Estoril, last battle for the title

Episode 1: Silverstone, advantage to G-Drive Racing

For the opening round in Great Britain last April, the line-up of the two teams was different from 2015. Mathias Beche was back with Thiriet by TDS Racing alongside Ryo Hirakawa and Pierre Thiriet. Concerning G-Drive Racing, Filipe Albuquerque was now taking part to the WEC and was replaced by former F1 driver Giedo Van Der Garde, the Dutch driver joining Simon Dolan and Harry Tincknell.

Just after the start, the n°46 Oreca 05 Nissan of Thiriet by TDS Racing (which was on pole position) hit the tyre wall because of a stuck throttle, leaving the field to the n°38 Gibson 015S Nissan of G-Drive Racing driven by Tincknell, Dolan and Van Der Garde who took the victory.

Pierre Thiriet: “I felt something was wrong and I headed straight to the wall. The drivers had a good rhythm and the car was good. We had everything to do a good result.”

Simon Dolan: “It’s been a funny weekend but it all came back to us in the end and I am super happy for all the team because they were excellent all week.”

G-Drive Racing: 25 points                                                          Thiriet by TDS Racing: 1 point

 Episode 2: Imola, Thiriet by TDS Racing back in the title race

A month later the teams and drivers travelled to Italy for round 2 at Imola. The Thiriet by TDS Racing drivers lost the pole position but did well during the race. Leading after the first driver change, the n°46 kept its first position. Stuck behind the French team, the n°38 didn’t have a chance to overtake its rival, stopped by a Safety Car after a massive thunderstorm flooded the track.

Harry Tincknell: “We have left Imola in a stronger championship position than when we got here so it has been a good weekend all in all. It was a shame the race was so wet in the final hour as we could have at least pushed and put some more pressure on the TDS car.”

Pierre Thiriet: “It’s a great team victory and a revenge after Silverstone. Unfortunately, the gap between us and our rival (G-Drive Racing) is not big but the season is long.”

G-Drive Racing: 43 points                                                     Thiriet by TDS Racing: 26 points

Episode 3: Another victory for Thiriet by TDS Racing

After a difficult 24 Hours of Le Mans for both G-Drive Racing and Thiriet by TDS Racing (both retired), the two teams met up in Austria. After a perfect race, the French team won the 3^rd round of the season. Their British opponents had trouble with the top speed of the car and took the third position.

Simon Dolan: “It’s very frustrating to have a race like this, but I think everyone in the team, from the drivers to the pit crew, have done an absolutely terrific job in the circumstances, especially as the Gibson isn’t the quickest of the LMP2 chassis anymore.”

Mathias Beche: “The team did a wonderful job and the weekend was very positive. We are now 7 points from the leaders, we missed the pole position point but we keep pushing”.

G-Drive Racing: 58 points                                                       Thiriet by TDS Racing: 51 points

Episode 4: G-Drive Racing is losing the lead

The 4^th round of the 2016 season was held in France, in the land of Thiriet by TDS Racing. The Oreca 05 n°46 did not allow any chances to go to the n°38 trio at Circuit Paul Ricard. The French team took the victory from pole position, which gave them the championship lead for the first time in 2016.

Giedo Van Der Garde: “It was a tough weekend for us, right from qualifying. We ended fifth which was a pity but we will learn from it but we have two races left and we will give it our all.”

Mathias Beche: “It’s great to win here, it’s our third victory in a row this season and we are very proud. But there are still two races to go.”

G-Drive Racing: 68 points                                                      Thiriet by TDS Racing: 77 points

Episode 5: Thiriet by TDS Racing is widening the gap

For the first time since 2011 the European Le Mans Series was heading to Spa-Francorchamps. The famous Belgium track didn’t live up to its reputation with a race punctuated by Full Course Yellows and a Safety Car period. At the end, the n°21 Oreca 05 Nissan of Dragonspeed took its first victory of the season. Thiriet by TDS racing ended at the third position and G-Drive Racing fifth.

Harry Tincknell: “It’s disappointing to finish fifth because I think that we could have won.”

Mathias Beche: “We didn’t have a good rhythm this weekend. But we were confident because we had a strong line-up. I had to fight with the car during all my stints and it was quite hard. But I’m happy that we scored some points and that we are still leading the championship. “

Last episode: Estoril

The two teams are really tied with a 14-points gap. Thiriet by TDS Racing has 3 victories against one for G-Drive Racing but we know well the tenacity of the Russian team.

Harry Tincknell: “We have nothing to lose in Estoril”

Giedo Van Der Garde: “We are heading to Estoril, a track that I like, for the last round. We will see who will win there. 14 points is a lot but we will do everything we can to win.”

Mathias Beche: “Now, let’s go to Estoril. We will try to handle the race if we can but we want to win the championship and the race. We will push hard and try to be luckier than in Spa.”