After what was arguably its toughest season, Strakka Racing finished the Six Hours of Bahrain in sixth place, matching its best result with the Gibson 015S this year. Starting driver Jonny Kane enjoyed a stellar opening stint, rising from eighth to run as high as fourth in the closely-contested LMP2 class. That pace continued as Danny Watts took over, briefly snatching the class lead and consistently running in the top three to underline the improvements the team has delivered in the latter stages of the 2015 campaign. “The car was really good today and our strategy worked well to get track position,” says Danny Watts. “It was a weekend when we raced and passed cars that up until now have been much further up the grid.”
As expected at this, the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, tyre management played a critical part in the final race outcome. After Nick Leventis took over the car, persistent vibration from flat-spotted fronts mandated an extra stop, leaving the car in sixth with just over two hours remaining. With a need to preserve rubber, Nick carefully nursed the available tyres through revised traction control settings and lower brake pressures to maintain sixth by the end of his stint.
With an hour and twenty five minutes remaining, Jonny Kane returned to the car intent on making up places, including racing on track the faster LMP1 Privateers’ cars. Lapping as fast as the front-running LMP2 cars, Kane pushed Strakka’s Gibson 015S to complete eighth round of the championship in 15th overall and sixth in class. Today’s result also saw the team move up to sixth in the LMP2 Teams’ Championship.
“2015 was an incredibly emotional year in the WEC paddock,” says team principal Dan Walmsley. “Very sadly, we lost some remarkable people including Damo at Rebellion and Dunlop’s Tim Gibson at Dunlop but each time the entire WEC community came together to provide amazing support. We haven’t experienced that family spirit anywhere else. Strakka Racing and myself personally, drew real strength during the difficult days in 2015 from the incredible support that organisers, teams, technical partners, drivers and fans unceasingly provide. It’s this same true WEC spirit that encourages Strakka to continue to be part of this family.”
Strakka Racing will be back at its home circuit for the opening round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship on the 17th April.
