WEC
JRM Racing qualifies P3 in privateers’ class in Bahrain…
JRM Racing will start the inaugural Six Hours of Bahrain, the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, from third in class and sixth on the grid. The HPD ARX 03a was driven by Karun Chandhok for the 20 minute session, with the Indian recording a best time of 1:48.784 on his third lap on track. Yet again the privateer class was fiercely fought, with Karun pipped by just 0.3secs on the last lap by Strakka Racing for second in class.
The team will now complete its final preparations for the inaugural World Endurance Championship race in the Middle East tomorrow. Six hours of racing round the 5.4km Bahrain International Circuit will kick off at 16.00 local time, with the race starting in sunshine and finishing well into the hours of darkness. JRM Racing will seek to regain ground in the privateers’ championship, in which it is currently third, only six points adrift of second-placed Strakka.
Karun Chandhok:
After practice this morning we thought we were around 0.4secs from Strakka over one lap and in the end we were a little under that. We have chipped away at them all weekend, so we can be quite happy. The gap to the Rebellion is larger than we would have hoped for – it looks like they changed their car for more top speed in qualifying – but if we look at the pace and fuel consumption from Sao Paulo I am optimistic we can match them again in the race.
Nigel Stepney, team manager and chief engineer:
That was a reasonable session. We aimed to have a day without incident and that’s exactly what we had, which allows us to fully focus on the race tomorrow. All three drivers took part in the final hour of practice this morning, with Karun setting up the car very well for qualifying. We’ll now look at the information we’ve gathered and combine with the data we have on tyre wear and see what we can do in the race. The challenge will be to manage the tyres; the surface is very abrasive here to compensate for the sand on track so getting the tyre wear correct – and matched with fuel consumption – will be key to a good result.
James Rumsey, team principal:
We can be quite happy with P6 on the grid and third in class today. We are close to the other privateers, which bodes very well for a close fight tomorrow. Getting everything right and putting performance, reliability and strategy together in the race is our aim so we can deliver the result we have been aiming for – and promising – since Silverstone.