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Larbre Competition’s hopes of winning the Le Mans Series GT1
title were dealt a blow at the Silverstone 1000kms as Car 50 of
Christophe Bouchut, Fabrizio Gollin and Gabriele Gardel finished
seventh having led the race in the early stages.
However, there was much better news for
Car 51 of Greg Franchi, Gregor Fisken and Steve Zacchia, who took their
best finish of the season with a fine fourth place at the British
circuit.
Car 50’s race started well as Bouchut
held his third place off the grid. An early tactical pit stop under the
first Safety Car of the day gave them a strategic on-track advantage
and some quick laps from the Frenchman saw him move his Aston Martin
DBR9 into the lead.
After Bouchut’s double-stint, Italian
Fabrizio Gollin took over the car, and was running second behind the
Team Modena Aston Martin before contact with a prototype car at Priory
saw his car pushed off and beached in the gravel. Two laps were lost
and when Gollin pitted, he handed over to Gabriele Gardel in fourth
place.
The Swiss driver kept the team in contention for a podium for,
closing in on third throughout his double-stint before handing back to
Bouchut. However a broken driveshaft, a result of by Gollin’s earlier
off, cost more time in the pits and meant they finished the race in a
distant seventh position in GT1.
Team Principal Jack Leconte
said: “The race was the fiercest GT1 battle of the season. For the
first time this year the Saleen didn’t dominate and we were enjoying a
great battle at the front with Team Modena’s Aston Martin.
Unfortunately, we ended up in the gravel trap and later, as a result of
that off, the driveshaft broke. I’m afraid this incident has cost us
the championship.”
Fabrizio Gollin explained what
had happened. “A prototype was behind me coming through Bridge corner
and I just didn’t see him. He tried a risky move on me and we touched
heading in to Priory, forcing me off line and ultimately into the
gravel trap. It’s a huge shame because a podium was easily possible.”
Christophe Bouchut: “The team
did a great job during the first Safety Car period. We stopped at the
right time and gained an advantage. We were leading and on course to
meet our objectives, so I’m disappointed because, although the car
wasn’t perfect, it was quick enough to fight for the win today.”
Gabriele Gardel: “We’re too far
behind in the title race now and it looks like we’ll have to settle for
third in championship. That’s a shame but now we have to look towards
next season and try to regain our title.”
There were very different emotions for
the drivers of Car 51, who achieved their best finish of the season in
fourth place. Greg Franchi, Gregor Fisken and Steve Zacchia all drove
consistent stints, whilst the car ran without any problems, finishing
ahead of both the Luc Alphand Adventures Corvette C6.R and the Racing
Box Saleen S7.
Jack Leconte: “The drivers of
Car 51 have gelled together well this season so I’m really pleased for
them to get this result. We pushed hard and the average lap time was on
the pace of the cars in front. In the final stint Steve did a very good
job to keep ahead of Oliver Gavin’s Corvette.”
Greg Franchi: “We managed to
stay clear of any mechanical problems today. The car didn’t feel as
good as it did at Spa, and we lost maybe a lap behind the first Safety
Car, but overall we have to be very satisfied with this result.”
Gregor Fisken: “It’s been a good
day for us. We were very close to a podium finish and although we
profited a little from our rivals’ misfortune, we had a very clean
race. Everyone put in a really good effort and I’m delighted to score
this result at my home circuit.”
Steve Zacchia: “It was a tough
race but a good result for the team. It’s difficult to find a good set
up at Silverstone because of the range of high speed and low speed
corners. In the final stint I had to push really hard as the Corvette
was closing in. We’re all very happy to have achieved our best result
of the season.”
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