Watts eager for Strakka return

Danny Watts is eagerly anticipating Strakka Racing’s return to competition for the first time since the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours as the team’s Dome S103 makes its long-awaited debut at this weekend’s Six Hours of Silverstone.

Originally slated to appear at the World Endurance Championship season finale in Brazil before a string of homologation issues set in, Strakka’s Nissan-engined mount has completed thousands of miles of testing and in the proven hands of Watts, Jonny Kane and Nick Leventis, should be a realistic podium contender at the team’s home race.

However, with the notoriously fickle British weather likely to play a part in deciding the outcome on Sunday and the LMP2 field boosted by the addition of Oreca’s brand new 05, Watts is hesitant to make any firm predictions. 

Strakka's Danny Watts (left) and Jonny Kane were both present
at the WEC launch in London last week (Adrenal Media)

“I’ve definitely got itchy feet! It’s been a long year and a half but hopefully the hard work with the new car will pay off at Silverstone,” said the 35 year-old, who has been with the team since 2009. 

“LMP2 is tough, there are a lot of top teams and a lot of top drivers in it and the only opportunity we’ve had to see where we are compared with everyone else was at the Prologue, where you don’t get a true representation because you don’t know what people’s run plans are – and I’m sure some people won’t have shown their full hand either.

“So far the car has run really reliably and from a driving perspective it does everything you ask, so to get straight in and get points on the board at round one is the aim. But we’ve been there before in the past when it’s been raining halfway through qualifying or it’s been raining halfway through the race, so a lot of it’s going to come down to strategy,” he added. “You rely so much on your strategists and engineers on the pit-wall to call it just right with the weather in terms of being on the correct tyre at the right time, that’s where you can lose or gain a lot of time. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens.”

A lack of race sharpness will be inevitable to some extent, but Watts is confident that it won’t be an excuse for Strakka come raceday.

“There’s a few things we need to learn in terms of rule changes and pitstop practise and so on, but we’re experienced in sportscar racing now, so it shouldn’t take long to dust off the cobwebs,” he said. “You never lose it and as soon as you get back into it, you’re naturally getting back into your self-discipline. We’re very optimistic.”