Competing in the LMP2 Class, Eurasia was the first non-WEC team home and if a Pro-Am Class had existed in 2016 we would have been victors in class. Chinese bronze driver, Pu Jun Jin, was joined in the Oreca 05 by Nick De Bruijn and Tristan Gommendy. The team was probably the first South East Asian team to compete with the same team members who compete in Asia and beyond. We were not sub-contracting to a European based operation.
Eurasia topped the LMP2 timing sheets in the Official test day with Gommendy setting a blistering lap time. It certainly raised a few eyebrows in the paddock! However come qualifying it all went wrong when Pu Jun Jin had a massive accident virtually destroying the car. Gommendy was ready to set a qualifying time on new tyres but a he did not get a chance. Somehow the monocoque was not badly damaged which allowed our crew of Filipino mechanics to rebuild the car, finishing it on race morning just before the warm up. Prior to the race start they had already gone 34 hours with no sleep, not the best preparation for a 24 hour race.
The race started behind the safety car due to torrential rain and within a couple of laps the car was in the pit garage with an engine issue. It turned out to be a fault with the Throttle Position Sensor which was not unheard of hence a back up was meant to kick in. The engine support engineer had forgotten to set it up but the rather wide eyed and crestfallen guy quickly got us going again. Three laps down only 30 minutes into the race!
The rest of the race was almost perfect with no penalties and no issues or off-track moments. The mechanics had gone for 58 hours by race end without any proper sleep making their pit stops even more impressive.
What was kept quiet was the fact that Pu Ju Jin hurt his ankle quite badly and was unable to walk without assistance. The Medical Director cleared him to drive on condition he could get out of the car at the pitstops without aid. We had a delegation of officials observe the first few stops involving Pu Jun Jin. He passed with flying colours albeit we had a few people ready to catch him as he stumbled into the garage and to carry him behind the backdrops.
Finishing Le Mans feels like winning. The 24h is an event like no other. The effort required to compete is huge and the event itself with the long build up, scrutineering in the town centre, the drivers parade in town and all the razzmatazz makes it unique. Add in the huge crowds with many camping for the whole week, the constant partying in the villages around the circuit plus the challenges to the driver and car the circuit provides.
We went home tired but very happy that we had demonstrated we could run with the best in endurance racing. The owners of the farmhouse where we stayed were on the lawn when we arrived with bottles of champagne and lots of food set up for us. A fitting end to the greatest race on the planet. We all slept very well that night!
