Round 3 Murphy Prototypes Race Report

The intense battle for P3,P4,P5 in the first part of the race helped ensure that Murphy Prototypes stayed in touch with the leader. However, problems arose during the first routine pit stop. After refueling, the car would not start. The cable to the starter motor had broken and the team had to bring the car back to the garage to solve the problem.

Back out after a 20 lap delay, Jonathan showed his calmness and his class by steadying the ship, driving on fresh tyres, and achieving quality lap times - even when the car started to overheat during his stint.

The delay meant that Brendon did not take over until closer to the final hour of the race. However, there were more problems during the driver changeover. Grass had been caught in the sidepod, causing overheating in the radiator, and it proved really difficult to clear out. Brendon went out with the bit between his teeth. He was consistently the fastest man on the track, completing the quickest ten laps of the whole race - up to two seconds a lap quicker than the rest of the LMP2 field.

He set the fastest lap of the whole race on lap 91, 1:24.337.  

Brendon Hartley (NZL) “We are massively disappointed. Neither myself nor Jonathan put a foot wrong. Jonathan had fresh tyres to start off the race; he held P2 and did an amazing job. Then we had the problem. I was really happy with my stint. I did the ten quickest laps of the race – the quickest lap by over half a second. The car was very, very strong; we actually found an issue with the car this weekend that had been holding us back all year, so it's a little bit frustrating when you look at it now. We would have won the race by a long way if we did not have the issue and lost 20 laps. I think the rest of the teams would be very nervous if we come back with the same line-up next time". 

Jonathan Hirschi (CH) “I don't really feel satisfied because we had a great car and a great team. We could have won the race, but we had an issue with the starter. I am really disappointed, but this is racing, it's not easy. With myself and Brendon performances, I am really happy – the car was really fast. I think I did a good job: my first stint was quick, as was Brendon's at the end of the race. So, let's see now for the next race".  

Greg Murphy Team Principal (IRL) “We could have won the race by an absolute mile today. I am sorry for the drivers. Jonathan was just brilliant for us and we were delighted to have him - that's the best silver performance I have ever seen in any team. I think he disproved all the doubters about his speed today. Brendon had the top ten fastest laps of the race, which showed what we can really do. No stone will be left unturned to find the problem and make sure it does not happen again”.