Spa: Pegasus Racing race report

Pegasus Racing demonstrates bullet-proof reliability

The Pegasus Racing team was all smiles when the no.36 Courage-AER crossed the finishing line in the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 kms. It came home sixth in the LM P2 category, the same place in which it currently lies in the championship. The other reason for rejoicing was the visit to Le Mans at the start of last week by the new Norma-Judd M200.

Finally, it wasn't possible to enter the Norma for Spa, the second round of the Le Mans Series. The Courage-Pegasus again showed its bullet-proof reliability. It's a safe bet to target decent results, and it should continue racing in the Le Mans Series after the 24 Hours with a second driver line-up.

The team from Strasbourg now knows the Courage so well that it had no technical problems in the Ardennes. The car spent only 8m 29s at its pit, less than the victorious Peugeot 908. Only one of the 50 starters did better. Julien Schell qualified it in twenty-fourth position, and the car moved up 8 places in the overall classification during the 6 hours racing, going from ninth to sixth place in LM P2. Pegasus Racing also finished third in the second leg of the Michelin Green X Challenge, which rewards the cars that have used the least fuel to optimise their performance. The team is currently lying fifth in the overall classification of this challenge that is very much in tune with its era.

"We had a good practice session by doing fairly long runs to maximise the car's reliability," explained Julien Schell. "Our race was a doddle apart from a slight rise in the engine's temperature, but it wasn't a problem. We only needed two sets of Dunlops and they were very consistent. Now, our aim is to carry out as much development work as possible on the Norma before Le Mans."

Frederic Da Rocha was also delighted in the post-race debrief. "I did a double stint, almost two hours, and I handed the car back to Julien in thirteenth place. We opted for consistency and we absolutely didn't want to get involved in any collisions or make mistakes. Passing the GTs wasn't easy: they were slower over a lap but more powerful and quicker on the straight than us. We also had to pay attention to the works prototypes, which filled the rear-view mirrors very quickly. I had to put two wheels on the grass when an Audi and a Peugeot overtook me at the same time side-by- side at the top of the Raidillon! The car's reliable and the setup decided by the team made it easy to drive. As there were only two of us to share the wheel, I was able to do a lot of running and adapt my driving style to the turbo engine. Now, I'm not going to leave Paris until Julien pages me to come and drive the Norma!"

The Norma M200 was passed by the gentlemen of the ACO on 4th May. Its X- trac gearbox has been fitted, and it'll start testing very soon. Both Norma and Pegasus are going to fine-tune the final details to be ready for the Le Mans 24 Hours between 6th - 13th June.

-source: pegasusracing.fr