24 Hours of Spa Pushes Team to the Limit
4th August 2008
The Total 24-hours of Spa endurance race had a few surprises in store for
Scuderia Ecosse this weekend but after successfully completing a grueling 503
laps the team crossed the line in 8th place.
Throughout the first twelve hours of the race the team had to cope with a variety
of weather conditions that resulted in constantly changing and unpredictable
track conditions. As the clock struck 4am on Sunday morning the team, despite
having had to overcome a spin, a broken exhaust manifold, electrical problems
and blocked air in-takes, was sitting in 6th place. The second half of the
race brought new challenges and the team ended up holding onto 8th place for
the final six and half hours of the race. The team’s three drivers, Babini,
Davies and Monfardini each did double stints behind the wheel and all three
managed to push Car 62 to its limit, despite the problems they encountered
during this most demanding of endurance races.!
After the race Jamie Davies said, “After such a good start and with
such a capable car at our disposal it was undoubtedly the difficult conditions
that hampered our progress this weekend. It was a tough race and so still to
be on the track at the finish was in itself quite an achievement.”
Fabio Babini added, "Once again the team did a fantastic job preparing
the car and they were really quick when it came to resolving all of the problems
we experienced during the race. The changeable weather meant we had to adjust
our strategy very early on and the mechanical and electrical problems we faced
made this a long and hard race. But overall I am happy we finished and it was
a fantastic experience. ”
As the chequred flag dropped Ferdinando Monfardini commented, “To finish
this race is an amazing achievement for me. We all worked well as a team and
it is a credit to everyone involved that we crossed the line at the end of
the race. It was great to work with Jamie and Fabio again and I felt that I
have gained a lot this weekend.”
Team Principal Stewart Roden commented shortly after the race finished,”We
had a really good car this weekend and once again all of the guys did an excellent
job; unfortunately luck was not on our side. We have made considerable progress
with the development of the car this weekend and the support we received from
Pirelli was excellent. Getting to the end of any 24-hour endurance race is
always something of an achievement so scoring the points we did today is, in
some ways, a bit of a bonus.”
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