Dramatic 2nd Place Finish For RGR Sport in Fuji
RGR Sport came in 2nd place at the 6 Hours of Fuji after what could have been their most dramatic round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Warmer than any of the previous days at the base of Mt. Fuji, the morning of race day was perfect for the teams, volunteers, and fans as the pit lane welcomed everyone as early as 8:00am for the autograph session. Soon after, everyone assumed their appropriate positions for the start of the 6 Hours of Fuji after a spectacular grid walk performance from the local people of Japan.
Filipe Albuquerque’s got behind the wheel of the #43 Nissan Ligier JS P2 fifth on the grid. After the green flag waved, Albuquerque was able to run clean laps despite a few position changes early on. The first hour continued in this fashion as things between the Portuguese and the rest of the LMP2 category began to intensify. Only fifteen minutes into the 6-hour event, drama between the #30 of ESM and #36 of Signatech Alpine ignited as the three cars battled for each others positions for nearly twelve laps with two other LMP2’s close behind.
Albuquerque came out on top of the battle in second position behind the #26 of G-Drive before making his first trip into the pits to allow team owner, Ricardo Gonzalez, his time in the #43 Nissan Ligier JS P2. RGR Sport was one of the only teams to swap drivers meaning the #26, #27, #44, and #42 all kept their starters in the game making it a very competitive stint for the silver rated driver, Gonzalez. Showing his prowess, the Mexican went head to head for P5 with Aleshin, pilot of the #27 SMP Racing machine. Gonzalez closed hour two with a pit for fuel.
Gonzalez clocked out at the top of hour three which put Albuquerque back into the race. Just after the driver change, it was announced that car #30 and #44 had been penalized for speeding in the pit lane. This is the point where strategy began shifting the positions of the LMP2 cars every couple of minutes as each team made their calls on when to enter the pits. Albuquerque was anywhere between 6th and 1st due to strategy until early in the fourth hour when he was able to make a pass on track around the #27 SMP car. Seconds after the pass strategy came into play again as the 2nd place and 1st place cars entered the pits moving the Portuguese driver into 1st.By the time the Mexican team had worked its way back into the top spot, it was time to change Albuquerque for Bruno Senna, who had yet to take a lap in the 6 Hours of Fuji.
The first half of Senna’s stint mirrored much of the previous hour of the race with multiple position changes due to pit strategies. Consistently in the top three, the Brazilian entered the final hour in pursuit of Lapierre in the #36 Signatech Alpine who was trying to conserve fuel. Forced to pit, the #36 sacrificed 2nd position to Senna who was then able to move his focus on to G-Drive Racing in 1ST place. Under the same circumstances, the #26 of G-Drive also had to pit, which meant RGR Sport was now running the race in the lead. Senna had to use this time to push as much as possible to gain every advantage he could since the team knew they would have to pit one last time for fuel only while the #36 and #26 in 2nd and 3rd would run the remainder of the race.
Senna entered the pits for that splash of fuel with exactly thirty minutes left. A swift performance from the crew of RGR Sport allowed the 33-year old to return to the fight directly in front of Stevens, behind the wheel of the #26 car. The Brazilian held his own as Stevens attacked on the front straight and made a move across the inside line just before the pit exit and entrance into Turn 1. The position was deemed unfair by race control and G-Drive was ordered to give the position back to RGR Sport.
Only sixteen minutes were left by the time Stevens gave the position back to Senna. The next few laps looked to be forever in RGR Sport’s favor as the sun begun to fade along with the time on the clock. Senna lost the short lead he had getting stuck behind slower traffic which allowed the #26 to get right on his tail. The #26 was able to take advantage of the straight-line speed to make the move around Senna into Turn 1. From here Senna fought tooth and nail to make the pass back, but was unable to do so in the little time left amongst the traffic and ultimately finished in 2nd place.
RGR Sport will head back to this side of the world for the second to last round of the FIA World Endurance Championship that will take place in Shanghai, China on November 6th, 2016.
Team Owner/Driver – Ricardo Gonzalez
“The 6 Hours of Fuji brought us a good result with second place, but I’m a bit disappointed we lost first place with only ten minutes left in the race. It was a tough race, a good fight, and very competitive field this weekend. Overall we did a very good job and got some good points for the championship.”
Driver – Bruno Senna
“It was a good race, the car was really strong, and the team did a great job today. I think we totally deserved the win. It came down to the last couple of minutes at the end behind G-Drive, but ahead of our championship rivals. In the end, we did not get the win, which was going to be very important for us. We are going to have to push hard the next two races to win the championship.”
Driver – Filipe Albuquerque
“What a race we had here in Fuji. It was a great race for everyone in LMP2 and LMP1. It was really tight! I had a lot of fun in my first stint because there was a lot of action. Ultimately we had a great performance and in the end it was a question of traffic, which Bruno caught in the last sector. Finishing only one second off first place is a statement to everyone here at RGR Sport so we should be happy. We made some ground on the Alpine team in terms of the championship. This race was not for us but we still have two more wins and time to win the championship.”
Team Manager – Toni Calderon
“That was a nerve racking race. There is no doubt that the competition level in the WEC has stepped up big time and that goes to show that this is really the most exciting championship in the world. After six hours of green flag racing, we finished only one second behind the leader.
I really think this has been our best race. The result may not show it, but we were able to accomplish a lot and the quality of the performance from the guys on track and the team in the pits is just incredible. We had the lead there for a little bit and then just had bad luck in traffic. We showed how strong we are and that we can be fighting for wins at any race. We have been on the podium for the last four races an I have no doubt we will win another one before the season is over.”
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