint was a bit cautious because I didn’t want to run the risk of any trouble so early in the race. It was the correct approach since we were able to make up some positions. Experience of previous Le Mans events definitely helps in the opening stint. After my first stint, there was the long safety car period which meant that Ricky and Keiko shared driving duties. I then had another triple stint which was cut short by another safety car although we were into the top ten in LMP2 at that point, which showed the pace of our car.”
But then the puncture halted further progress?
“The puncture that Ricky experienced caused some damage to the rear of the car but the mechanics worked wonders to sort that out quickly. Unfortunately, we were down in 31st place with lots of work to do. The pace of the car and my confidence on the track resulted in a very competitive quadruple stint. We then continued to share the driving until the chequered flag with Ricky crossing the line in 14th overall and ninth in LMP2 – a great comeback!”
Is it an achievement just to get to the end of the race?
“It’s a testament to the performance of Larbre Competition and the team-work of the drivers that we were able to get the car to the end of the race in a good position. Finishing such a tough race is always the first objective and we should be pleased with all we have achieved. I would like to thank the team for their faith in my abilities, to Ricky and Keiko, to Michelin for some high performing tyres and to my personal sponsors Group Auto for their support. I now look to the rest of this 2014 season with hopes of continuing my endurance experiences, as well as more rallies which I contested with strong results earlier in the year.”
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