Good overtaking is a skill but when it comes to judging a move against a fellow competitor for the lead in the final moments of a 6 hour race, it becomes an art-form.
That is exactly what Olivier Pla’s move on Alexander Imperatori was at Fuji last weekend when the Frenchman executed a perfect manoeuvre in his G-Drive Ligier-Nissan with just 22 minutes of the race remaining. It was a bold pass which is an early candidate for overtaking move of the year and reminiscent of Mika Hakkinen’s legendary pass on Michael Schumacher in the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix.
“It was a nice one yes, but we had battled for most of our stints together and there was lots of action,” said a modest Pla after the race. “I think I was faster at that stage and even though there is a long straight at Fuji it isn’t easy to get by. I managed to judge it well and it meant we had just to make it to the flag for the victory.”
The move saw Pla make the most in what was a perfect storm of opportunity for his G-Drive Ligier-Nissan.
Tailing Imperatori’s KCMG Oreca-Nissan, he used the Prospeed Porsche, driven by fellow Frenchman Emmanuel Collard to out-manoeuvre his prey and sweep by on the outside to claim the lead. It was audacious, it was brave and it was brilliant.
“I think it was a nice fight for the TV for sure,” said Pla. “In LMP2 you always have to battle hard and this weekend was no different. The KCMG car was quick but on the whole we have the pace and even with a puncture we were able to win. Now we must copy this at Shanghai. Then we can start thinking about the end of the season and we will see what shape we are in at Interlagos next month.”
Sam Smith
