Pagenaud well on his way to being titled

If they always fight at the forefront, simon pagenaud and David Brabham no longer win. This is the third consecutive round not seeing the crew of the HPD ARX-01c cross the finish line as winner. A surprise given the start of the season. No panic for the Frenchman, the important thing is the title, and the matter seems well underway. Last Sunday, at Elkhart Lake, the French-Australian duo still managed to finish 3rd, just behind Klaus Graf, second in the provisional general classification.

« The end result is pretty good, says the official driver Peugeot Sport. Je pense qu?à la fin, nous avions le rythme pour aller cher la Porsche (deuxième à l?arrivée, ndlr), mais nous avons été contraints d?économiser du carburant. Au final, on termine juste derrière. A deux courses du terme nous avons 20 points d?avance, c?est une donc une bonne opération. Notre package était performant, et c?est pour cela que je reste optimiste pour le reste de la saison. C?est mieux pour nous que de terminer quatrième et que eux (la Porsche RS Spyder Cytosport, 2e au général, ndlr) gagnent, ce qui aurait très bien pu se passer ».

Simon Pagenaud started the event, quickly moving into second position. Subsequently, the Lola Drayson driven by Jonny Cocker in the second part of the race, was uncompromising, the young Briton allowing himself to overtake the Lola Dyson, the HPD Highcroft and the Sytosport Porsche RS Spyder in the last four laps.

“My first lap was very pleasant, moving up from 5th to 2nd place, continues the tricolor. The aero package Le Mans (high speeds, editor’s note) is astonishing. I passed the Porsche on the outside of the first corner, then the Dyson in turn 5 and the Drayson in turn 8. I was able to stay with the leaders. We really have a lot less support than the others. (The HPD has a small fin unlike the other prototypes, editor's note) but the extraordinary work provided by the engineers and the set up found were truly incredible. Changing the package (switching to Le Mans aero, editor’s note) was a daring gamble but it paid off.”

In the championship, Simon Pagenaud and David Brabham are now 20 points ahead. Whatever happens, they will therefore remain in the lead next Sunday evening after Mosport. But missteps are prohibited, particularly at Petit Le Mans, a long event.

Last Sunday, at Elkhart Lake, victory finally went to the Lola Drayson Racing of Paul Drayson and Jonny Cokcer, who thereby pocketed his first victory in the Series. The British coupe finished ahead of the Porsche RS Spyder Cytosport that Klaus Graf shared with Timo Bernhard. Note that the latter will be replaced this weekend by Frenchman Romain Dumas, who for the occasion returns to a car in which he was crowned champion twice in the American Le Mans Series.