OAK Racing is Austin bound for the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the Circuit of the Americas on 22nd September. The French team has entered its usual three Morgan-Nissan LMP2s, and is determined to consolidate its position as leader in LMP2.
After the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo OAK Racing and the no. 35 driver line-up, Bertrand Baguette, Martin Plowman and Ricardo Gonzalez, lead the championship with 95 points from Pecom Racing and the team’s no. 24 Morgan-Nissan in third place with 81 points: Olivier Pla, Alex Brundle and David Heinemeier Hansson are lying second in the drivers’ classification.
The no. 45 Morgan-Nissan, which saw the flag in fifth place in Brazil, will have a new driver in the USA, Eric Maris. This endurance rookie has already taken part in top-level competitions in another domain: sailing. In particular, he has raced in the Extreme Sailing Series, sprint races for monocoques. He will team up with Jacques Nicolet and Jean-Marc Merlin for the event. The LMP2 prototype will have its usual original livery, which was a big hit at the Le Mans 24 Hours: it is derived from Fernando Costa’s sculpture, the Le Mans 24-Hours 90th anniversary Art Car.
Sébastien Philippe, OAK Racing Team Principal: “We’re delighted to find ourselves back in the very special ambience of racing in the United States. Like the majority of entrants we’re going to discover the almost 5.5 km-long Circuit of the Americas, the latest state-of-the-art F1 layout, with its large run-off areas. It is an anti-clockwise track which puts a lot of stress on the drivers’ necks in particular; they will also have to cope with its ups and downs and the torrid Texas heat! We’ll try to take advantage of its twenty corners, which alternate fast curves and tight bends, while its long straight should enable us to exploit the full potential of the Morgan LM P2s and the Dunlop tyres. We’ll do our very best to score a good result; and we hope that this time we’ll be in a position to fight for victory without an unfortunate safety car deployment stymieing our chances as was the case at Sao Paulo and at Spa!
Ricardo Gonzalez, no. 35 Morgan-Nissan LM P2: "I'm very excited about racing at Circuit of the Americas. For me it's the closest thing that I have to a "Home Race" as we are right next door to Mexico. It will be a very important race, and we need to go to Austin just like we did to Sao Paulo with plenty of confidence without making any mistakes, and with every intention of winning the race and continuing to increase our lead in the championship.
“I have not had a chance to drive around COTA, but I know that it is a very tough and technical circuit, so we will have to do the best possible job to maximize the limited track time that we have and to set up the car as quickly as possible. I'm very happy that we will have our sponsors with me at the race. EXCEL has been a terrific partner and they will also be sponsoring the Official WEC Drivers Party after the race where we can all go and celebrate our first event in the USA!"
David Heinemeier Hansson, no. 24 Morgan-Nissan LM P2: "After the mechanical difficulties at Interlagos, we're eager to get back into the championship fight at Circuit of the Americas. It looks like a tough and challenging track, but we'll be sure to come prepared, and ready to win. I'll be driving double-duty in both WEC and ALMS in part to get an ample amount of track time. Can't wait!"
Erik Maris, no. 45 Morgan-Nissan LM P2: “I feel very honoured to have been accepted by the OAK Racing team given its results and its current successes. I feel a bit overwhelmed to be racing with gentlemen drivers Jacques Nicolet and Jean-Marc Merlin who have made a good start to the season. Although I’m a novice in motor racing, I think that my long experience in top-class sailing will stand me in good stead. The events in which I take part are rather like F1 races on the sea. You have to keep to the tightest lines and cope with heavy traffic while optimising the performance of your engine, in this case - the sails! It’s like putting ten F1 cars on a kart track for a three-lap event! I think it has more in common with motor racing than it appears at first glance.”
From OAK Racing press release
Photo: AUTODROMO JOSE CARLOS PACE (INTERLAGOS, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL), 6 HOURS OF SAO PAULO, SATURDAY, 31ST AUGUST 2013. 6 Hours of Sao Paulo race promoter, Emerson Fittipaldi, trying the No.45 OAK Racing Art Car for size!
