NEWS
26.04.09
Retirement ends promising run for Dolan and Hancock
A car failure midway through the four-hour VdeV endurance race at French track Paul Ricard brought a promising run from Jota Sport’s Simon Dolan and Sam Hancock to an end in round 2 of the European-based series.
Dolan, a member of The Drivers Club, the team’s exclusive, bespoke driver training programme, was midway through his stint and running inside the top five on lap 55 when the failure occurred, forcing him to retire his Ligier JS49.
Hancock had qualified the car fourth on the grid, just two tenths off pole, and was up to second place on the first lap when he pushed a little too hard and spun at Beausset. After dropping to 14th, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB race winner fought his way back into the top five before handing over to Dolan, who maintained the position before his enforced retirement.
“It’s a shame because Simon was performing superbly at the time of the failure and we looked set for a good result,” said Hancock. “I made a mistake early on by not compensating for the heavy fuel load and a strong crosswind which resulted in my spin. But as I came back through the field the car felt fantastic and it’s a huge credit to the team that they’ve got it set up so well already.”
“I think we’ve showed again that we have the pace to compete in this championship,” said Dolan. “I’ve never driven at Paul Ricard before, so the failure was a shame as I was getting stronger and stronger as my stint wore on and I think a good result was possible.”
ENDS
Notes for editors
The Drivers Club, run by world-class Le Mans and Porsche racing team, Jota Sport, offers private, high performance driver training and exclusive driving events to discerning individuals who demand the best of the best. For more information, please visit www.thedriversclub.co.uk.