Strakka claim 2nd in LMP1 Privateer standings
The Silverstone-based Strakka Racing team were determined to put on a good show in their home round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, and they did just that. Danny Watts drove 28 qualifying-style laps on his final stint to come from over a minute behind to within half a second of winning the Privateers’ category.
The result (2nd Privateer, 5th overall and 3rd in the Michelin Green X Challenge) means that the team is now in joint second place in the standings. It was a thrilling finish for the team’s many local fans and supporters.
The all-British driver line up of Jonny Kane-Nick Leventis-Danny Watts put on a great display of driving in their new-for-2012 Honda Performance Development ARX 01a LMP1 chassis. With the Wirth Research-designed car running fast and reliably, both Kane and Leventis had good stints which avoided any trouble and kept them in a position to challenge for victory in the Privateer category. Strakka have now twice finished second in this classification and third one time – their only disappointment being the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to technical issues, although valuable WEC points were still notched up.
At Silverstone it was a clever mid-race change of strategy which made the difference, calculated to reduce the number of fuel stops required. Danny Watts climbed into the Strakka HPD with two and a half hours of the race remaining with just one target in mind - trying to close the gap in the Privateer category to the leading No.13 Rebellion.
Dan Walmsley, Team Manager: “We were thirty-seven seconds behind when we began our final stint and we knew Danny had to give everything – and he put in twenty-eight qualifying laps to close to within half a second of the Privateer LMP1 victory by the chequered flag. We had no fuel left in the car and Danny was still pushing; we were four-tenths behind starting the final sector of the final lap, yet he still kept pushing! We’re very proud of ourselves. It’s been a busy summer preparing for our home round of the WEC, planning for the second half of the season and launching our exciting Strakka Performance project, so it is fantastic to achieve such a great result at Silverstone.”
Nick Leventis, No.21 Strakka Racing HPD ARX 03a: “I’m immensely proud of the entire team and the fantastic result we’ve achieved in front of our home fans. To finish second in the Privateers’ category by only half a second after such a charge is a formidable effort by everyone. Jonny and especially Danny drove remarkably well, and whilst we almost won, full credit must go to Rebellion for triple-stinting its tyres towards the end and holding on for victory. Had the race been just one lap longer, the result may have been different! Silverstone has marked another big step forward for Strakka, as we have shown we can now compete for outright victories in the Privateers’ Cup, and to finish fifth overall is a tremendous achievement against such class opposition.”
Fiona Miller (quotes from Strakka Racing press release)
Photo: TOWCESTER (NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, GREAT BRITAIN), SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT, 6 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE, SUNDAY 26TH AUGUST 2012, RACE.