Spa 24: Race quotes

Philipp Peter - nr 9 JMB Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello
"At this stage of the race, we all began to believe we could finish, so we are naturally disappointed. But on the other hand, we have scored points at 6 and 12 hours, we have raced for 18 hours, which is equivalent to six GT races, which considering that apart from Donington we have never finished, is quite an achievement. I think we surprised a lot of people, including ourselves, and it felt very good to fight for position. I led the race during my first stint, which was our first moment of joy, we were on the pace, and our Pirelli intermediate tyres were excellent. We lost seven laps due to a broken bolt in the suspension, and then the engine problem stopped us. But we are now ready to go on with the programme !"

Christian Ried - nr 69 Proton Competition Porsche 996 GT3-RS
"The engine broke after 18 hours, which is a great shame. We had no problems before then, even not in the rain, although it was very difficult out there, and none of the drivers made any mistakes. But now that the weather has improved, our engine broke. At least I now have plenty of experience in the new car, especially in the wet !"

Adam Jones - nr 77 RWS Yukos Porsche 996 GT3-RS
"The car didn't sound good, and I was heading back for the pits, but the engine just let go and I couldn't get back. The team and I are all disappointed. We'd got to third, and it was looking good, but it's a race of survival, and we didn't survive. It's a shame after getting through all the heavy rain - at one point it was like going through a car wash out there !"

Matteo Bobbi - nr 23 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello
"We broke the left bank of the engine. There is still a long way to go in the championship, and for our points situation, this is not a big problem. This was my first 24-hour race and it was very strange, starting a race that you have no idea if you will finish!"

Jamie Campbell-Walter - nr 14 Lister Storm
"It was a big accident - I either seem to be OK or to have massive crashes. We were going so well, so it's such a shame. We were in the lead after the first three hours, which was great considering we started from the back - which shows how little importance qualifying has for this sort of event. Tommy was driving during the heavy rain, and the wiper stopped working four or five laps before the end of his stint. We were aiming to win the points at six hours, and so I went out again with no windscreen wipers, and I couldn't see anything. With hindsight I should have come back in, but I'm a bit like Laurence Pearce when I've got a goal in mind. I think I aquaplaned off, but I could have touched the kerb. I'm sorry for the whole team because we could have done well, the car was perfect, especially considering the shunt we had on Thursday."

Fabrizio De Simone - nr 53 JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena
"Early in the race, we lost a lot of time due to electrical problems. But we're now 4th in N-GT and the car is really fantastic. I have done two good double stints, and my team mates have been great. It's all going smoothly, we've pushed hard, the team has done a good job and the tyres are great.

Gordon Davies - nr 7 Graham Nash Motorsport Team Manager
"We had problems during the rain with the windscreen wiper mechanism, and then we got held up in the pits during the safety car period. Later in the race, we had a fuel pump failure and wheel bearing failures, but other than that, the car is good and the drivers too. We are quite happy and looking forward to the last four races with the development we have achieved so far this season."

Marco Zadra - nr 6 Creation Autosportif Lister Storm
"I'm rather sad as I' ve done four 24-hour races and never finished any of them. Perhaps I'll be more lucky next time. It went quite well to start with, but in the heavy rain the car was aquaplaning everywhere. It was strange as I was quicker in the corners than on the straight ! We had a problem with the windscreen wipers when Duncan was driving, which lost us time, and then Bobby was involved in a collision with a Porsche which badly damaged the car, and we had no option but to retire. But I think the car has had a good pace during the last two races, and I think we can really look forward to the rest of the season."

Henrik Roos - Nr 11 Roos-Optima Chrysler Viper
"This is our first 24 hours, and we reached the finish, which was our goal. And we scored three points, which is not bad. But I am exhausted - every time I tried to sleep something happened to the car and they came to wake me." Peter Snowdon, his team-mate, agreed. "It feels like a miracle that we finished. The team worked really hard to fix the car after I crashed earlier in the race, which was due to suspension failure. They had to take things like the wing and windscreen wipers from the road car on display in the tent. The problems kept on coming - it caught fire when we were changing drivers, and I was covered in the extinguisher powder. Then a wheel fell off with 40 minutes to go. We did the last nine hours without a front splitter, meaning we had no downforce, and over three hours with no brakes. Without the mechanics, we would never have finished. They did a really brilliant job."

-fia-