WEC – Oak Racing will have to maintain the advantage in Austin

After signing the double in the LMP2 category at 24 Hours of Le Mans, Oak Racing retained the lead in the Championship with the #35 Morgan of Bertrand Baguette, Ricardo Gonzalez and Martin Plowman which took second place in the LMP2 class at Interlagos behind the #03 Oreca 26 from G-Drive Racing (Rusinov-Martin-Conway) who will not recover his lost podium at Le Mans. But with only nine points ahead of PeCom Racing, the crew of the French team cannot rest on its laurels, the next event taking place this weekend in Austin on a circuit unknown to most of the riders. pilots.

“We are very happy to find the special atmosphere of racing in the United States”, comments Sébastien Philippe, Team Principal of Oak Racing. “Like most of the competitors, we will discover the almost 5500 meters of this very recent Circuit of the Americas, a circuit F1 latest generation, with wide clearances. The track turns counterclockwise, which will put a strain on the drivers, as will its steep gradient and the torrid Texas heat. Its twenty turns, which alternate between fast curves and tight bends, and its beautiful straight line should, however, allow us to make the most of the potential of the Morgan-Nissan LM P2 and Dunlop tires. We will do our best to do well, hoping, this time, to be able to fight for victory without an unfortunate safety car depriving us of this opportunity, like in Sao Paulo and Spa! »

Olivier Pla, Alex Brundle and David Heinemeier-Hansson will also have their cards to play on the Circuit of the Americas in the No. 24 Morgan since they are only 14 points behind their teammates despite their missed podium in Sao Paulo following a mechanical problem. As for the No. 35, Keiko Ihara will give way to Erik Maris who will make his motorsport debut alongside driver boss Jacques Nicolet and Jean-Marc Merlin. “I am very honored to have been accepted into the Oak Racing team, with its track record and ongoing successes, and a little impressed to race with these two great gentlemen drivers, Jacques Nicolet and Jean-Marc Merlin, whose start to the season is very positive. Although new to motor racing, I think that my long experience in very high level sailing will be useful to me. The competitions in which I participate are a bit like the F1 races of the sea. You have to maintain the finest trajectories and manage intense traffic, while optimizing the performance of your “engine”: the sails. It's a bit like putting ten F1 cars on a kart track for a three-lap race! I think there is more in common with motorsport than it seems. »