COOL Racing claimed the second podium of its debut FIA World Endurance Championship season in the LMP2 class with a second-place finish at the TOTAL 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in wet and changeable conditions.
After Nicolas Lapierre and Antonin Borga qualified the #42 Oreca 07 third in class, and second of the Michelin runners, the weather turned for the start of the race which began behind the safety car. Alexandre Coigny took to the challenging conditions for the opening laps before handing over to Lapierre.
Borga took over after a strong double stint from the Frenchman, re-joining the race in mixed conditions as crews switched between wet tyres and slicks. After Coigny’s second run, Lapierre was back behind the wheel for the end of the race to cross the line in second, also securing back-to-back Best Bronze trophies.
The result promotes COOL Racing to fifth in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams ahead of the Swiss squad’s maiden 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Alexandre Coigny: “Overall we executed a great race despite difficult conditions. It was a bit of a nightmare start with the weather conditions, nonetheless it’s a good experience for me. We did the job on strategy, we made the right choices and Antonin and Nico were fantastic as usual. I learnt a lot in this race in the changing conditions, having to adapt to the varying grip levels and handling cold brakes and tyres. It was really interesting and I’m delighted with this result, a reward for me as I could not be on the rostrum at Silverstone because I was injured. It was a dream of mine to be on the WEC podium and I’ve achieved it. Congratulations to the whole team and now we look to Le Mans and the rest of the season where hopefully even more will come.”
Antonin Borga: “It was a fantastic end to the race. At the beginning it was complicated with the rain and safety cars, 45 minutes wouldn’t pass where there was not an incident. The race went in our favour with strategy, we chose the right time to change tyres, everything was smooth. I think we can be very satisfied with second with a bronze driver. It’s a great reward for everybody’s hard work and motivation for Le Mans in a few weeks.”
Nicolas Lapierre: “This is a fantastic result for the team, we are really happy with this podium. Great work by everybody, the pit stops and strategy were faultless and the drivers made no mistakes during a very difficult and complicated race. To have this just before Le Mans is great timing. We were a bit disappointed with our qualifying speed, despite our position, it was just below where we wanted it but the race pace matched the fastest cars. A very positive weekend and I look forward to Le Mans and the next European Le Mans Series round at Paul Ricard.”
Patrick Barbier, Team Principal: “A superb result in difficult conditions. Everything was perfect in the strategy and Alex, Antonin and Nico drove well. This was the best way to bounce back after a complicated weekend here in European Le Mans Series. We couldn’t dream for a better performance in our first season at this level, to have two podium finishes is really special. I’m so proud of the whole team and I can’t thank them enough. This has been great preparation for what will be our first 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
Source. RACING SPIRIT OF LÉMAN/Photo. Matthias Schrütt/racefilm.de
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