Photo : Christian VIGNON

 

The race was consistent for the Swiss team and their Judd BMW-powered Morgan Judd with Dunlop tyres, after some mishaps in practice and qualifying. Gary Hirsch (Switzerland, b. 1987) was hit by a GT car in Practice 2, but NewBlood by Morand Racing secured the second time in both practice sessions on Friday. On the Saturday morning qualifying, Christian Klien (Austria, b. 1983) lost grip and ran off the track, so the black and blue #43 car started from the sixth place on the grid.

Christian Klien gains positions – The Austrian driver had to handle the traffic in the early laps of his double stint, but had gained three positions when he pitted for the first time after 45 minutes of racing. Once back on the track, he hunted off the #28 Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan and took the race lead at the Zytek’s pit stop. “The team did a very good job today. It was a difficult race in terms of traffic handling. We had a good car which was pretty fast throughout the whole race. Gary did a good job, and Romain made no mistakes for his first race with the Morgan. It is very good to start the season with a podium finish.”

Romain Brandela’s smart move – On lap 47, Klien handed over to Romain Brandela (France, b. 1973). The French driver was third in the wake of the Greaves Motorsport car when they had to overlap a GT car… and Brandela passed both cars with one of the most brilliant moves of the race! This enabled him to hold the runner-up position at mid-race. He had a trouble-free stint when he handed over to Gary Hirsch for the last part of the race. “I am very happy with the race because there was a lot of pressure on me, it was my first time in such a car and such team mates, and I would like to thank Christian, Gary and also Benoit Morand for giving me this chance.”

Gary Hirsch’s final push – On lap 73, Hirsch took the wheel for the final part of the race, and started a long battle with Thiriet by TDS Racing’s Morgan-Nissan for the podium. But 40 minutes before the chequered flag, the leading Zytek-Nissan of Jota Sport was pushed off the track by a GT and suffered a violent collision with Larbre Competition’s Morgan. Hirsch was third at the race restart, with 22 minutes remaining, and resumed the battle with the TDS car. The latter took the race lead and the Swiss driver claimed the third position after chasing the Race Performance Oreca. “I would like to thank the team who did an excellent job after my accident in Practice 2 and Christian’s in qualifying. There were a few ups and downs but we eventually take the third position! Christian was fantastic on the track, and I would also like to thank Romain who handed over a car in perfect condition. This was an important and great job by all the team and we will have to do even better at Imola.”

Benoit Morand: the team owner’s final word – “We scored a great amount of points for the series’s standings but had some problems in Practice 2 and qualifying which made difficult the early part of the race. We also suffered a problem with the radio, when the aerial broke at mid-race, so we could not talk to Gary during his final stint. But that’s the way motoring goes. Romain was one of the biggest satisfactions of the weekend. He did a great stint, he battled great and kept his position. Despite these glitches and mishaps, we demonstrated that we have the potential to win the Imola race, and I would like to thank the mechanics and engineers.”

The second round of the 2014 European Le Mans Series will take place at Imola (Italy) on May 17-18.

From NewBlood by Morand Racing press release

PHOTO: TOWCESTER (NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, UK), SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT, 4 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE, FRIDAY 18 APRIL 2014, FREE PRACTICE.