G-Drive Racing by DragonSpeed’s Number 22 ORECA 07 Gibson of Ryo Hirakawa, Memo Rojas and Léo Roussell finished second in the 2017 4 Hours of Silverstone, after a hard-fought battle for the win in the second half of the race.
The car, which started the race fourth on the grid with Roussell at the wheel, briefly slipped to sixth in the opening hour, before making a charge to the front. With two and a half hours remaining, Roussell took over from Rojas in fifth and battled with the front runners, eventually taking the lead. The 19-year-old Frenchman dived up the inside of the overall leader at Copse just before the halfway mark, and would hold the top spot until Hirokawa took over for the final stint.
Hirakawa continued to lead upon getting in the car, but was on used tyres. With time winding down and a 30-second lead, the Japanese driver battled hard to hold the position, but had to settle for second after being passed in the final minutes. Nevertheless, it was an impressive result for the trio, in their first race together.
“Leo was a bit ragged at the start,” team principal Elton Julian commented after the race. “But he really redeemed himself when he got in for his second stint. We knew we’d struggle at the end with the tyres being worn after Ryo’s spin in Qualifying, so we’re extremely pleased with such a good points haul. At the end of the season we may realise how crucial the result was.”
Memo Rojas, driver of the Number 22 said post race: “If you feel this disappointed to finish second place you know you are doing something good! The car was fast, the team worked well together, the signs are very good that this could be a very good year.”
DragonSpeed’s Number 21 ORECA 07 Gibson in the race meanwhile, finished down in 11th spot after a gearbox issue ended its chances of victory in the first half of the race after Ben Hanley took a decisive lead from Pole Position. The car’s pace was nevertheless encouraging though, with Hanley setting the fastest time of the race, a 1:47.474, on the fourth lap.
“It was a really good performance from the team,” Hanley said, commenting on the race. “The car was quick all weekend, we were just unlucky that we had that small gearbox issue which cost us some laps. We’re looking forward to Monza now, we’re competitive and have potential to win races this year, that’s the main thing.”
Next up on the 2017 European Le Mans Series calendar is the trip to Monza, Italy, for Round 2 of the season on the 14th of May.
