Oliver Jarvis may have come away from the last round of the WEC at Silverstone with only fifth place points on the board, but the British racer still had plenty to be encouraged by at his home track.
Contact between the #8 Audi R18 etron quattro, at the time driven by team mate Lucas Di Grasssi, and the Abu-Dhabi Proton Porsche of Klaus Bachler, saw the Audi endure a lengthy stop for bodywork repairs. By the time Jarvis was strapped into the cockpit, any chance of a podium position was long gone.
“It was still a very good opportunity for me and the team to learn more about the package,” states Jarvis. “I actually completed the fastest average stint of the whole race and we learnt a great deal about the potential of the car. True, we all came away disappointed not to be able to challenge the #7 car, but at the same time it was great to show we can match their pace.”
Jarvis, like most of his team mates at Audi Sport Team Joest, has filled the time between Silverstone and Spa with the annual endurance test at Paul Ricard, where the low-downforce spec Audi R18 e-tron quattro was put through its paces.
“It was a useful few days running and we evaluated lots of aero data and also endurance tested many parts,” says the 31-year old from Cambridgeshire in England. “It is going to be an incredibly tight battle for both the WEC title and Le Mans this year, and as always Audi Sport Team Joest is leaving no stone unturned.”
Jarvis heads to Spa next weekend with a good record at the venue, having finished 3rd on his only other visit to the track in an LMP1 car back in 2013 when Audi took a clean sweep of the podium.
“Spa is a track that is often compared to Le Mans in some aspects but, actually, it is completely unique,” he says. “The 2015 LMP1 cars are going to be fantastic around Spa next weekend. I actually believe that sportscar racing in the WEC is now better than it has ever been, probably even going back to golden days of Group C. The level is incredibly high and it is an absolute pleasure to be racing with Audi against some very tough and experienced competitors.”
Sam Smith
