DNF for #156 in round one of the ARL Endurance Season

View the pre-race event details here

League Info

Apex Racing League - Apex Endurance League - 2023
Organiser: Apex Racing League
Details: Entry List Standings

The first round of a new project for the team did not go quite as perfectly as it could have, but there were a lot of positives to take from our first outing in a prototype in a league event.

Spa-Francorchamps was the venue for the first round of the ASUS Apex Racing League Endurance season, with some of the very best drivers on the service coming together for a 3 hour race. Three classes were taking part, from GT3 and LMP2 to those sharing our LMDH.

Qualifying came and went without too much drama, with Jason Dilworth putting in a reasonable mid-pack time. The first stint started soon after, with a little contact in turn one from another car that span from the very sensitive rear braking system of this car.

From there the whole first stint was extremely hectic, with the pace differential between the fastest and slowest class throwing up some very difficult moments. Multiclass racing is all about losing as little time as you can in traffic, while also having as little impact on other classes as you can, and that responsibility is elevated as the faster car. Something that we'll get used to as time goes on.

With the first stint done, the car was handed to Chris Chadderton, who unfortunately exited the pit lane next to an LMP2 and had a spin through Eau Rouge (Radillion, actually) and contact with the barrier. A long drive back to the pits to a fortunate fast repair meant we could keep going having lost a minute or so. A miracle recovery drive was not to be, though, with more contact in Chris' second stint a result of the inter-class confusion that can happen so easily at the closing speeds involved.

That contact was a race-ending one for our #156 car, and an obvious disappointment. That said, our aim in this series is to learn, and there were a lot of lessons in the build-up and race that we will take forwards for the rest of the season. The car will miss round 2 at Watkins Glen, but be ready to take the grid again in round 3 at Monza at the end of June.