NewBlood by Morand Racing claims top 5 finish after a tremendous race

The race weekend started very well for the Swiss team and their #43 Judd BMW-powered Morgan with Dunlop tyres: after the second time in Free Practice 1, the Swiss team set the best performance in Free Practice 2 on Saturday, and qualified fourth on Sunday morning. 

Pierre Ragues in contention for the podium -“I am very happy with the car and the team. I joined a very tight crew with very nice people and a family environment with Benoit and his wife. Christian is a very experienced driver and a very open guy who is always ready to share information and impressions. Gary is very talented and eager to learn more. I was very comfortable in the Morgan and we had a good pace despite the two positions lost at the race start. Regarding the very high level of the grid, I wished we could have completed our strategy, because Benoit wanted to take some risk and this is what it takes for the win.” The French driver is at the wheel for the race start. After completing the first lap in sixth position, he was involved in a superb three-car battle for third. Ragues climbed up to the race lead on lap 34 during the first series of pit stops. The came his turn to pit after 53 minutes of racing, a technical issue stopped the car in the pit lane before it could reach the team's box.  

Gary Hirsch fights his way back - When Gary Hirsch came back on the track for his double stint, the #45 Judd BMW-powered Morgan with Dunlop tyres had dropped to 11 one lap down. After forty minutes at good pace, the Swiss driver got back in the lap of the leading car. At this moment, he was faster than the two leading cars and 4th overall at the halfway mark, but he suffered two stop-and-go penalties. “I came on the track with medium tyres, this was the strategy we defined before the race. I had to be as consistent as possible, and to be fast while preserving the tyres. The team was very dedicated and we have to look forward. We know we have the speed and the team already demonstrated that they could dominate a race at Imola. Today things have to be put together for victory.”

Christian Klien secures a top 5 finish -“This was my home race. Things went fine on Saturday practice and the car was very fast. We had good qualifying too with the fourth position on the grid. We kept our chances for victory after Pierre's stint. Things were more difficult afterwards, but we managed to finish the race and score as many points as possible for the championship.” The Austrian driver took the wheel after the second stop-and-go, 1hr 22mins before the chequered flag. At that moment, he was sixth overall. The car once again proved competitive. Despite a drive-through penalty, Christian once again demonstrated his quickness and experience, and joined the overall top 5 thirteen minutes before finish.  

Benoit Morand, the team owner's final word -“Pierre drove perfectly in the early part of the race and was up to our expectations. He also is a very nice guy. If we substract the time lost due to his problem in the pits – which we will of course anlyse – and the time of the penalties, we are still in contention for overall victory. So we know we will remain competitive at the Paul Ricard and at Estoril for the remaining rounds of the 2014 season.”