KCMG by D’station Racing successfully rounded off their Le Mans Test Day outing after the team’s potential LMP2 entry in the 83rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans concluded the event with encouraging results. Listed as first reserve for the French endurance classic, the #49 ORECA 03R – Judd was sampled by Christian Klien, Tomonobu Fujii and Satoshi Hoshino during the pre-event test at La Sarthe over the weekend.
The morning session, which was held under overcast skies, saw the #49 ORECA 03R – Judd log 22 laps, with Japanese Super GT driver Tomonobu Fujii successfully completing the mandatory 10 laps to qualify for the race. Klien was first to drive the D’station Racing-backed LMP2 on the complex 13.629km configuration, but a power steering malfunction, which manifested after a few laps called for an unplanned pit stop. This cost the team some valuable time off the track but despite this technical glitch, Klien managed to post the team’s best time of 3m53.433s and concluded the first practice run in P20.
Track time for the #49 LMP2 was once again cut short due to treacherous circuit conditions during the afternoon session. This time, D’station Racing team principal Satoshi Hoshino delivered the 10 laps required for him to qualify for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The second practice run saw the KCMG by D’station Racing LMP2 complete 21 laps and wrap up the session in P19.
Christian Klien: “The Le Mans test was quite difficult with the weather conditions that we had last Sunday. The main thing was to make sure that Fujii and Hoshino completed their 10 laps to qualify for the race, which they did successfully. I managed to get the feel of the ORECA 03R car, unfortunately, only on wet conditions. But in general, we feel that our car is competitive from what we could see from the other ORECA 03 cars on track.”
Tomonobu Fujii: “Overall, I’m very happy as it was a great opportunity to be able to participate
in the pre-event test and to successfully complete the mandatory 10 laps, which qualifies me to race at La Sarthe. I’m satisfied with the results delivered given the limited time we had on the track and how tricky the circuit conditions were. I’d like to commend the crew for providing us with a competitive car and, especially thank KCMG and D’station Racing for this great experience.”
Satoshi Hoshino: “This Le Mans test is so far the most fantastic experience in my motorsport career. It was my first time to drive the ORECA 03R – Judd, and the car proved to be competitive given the results that we delivered over the two practice sessions. It was a great feeling to complete the mandatory 10 laps to qualify for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and I’d like to thank the entire crew, especially Christian and Fujii for their guidance as I made my maiden LMP2 outing at La Sarthe. The chance to be confirmed for the race gets slimmer as we inch closer to the event, but we will be ready nevertheless.”
Michel Frey, KCMG by Dstation Racing Team Manager: “Starting with the positives, we are happy that we could qualify Mr. Hoshino and Mr. Fujii during the official test at Le Mans. The weather conditions over the weekend were very tricky but considering this, they did a very good job. After some encouraging starting laps from Christian Klien, we found a problem on the hydraulic system from the steering assistance. This cost us one hour of running time, during which the conditions were the best of the day. However, Christian and Fujii managed to deliver competitive lap times in the wet over the two four hour sessions. All in all, we are positive that all problems could be sorted and that the car proved competitive on the track. There is still much to improve should the entry be granted and we’re hoping, despite the slim chances, that we could be on the grid at La Sarthe next weekend. We would like to thank Mr. Hoshino and the whole KCMG Team for this fantastic opportunity.”
To find out more about the 24 Hours of Le Mans, visit www.24h-lemans.com.
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