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The
Spirit Racing team has bolstered its driver squad for the toughest event on its
2007 calendar with the inclusion of former F1 test driver and current Indycar
racer, Darren Manning, for the 12-Hours of Magny Cours next weekend, the latest
round of the VdeV European Endurance Championship for FIA CN class
sportscars.
The
Spirit Hyundai backed team goes into the meeting on a high after winning the
previous round at Ledenon and dominating the rest of the field over the course
of the race weekend. What looked like being the squad’s first one-two finish was
only spoilt when the leading car of Adam and Jamie Derbyshire was forced to make
a late pit-stop because of a fuel pressure issue.
However,
team-mates Rob Garofall and Simon Phillips were there to inherit the win from
second place, proving the team was fully in control of the three-hour event.
Since then, the team, under the leadership of vastly experienced engineer, Alan
Mugglestone, has made further improvements to its cars to make them both as
competitive and reliable as possible, in readiness for the gauntlet of such a
long distance race.
The
inclusion of Manning in the Derbyshire brothers Norma M20F machine proves that
the team is serious about its attack on the 4000km event. The sister car of Rob
Garofall and Simon Phillips also has a third driver lined up, in the shape of
chief Silverstone instructor Chris Ward, giving the entire team a boost in speed
and experience for the once-around-the-clock race.
“I can’t
wait to drive with Adam and Jamie at Magny-Cours,” said Darren. “I’ve known the
Derbyshire family for a long time and it will be good fun to finally get to race
with them, especially at an event like this. But, make no mistake, we’re going
to be there with the intention of being in a position to win by the twelfth
hour,” he added.
"It will
be a fantastic boost for the whole team having Darren on board,” said Adam
Derbyshire. “To have someone with his experience and speed on board will be a
huge benefit. The team is getting better as the season goes on. It's only our
first season, but we're right at the sharp end and we want to go out to win more
races," he added.
Team-mate
Garofall is heading into the event with an eye on the championship positions, as
he and driving partner Simon Phillips edge ever closer to the title, with just
this race and one more left on the calendar.
“We’re
quite excited going into the event,” he said. “But, the championship is still
all to play for and it’s going to come down to being there at the end of
12-hours to score as many points as possible. The team is doing a better job
round after round and it’s showing in the results we’re picking up and the speed
of the cars.”
“Our
game plan is to just keep reeling off the laps and see where we are about three
hours from the end and what we can get results wise. Chris is a great driver to
have on board, in terms of speed, consistency and experience, so both cars are
in great shape for the weekend,” he added.
The team
takes to the track on Thursday for pre-event testing, before the race gets
underway at 12pm on
Saturday, right through until midnight.
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