Murphy Prototypes 24 Heures Du Mans 2013 review

Car 48 7th in class, 13th overall Laps: 319 Brendon Hartley (NZL) It was a frustrating start to the race with the issues we had and we were effectively out of it before we started, but in true Murphy Prototypes style we fought back and we fought all the way back to seventh which I think is a big achievement form being 20 minutes down and right at the back of the grid to fight back and have no mistakes, both Karun and Mark did a great job, hes our silver driver and its his first time hereand myself were all very, very quick could have been on thepodium on another day, Ther team did a great job, it wasnt there fault that we had aproblem at the beginning with the fule m,aping I think everyone did a great job and just to finish is an achievement in itself its a long grueling race and we had wet, we had dry , it was trying conditions for everyone so so Im just happy to be standing here now as a finisher and obviously I know that we had potential to be on the podium , but another day. The team gave us a great car to fight for a podium and its a shame that we had to fight our way back through the field rather than actually fight at the front. And my condolences to Allan Simonsens family. That was very, very sad. Karun Chandhok (IND) We were quick which makes it more irritating - at night I was quickest on track in the wet and dry and Hartley was fastest on track this morning. We dragged ourselves back up to 7th in class and 13th overall from nowhere. It was just a shame about the early stages The night stint was much harder this year. I was in the car from 2:30am to 6:20am which was very tough, but we made up big time in the leaders especially when it rained in the dark. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience once again and can't wait to come back year after year. Racing here in the day and night is one of the most special experiences in the world. I have to send out my condolences to the family of Allan Simonsen and the team at Aston Martin Racing - it's the first time I've been at a race when someone else competing has been killed and it's huge shock.Mark Patterson (RSA/USA) It feels fantastic, I am so impressed with the team. There was a minor technical problem, which took us back to 52nd in the field and we fought back to 14th and thats the whole story, thats what endurance racing is all about: its big belief, big conviction, trusting that no-one in the team will let their little link in the chain break, and no-one let anyone down. It was a pretty good outing and we saved some big mistakes from happening. Ive never said thanks to anyone before a race before and I was about to get in for the first time and I thanked my parents and my American grandfather, because of the whole swell of what were doing here, it was a moment to say thanks to all those people who had made all this possible.  Greg Murphy Team Principal (IRL)Im very proud of the team, all the efforts the mechanics put in, all the engineers, all the marketing people - there is a huge amount of effort and we worked hard off the track and on the track and tried to create a bit of a buzz. But it means nothing if you cant do it on the trackAfter the first hour or so, I couldnt believe it because I knew we had the pace I knew we had the drivers and thats the way it goes. This is the toughest and the best motor race in the world and we fought back from an hour in and we continued to fight all the way We finished seventh which is respectable and not what we were hoping for. However, we were delighted to finish this race and it shows that this team is a top team. And thats the wider team, without people like STP, Hertz, bmi regional and the guys at Snoozebox, it wouldnt be possible, and guys like Celtic Airspares and people who have been with us since the start. Theres a huge amount of people to thank and without those people we simply wouldnt be here.If our French friends are nice enough to ask me back we will definitely be back. I want to say how sorry I am about Allan Simonsen. He was a great guy, he was a super driver and was so much better than everyone else. This is was unbelievable. My heart goes out to his family and I hope people will remember him for a long time to come.


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