BELFAST’S Charlie Eastwood believes Corvette Racing had the pace to challenge for a first win at the Circuit of the Americas had they not been hit by the Lamborghini of LMGT3 rivals, Iron Dames.
The damage incurred in the accident forced the number 81 Z06 GT3.R to be retired after only 137 laps despite mechanics’ best efforts of to get it to the end of Sunday’s Lone Star Le Mans six-hour contest in Texas.
Mid-race contact came during Rui Andrade’s stint behind the wheel as he put the Corvette – on its home round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) – in contention for a potential victory.
The impact broke the front left bodywork and although he returned to the pits and handed over the reins to Eastwood, it was only then that the true extent of the damage began to properly reveal itself.
With Eastwood forced to pit, and the car moved inside the team garage, an inspection confirmed a new toe link was required. Despite rejoining the action, further problems surfaced, and the call was then taken to retire the car to prevent further harm.
It was a disappointing way to see a potential silverware finish disappear, especially as the squad started the contest from the third row of the LMGT3 grid in fifth.
“This is one that slipped away, definitely,” said a frustrated Eastwood, whose wait for a maiden podium in WEC with the American squad continues.
“The Corvette had been incredible from Free Practice One all the way through. Unfortunately, the contact Rui had from the Iron Dames popped the toe link out on the rear-left; the car was grabbing and things down the straight pretty badly.
“However, we still had a pretty good pace even with it not being 60 per cent right. We tried a few things, but it was not right. There was no point putting anything at risk so we called it a day. It is a shame,” he added.
Alex Riberas in the number 27 Heart of Racing-run Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 scored a first maximum score of the year at the weekend, taking the chequered flag with a resounding 20.5 seconds in hand over the number 92 Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by the Manthey Purerxcing squad.
Teams and drivers now face a quick turnaround for the penultimate round of WEC, which takes them to Fuji Speedway in Japan for the Six Hours of Fiji on the weekend of September 14/15.
