European Le Mans
Istanbul: G-Force race report
The spell has been broken! For G-Force the spell has been broken. The team from Limburg clinched an excellent third place in the LMP2-class during the opening leg of the LMS series in Istanbul. Ed Morris and Jean-Francois Leroch drove the Courage ...
Published: Apr 10, 2006, 7:57 AM
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The spell has been broken!
For G-Force the spell has been broken. The team from Limburg clinched an excellent third place in the LMP2-class during the opening leg of the LMS series in Istanbul. Ed Morris and Jean-Francois Leroch drove the Courage C65-Judd through to an outstanding seventh spot overall. With this strong result in their back pocket Frank Hahn's team are now heading for Spa where the second leg will take place in five weeks time.
The free training sessions on Friday and Saturday went smoothly and gave the drivers the opportunity to set-up the car. Ultimately the G-Force drivers ended up with a tenth place, which showed promise for the race. "I've progressed well, but can still go a bit faster", Ed Morris the young Brit commented optimistically. "But I prefer to take it step by step rather than causing any damage; after all it is an endurance race as opposed to a sprint."
Qualifying was right up the street of the French gentleman driver Jean- Francois Leroch. G-Force was running in fourteenth place overall and seventh in the LMP2-class. "We had expected more from qualifying", Jean- Francois explained. "After the free training sessions we had hoped for a top ten, but then, the race is long and we all know that both speed and reliability are key factors."
The race itself was a success in an unusual framework. Two hours into the competition the organisers decided to shorten the race to four hours. An acute shortage of fuel meant that four hours was just about the maximum for the teams to finish the race without problems. For Frank Hahn this meant that he would not get behind the wheel of the Courage. Nevertheless Frank describes the race: "The start was extremely difficult, and we decided not to let Jean-Francois start on slicks. The track was still wet and we did not want to run any risks. We then steadily climbed up and half-way through we were lying thirteenth. During his stint Ed Morris proved his worth. He drove fast, with consistency and faultlessly; the ideal cocktail for an endurance driver. The outcome of the race director's decision meant that we lost our last stint and therefore I did not drive. A pity really, but this does not take away the fact that we had experienced an excellent result and that fantastic feeling of a podium place. This result is really unexpected and an incredible boost after a very difficult 2005. We are now leaving for Spa feeling ever stronger and are starting the countdown for Le Mans."
On the 13th and 14th May the 1000 Kilometres of Spa are taking place. G- Force will once more be present with the same trio and will be defending their third place in the championship.
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