Proton Competition ill-compensated in Qatar for mighty Mustang effort
Both literally and metaphorically, Proton Competition’s Ford Mustang LMGT3 was on fire in Qatar last month, but despite leaving the Middle East with a sense of disappointment, the team could nonetheless also take away plenty of reasons for encouragement.
Entering its second season in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s LMGT3 division, the German outfit’s preparations did not get off to the cleanest of starts when its #77 entry piloted by Ben Tuck caught fire towards the end of the first session of the pre-event ‘Prologue’ – ruling it out of the rest of the test and leaving the team facing a race against time.
Following a herculean effort, the car returned to the track during FP1, with rallying convert Bernardo Sousa going on to qualify it 16th on the grid amongst the 18 high-calibre contenders – although it did not stay there for long. Approaching one-third distance in the next day’s Qatar 1812km, the #77 Mustang had climbed to second in-class, with a rapid pit-stop subsequently catapulting Tuck to the front of the field.
Producing a star turn, the Brit – making his full-time FIA WEC debut – remained in charge for the best part of an hour, ahead of the pace-setting #78 Lexus and United Autosports McLarens, until his tired tyres cried enough and he was obliged to concede the lead. A strong result was then scuppered when Sousa came to a standstill on the start-finish straight due to a technical issue shortly after midway.
“Bernardo made a great start, and everything was going really smoothly,” Tuck reflected. “I really enjoyed my double stint and managed to pull off some overtakes. I’m just sad for the team, as they did such a brilliant job getting the car ready for the race.”
In the sister #88 Mustang, Stefano Gattuso – another series newcomer – impressively snuck into the top ten in qualifying, with stablemate Giammarco Levorato replicating his countryman’s performance in the Hyperpole shootout.
A similarly steady and consistent display during the race from the Italian duo and Norway’s Dennis Olsen yielded a points finish for tenth place – something Proton Competition will be looking to build upon in round two, the 6 Hours of Imola in Italy, on 18-20 April.
