Dumas: “A special test for me”

Last June, Audi was not the favorite against Peugeot Asked 24 Hours of Le Mans. On connait le résultat. Après les qualifications et les premières heures de course des 24 Heures de Spa, chez Porsche, tout le monde comprit également bien vite qu?il serait impossible d?aller chercher à la régulière ces BMW appartenant à la catégorie GT National.

In the lead until 40 minutes from the checkered flag, the Bavarian then experienced her only mishap of the weekend: an exit from the track followed by a passage through the pits causing the D. Müller-D crew to demote. Adorf-D. Werner in third position, and leaving the lead to the Porsche n°23 which Romain Dumas shared with Martin Ragginger, Wolf Henzler and Jörg Bergmeister. Infallible as usual, the 997 GT3 RSR transalpine was going to pick up this victory, the second at Spa for Romain Dumas.

“This victory is nothing like that of 2003 when no one expected us, affirms the Alesian. This year, we cannot say that we were not among the contenders for victory. However, we were not the favorites because Ferrari and BMW showed even higher performances than ours. But as always, performance is one thing but going the distance is another. I already realized this two months ago at Le Mans and it was confirmed again here. A victory in endurance is built around an immutable rule: regularity on the track and the absence of problems of any kind. At the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, we were going to win with the Porsche but it was ultimately BMW which won at the last minute. There, it is a bit of a revenge that we took since it is exactly the opposite that happened. I am very happy to return to victory here with Porsche. This is a special event for me because it is also thanks to my victory here in 2003 that I have had the chance to have a great career since. We put in a fairly solid performance with my teammates, as one must do in this type of event, thinking above all about the final result and anticipating the many traps set by the competition. At the start of the year, after the end of the program with Penske, I expected a fairly calm year? I was far from imagining that I would win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and then the 24 Hours of Spa in the same season. New proof that there are very nice surprises in life! »

Next competitive event for Romain Dumas, the 1000 km of Budapest on August 22. The tricolor will have a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR from the Felbermayr-Proton team, and will have the mission of helping Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz, in the sister car, in their quest for the GT2 title.

Find the full report of the 24 Hours of Spa in your AUTOhebdo magazine, on newsstands tomorrow.