Five things we learned at the Dubai 24 Hour

The Dubai 24 Hours provided welcome respite for small population of eccentrics starved of their motorsport fix over the winter break. Here are the five things it taught us.

1.       Audi’s R8 LMS is the real deal…

Mies set fastest lap in the Land Audi, although the result wasn't to be (Creventic).

From the moment Laurens Vanthoor set the pace in Wednesday’s pre-event test, it looked like Audi had the legs on the rest of the field. Even after Creventic applied a 40 kilo weight penalty on the eve of first practice, those first suspicions were confirmed when the unheralded Christer Jons went quickest in qualifying for C.ABT Racing, with Land Motorsport’s Christopher Mies second. Mies would go on to set the race’s fastest lap – a 1:58.7 – one of only four cars in the entire race (all Audis) to dip under two minutes. Although Land were denied a second-place finish by crippling gearbox problems, it was somehow apt that it was WRT who took home the spoils with the holy grail of pace and reliability.

2.       …But older generation can still do the job

Horfor Racing took fourth overall and A6-Am honours in the SLS AMG (Creventic).

With all three of the new Mercedes AMGs suffering problems and Konrad’s Lamborghini falling at the final hurdle, the stage was set for the older-spec Ferrari 458s and Mercedes SLS’ to shine. Whilst Scuderia Praha didn’t seize their opportunity (more on that later), it is worth noting that they led even after gentleman driver Jiri Pisarik had completed his mandatory drive time. The 458 didn’t have the one lap pace of the Audi (but then few did), but consistency looked set to reap rewards until their race-ending crash occurred. As for the #16 Black Falcon crew – they demonstrated that Cinderella stories can and do happen, every once in a while.

3.       Creventic not afraid to lay down the law

Pictured en-route to victory in the Brno 12hr last year, Scuderia Praha
won't be in Mugello after being hit with a one-race ban (Creventic).

Issuing suspensions is of itself a rare occurrence in sportscar racing – it usually takes something of Matteo Malucelli proportions for that to occur – and even rarer still for the event organisers override the stewards, but that’s what happened on Saturday as Creventic announced that Scuderia Praha would not be welcome at the 12hr of Mugello. It follows what Creventic deemed an “avoidable collision” in the tenth hour between Matteo Cressoni – who was leading at the time – and the Primus Racing Ginetta of Thomas Martinsson, who had to be cut free of the wreckage after the incident. "We would like to emphasise our philosophy to offer a platform for amateur drivers and teams to do their hobby: racing for fun,” the statement added. “We expect all competitors to respect our sporting objectives and to adjust driving behaviour accordingly.”

4.       Porsche’s future is in good hands

de Philippi impressed on his first appearance in an Audi (Creventic).

Although he was driving an Audi in Dubai, Connor de Philippi’s breakout performance showed once again that Porsche know a talent when they see one. The American doesn’t know for certain what he’ll be doing this year, though further outings for Land Motorsport seem likely, but Porsche would be foolish not to tie him down alongside fellow Junior scheme products Klaus Bachler and Sven Muller. Black Falcon driver Bachler set a 2:03.7 in qualifying to top the 991 class in an impressive 24th overall – ahead of several A6 (GT3) runners – before his car encountered problems in the race, while Muller’s Lechner Porsche ran faultlessly to win the class by five laps. Muller, who turns 24 in February, was called upon to drive a Manthey GTE-Pro Porsche at Spa last year when Porsche found themselves stretched thin, and, like Bachler – a regular in the Proton Competition GTE-Am Porsche – appears to have a very bright future within the brand.

5.       Dubai needs to cater to photographers

In several respects, Dubai can't be faulted. Temperatures that really ought to be illegal in January, spectacular backdrops and free Wifi access in the paddock all make for a brilliant place to go racing, but not everything was a bed of roses. With no designated photo holes, circuit access for trackside photographers was extremely limited; Creventic would do well to address this before the tenth anniversary race is held next year.

WRT Audi win Dubai war of attrition

Team WRT started 2016 on a winning note, with Laurens Vanthoor, Stuart Leonard, Michael Meadows and Alain Ferte taking victory in an attrition-filled Dubai 24 Hours. 

The Audi quartet had to fight back from one lap down, after losing three minutes queueing for fuel in hour two, but their task was made easier as rivals suffered mechanical problems and were involved in incidents in traffic.

Vanthoor interviewed on the podium after winning the Dubai 24 (Creventic).

Despite being unable to match the one-lap pace of the new R8 LMS, Scuderia Praha's Ferrari 458 was firmly in contention for victory when Matteo Cressoni collided with a slower Ginetta in hour 10. The driver of the Ginetta, Thomas Martinsson, was attended to by medical teams during a lengthy Code 60 stoppage.

Once racing resumed, the Land Motorsport Audi driven by Connor de Philippi, Christopher Mies, Marc Basseng and Carsten Tilke managed to build a lead of almost a full lap over the WRT Audi, when de Philippi ran out of fuel, losing several laps while the car was recovered to the pits. 

Audi factory drivers Mies and Basseng propelled the car back to second during the early hours of the morning, but a worsening gearbox problem forced its retirement with just two hours remaining.

That allowed the #16 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG of Oli Webb, Adam Christodoulou, Abdulaziz al Faisal, Oliver Morley and Frank Montecalvo to finish a remarkable second, having started 98th and last. After their original race chassis burned to ground in practice, Black Falcon mechanics worked through the night to prepare last year's race-winning chassis, which had been on display in the team's hospitality unit, and were rewarded with a clean race, five laps behind the winners.

The result for the old car came amid a weekend to forget for Mercedes' new AMG GT3 in its first 24 hour race, with both Black Falcon entries retiring before half distance. 

RAM Racing did at least soldier on to finish 19th overall and 11th in class, but a broken oil cooler during the night had long since resigned Tom Onslow-Cole, Paul White, Thomas Jager, Stuart Hall and Roald Goethe to an extended test session.

The new AMG GT3 had a debut to forget, but it's day will come (Creventic).

The polesitting C.ABT Racing Audi of Christer Jons, Isaac Tutumlu, Daniel Abt, Andreas Weishaupt and Matias Henkola recovered from a spell in the pits to complete the podium after the ailing Konrad Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan suffered an engine failure with twenty minutes to go.

Konrad's demise promoted A6-Am winner Horfor Racing to fourth overall, one place ahead of the Optimum Motorsport Audi of Frank Stippler, Joe Osborne, Ryan Ratcliffe and Flick Haigh, which led the first hour and had been a victory contender until a slow puncture and contact with an SP3 Aston Martin caused delays.

Lechner Racing Middle East secured a one-two finish in the 991 class, with back-to-back stints from Jaap Van Lagen and Sven Muller ensuring the #40 car finished comfortably ahead of the #81, which featured Indy Lights racer Ed Jones.

This article also appeared on Autosport.com

Dubai 24h Talking Points

Ahead of the ninth running of the Dubai 24 hour, The Motorsport Journal runs through the seven things to keep an eye on.

1.       Bragging rights for pole position

Land Motorsport's Audi will be a contender for pole with Mies (Christopher Mies).

Everybody knows that winning pole position at a 24 hour race counts for little, but that’s not to say it won’t be hotly contested, especially  considering the calibre of driver the Dubai 24H has attracted for 2016. 

Having now fully recovered from the leg injuries sustained at Misano which cost him a chance at the Blancpain Sprint Series title, Laurens Vanthoor (WRT #19) is an obvious contender, but don’t count out his Audi colleagues Markus Winkelhock (Car Collection #33) and Christopher Mies (Land Motosport #28), FIA GT World Cup winner Maro Engel (Black Falcon #2), Mercedes counterparts Bernd Schneider (Black Falcon #3) and Renger van der Zande (GDL Motorsport #67), or even the #88 Dragon Ferrari of Matt Griffin, who will share with underrated Briton Alex Kapadia. 

2.       First big test for new Mercedes AMG GT3

The new Mercedes AMG GT3 looks mean in RAM colours (Tom Onslow-Cole).

Black Falcon have racked up three wins in the last four years with their trusted SLS AMG and expand to three cars for 2016, but the arrival of a new car presents something of an unknown. Although the AMG GT3, an evolution of the SLS which shares the same engine, has undergone a rigorous testing programme to be ready for Dubai, nothing quite compares to a 24 race when it comes to ironing out weaknesses.

Whilst Black Falcon won’t be contesting the full 24H series, instead using Dubai as a warmup for their VLN and Blancpain campaigns, RAM Racing will be defending their 24H titles with the new car. Tom Onslow-Cole, Thomas Jäger and Paul White all return, with 2013 FIA WEC GTE-Am champion Stuart Hall and regular co-driver Roald Goethe coming on board for Dubai. 

3.       Optimum step up to A6 (GT3)

Optimum have tested extensively over the winter (Ryan Ratcliffe).

British GT stalwarts Optimum Motorsport will be gunning for outright honours for the first time having acquired a smart new Audi R8 LMS GT3, one of six entered in the race (one each from WRT, Phoenix, Land Motorsport GmbH and Christian Abt Racing, plus two from Mercedes converts Car Collection Motorsport). 

The Wakefield team’s familiar twosome of Welshman Ryan Ratcliffe and Joe Osborne will be joined by team regular Flick Haigh and the experience of Audi factory driver Frank Stippler, who claimed a surprise pole and finished second at the Spa 24 Hours last year.

4.       First 24 Hour for Renault RS01

The RS01 on the grid for a French GT race at Paul Ricarrd (Boutsen-Ginion).

The Renault RS01 is a quirky addition to the SP6 field, having been detuned from its original race spec in the one-make Renault Sport Trophy to be eligible for competition. Equipe Verschuur dipped a toe in the water at the Gulf 12 Hour, where it’s gentleman line-up finished tenth, managing a best lap-time two seconds off the pace set by Davide Rigon’s race-winning Kessel Ferrari.

Hoping for better on the RS01’s first foray into 24 hour racing this weekend will be the Boutsen-Ginion team. Frenchmen Eric Vaissiere, Andre-Alain Corbel and Daniel Waszczinski will share with Belgian Christophe de Fierlant.

5.       Indycar legend in Porsche

Dan Cammish (right) starts his first 24 hour race in the MSG Porsche (Martin Konrad).

You’d be forgiven for not recognising the majority of the line-up in the #91 HRT Performance Porsche, but the name Alex Tagliani is not one to be sniffed at. Now 43, the French-Canadian IndyCar veteran may have scaled back on his top-flight commitments to one-off appearances at Indianapolis, but as select road course outings with Team Penske in the NASCAR Xfinity Series have shown, ‘Tags’ has lost none of his speed, or his passion.  A promising endurance career beckons for the man who won pole for the 500 only five years ago and who has his own range of oatmeal cookies!

The 991 class features some very strong names; Alex Premat headlines the no. 92 B2F Competition entry, while the no. 40 Lechner Racing Middle East Porsche can boast the talents of Sven Muller – second in the Supercup last year – and Lada WTCC racer Jaap van Lagen, who won at Monaco in a one-off appearance with Fach Auto Tech. One to watch could be the no.63 Austrian MSG-entered Porsche, in which runaway Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion Dan Cammish will start his first 24 hour race alongside Facundo Regalia, who finished second to Daniil Kvyat in GP3 in 2013.  

6.       British GT teams to contest SP3

Century have partnered with the University of Bolton for 2016 (Century Motorsport).

The SP3 class for GT4 cars has attracted several names from the British GT grid, who will face up against a cluster of German and Dutch entered BMWs, the Italian Nova Race Ginettas and a Czech KTM X-Bow.

Century Motorsport are set to field two Ginetta G55s; the University of Bolton-backed no. 229 will be driven by team boss Nathan Freke and Anna Walewska – already confirmed as team-mates in British GT – with Ginetta Supercup champion Tom Oliphant and Aleksander Schjerpen completing a very strong looking line-up, while former BTCC racer Ollie Jackson and Jake Rattenbury headline the second car.

As well as their SP6 Audi, Optimum Motorsport keep faith in their Ginetta G55, which will be driven by 2007 British GT champion Bradley Ellis, Ade Barwick, Dan O’Brien and Elliott Norris.

Title contenders in GT3 for Motorbase last year, Rory Butcher and Liam Griffin team up once again in JW Bird Motorsport’s Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Liam’s brother Kieran, who raced for the team last year, and 2014 British GT4 champion Jake Giddings complete the line-up. 

Speedworks Motorsport have also entered an Aston Martin, with John Gilbert and Devon Modell the two named drivers when The Motorsport Journal went to press. Both race winners last year, Jamie Stanley and Oz Yusuf team up in Track Club’s Lotus Exige, where they will be joined by Adam Knight and Glenn Sherwood.

7.       Magic of Istanbul in A3 class

Dudek joins Fabien Barthez in the goalkeepers-turned racers club (Liverpool FC).

It can be tempting to overlook the smaller classes with such a quality SP6 entry battling for the outright victory, but the presence of Jerzy Dudek in the RTG by Gladysz Racing SEAT Leon Supercopa means that won’t be easy. 

The goalkeeper in Liverpool’s unforgettable comeback in the 2005 Champions League final, 42-year-old Dudek will be forever remembered for his instinctive double save from Andriy Shevchenko at the end of extra time to take the game to penalties, before saving from Andrea Pirlo and Shevchenko in the shootout. Hopefully the Pole will bring a sprinkling of that same magic to the A3 class too.

Stuart Leonard – On the hunt for two in two

Headline writers were spoiled for choice when it came to the Sepang 12 Hours winning crew. Laurens Vanthoor put any lingering doubts about his fitness firmly behind him in his first race back after a horrifying shunt at Misano by twice passing Christopher Mies’ sister WRT Audi in the closing stages, while Stephane Ortelli brought the curtain down on his glittering Audi career in the best possible fashion on the top step of the podium.

By no fault of his own, the efforts of WRT’s third driver on the day, Stuart Leonard, were somewhat overshadowed; not that they should have been however, the Brit defying the treacherous rain and stifling heat to mark his first appearance in the Audi R8 LMS with a victory.

Conditions at Sepang were constantly changing - by contrast,
Dubai ought to be a shade more predictable... (Olivier Beroud).

“It was fantastic, you couldn’t ask for a better debut with Audi and WRT,” Leonard reflects. “I’ll never enter a race if I don’t think I have a chance of winning and I knew there was a possibility, but like any endurance race, there’s so much you have to take into consideration. If you look back to the early stages, the Clearwater Ferrari was looking very strong, but then they had their problems which allowed us our chance.

“I was very nervous because Stephane and Laurens are both very reputable drivers and I was under pressure to perform, but WRT did a fantastic job, my team-mates helped me out and together we pulled through.”

Since their partnership was first established in 2012, a Vanthoor-driven WRT Audi has time and again shown the rest of the field a clean set of heels. For Leonard, who has campaigned a Prodrive Aston Martin Vantage under the Leonard Motorsport banner with mixed results, the opportunity to join the Belgian outfit was too good to turn down and quickly vindicated by the events of Sepang.  

“As much as I tried with my team and with Prodrive, for one reason or another it just didn’t quite work out,” says Leonard, whose sole win in Pro-Am came on home turf at Silverstone last season. “To be honest the Aston wasn’t great down the straights because of the BOP – if you looked at us coming off the corners, particularly at Paul Ricard at the Aston, even at Spa, we were slower than the BMWs which are renowned for being slow in a straight line.

Leonard: "WRT's record speaks for itself" (Olivier Beroud).

“WRT’s record speaks for itself in terms of its results and the way the team is run, it’s incredible to be a part of it and watch them work. The Audi was definitely a big step forward, extremely well-balanced, good traction off the corners and within a lap I felt extremely comfortable. You can really feel the aero working, it handles really well and sounds quite different as well with the V10. It’s a very impressive piece of kit, Audi have done a very good job on it.”

One month on from that first victory, Leonard is aiming to start 2016 in the same vein as he ended 2015 at the Dubai 24 Hours. Once again, he will be partnered by Audi ace Vanthoor and regular co-driver Michael Meadows, with bronze-rated Frenchman Alain Ferté - who raced legendary Group C machinery including Tom Walkinshaw’s Jaguars, the Sauber-Mercedes C11 and Peugeot’s Evo 1B in his heyday - also stepping in to fulfil Creventic's Bronze criteria.

“Of course [the win is the aim], we wouldn’t turn up otherwise!” says Leonard. “Mike is very impressive, he’s always been able to get up to speed very quickly on new circuits and in new cars, and I think the Audi will be better suited to his style given his success in Carrera Cup. I don’t expect there to be any issues, I’m confident that he’ll do a good job and learn a lot from Laurens.” 

Connor de Philippi - Not a junior anymore

Over the course of 24 Hours, 49 seconds may appear of little consequence, but that was the margin by which the Land Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 Cup took victory in the fourth running of the Dubai 24 Hours in 2009. In the years that followed, the first round of the 24H Series has grown exponentially to become the traditional curtain-raiser of the international GT racing calendar, with the entry for 2016 attracting some of the world’s top GT3 teams and drivers including defending winners Black Falcon, 24H Series champions RAM Racing and Blancpain behemoths WRT for the first time. 

When Land won the event back in 2009, Californian Connor de Philippi was busy winning the Skip Barber Dodge title and had his sights set on joining the likes of Foyt, Unser and Castroneves by conquering the Indianapolis 500. But since his single-seater career stalled due to a lack of funds, his career has taken a rather different path. Now a graduate of the Porsche Junior Programme after three seasons racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland and the F1-supporting Supercup, de Philippi will tackle Dubai in Land Motorsport’s brand-new Audi R8 LMS, the first time the 23 year-old has raced a sportscar that wasn’t built in Weissach.

de Philippi enjoyed the status of Porsche Junior for three years (Gruppe C GmbH).

“It’s exciting to be in something different, as a racing driver you’re always happy to expand the cars you’ve been able to check off on your list,” says de Philippi, who regards Wolfgang Land’s team, which ran him to tenth in points in the Carrera Cup Deutschland last year, as ‘like family’. “I think it will be a fun car to drive; obviously it’s proven itself winning 24 hour races already before it’s been delivered to customers, which is a rare thing to be a part of.

“The team only took delivery of it a few weeks ago and once they finished up they had to ship it out to Dubai, so the first time I drive it will be on the race weekend, but luckily I’ve already driven the track before. Our line-up for Dubai is really competitive, we have Christopher Mies and Marc Basseng, who both have a lot of experience with Audi and can help me out, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

January is shaping up to be a busy month for de Philippi, who heads to Dubai direct from the Roar Before 24 test at Daytona where he was putting miles on the Frikadelli Porsche he will campaign at the Rolex 24 Hours. Although he no longer has factory support from Porsche, who provide each of their juniors with 150,000 euros to negotiate a drive, de Philippi is optimistic that he will have the opportunity to remain a part of the Porsche family in some capacity.    

“Nothing is set in stone yet,” he admits. “The junior programmes are always only three years and 2015 was my third term, so at the moment they’re helping to find me a position, but it’s still early.  

The Californian will be back in a Porsche for the Rolex 24 (Frikadelli Racing).

“I’m very grateful to them because being part of the junior programme made racing in Europe possible; without the support and budget help they give, I would never have been able to make the transition. It’s very difficult for drivers from the US to find partners to go to Europe because although there are a lot of big US companies that are international, those companies are so big that to get to the right person to try and put a deal together is, I don’t want to say impossible, but very slim!

“They also gave us a lot of support with both the mental and physical training. Every winter we would have our fitness camps so we could spent six to eight days with the factory guys and get to meet them which was really inspiring, because their stories are the ones that we’re trying to write ourselves. 

"It was a huge advantage to spend with guys like Pat Long and Jorg Bergmeister who have been in the business for so long and pick their brains, because they’ve been through it all. It’s not necessarily that they can tell you what to do, but if they can tell you what not to do, that eliminates a couple of the boxes on the list of the things you were trying and gets you to the end solution much faster.”

But even with a wealth of information from the factory drivers to call upon, there’s nothing quite like learning from your own personal experience. Having spent three seasons finding his way around a Porsche, de Philippi has set his sights on a future in endurance racing, where the ability to extract every last tenth – a fundamental prerequisite for success in sprint racing – pales into significance against a mature temperament and consistency.

de Philippi tackles the Nurbrugring for Land Motorsport
in a Carrera Cup Deutschland meeting (Gruppe C GmbH).

“Once I got my first taste of endurance racing, I truly fell in love with it – I think it really suits my style,” he says. “One of the things I’ve struggled with in Supercup and Carrera Cup is that last bit of aggression; I’m a very smooth driver and over the long run I can be very consistent and easy on equipment, but when it came to running over every kerb and cutting the track in every corner possible I think I was maybe missing those extra two tenths that would put me in the top three to five cars. 

"It’s an art – I had the opportunity to race with Sean Edwards in 2013 and that’s what he was good at, he knew where he could cut and where he ride the kerbs and jump the car up in the air. When it came to qualifying he would pound everybody by two or three tenths, but in endurance you’re not going to be pounding the kerbs for 24 hours, it’s a completely different style.

“The best experience I had this year was definitely the 24 Hours of Nürburgring – it’s one of those places where if you put a wheel wrong, there’s no coming back. You don’t drive it to the 100^th percentile, you’re always having to scale back a little bit. I was doing the 12-2 stint in the middle of the race when it started sprinkling, but only on around a quarter of the track and a lot of the SP9 cars had big crashes. You experience so many things – working traffic is another aspect that I love. It’s such a mental game, you have to be well-rounded to be a good endurance driver.” 

The process behind motorsport livery design

Whether the Lotus John Player Special, Jeff Gordon’s Rainbow Warrior, the sleek gun-metal grey Sauber Mercedes C9 and Colin McRae’s 555 Subaru Impreza, everybody has their own personal favourite when it comes to iconic motorsport liveries. But how do their creators come up with the designs in the first place, and what qualities make for a livery that stands the test of time?

To find out, The Motorsport Journal asked Matt Reeves, who studied automotive design at the University of Swansea and has since established himself as an industry-leading livery designer with Prodrive’s Aston Martin Racing and Subaru World Rally teams, as well as 2014 Le Mans 24 Hour winners Jota Sport and British GT outfit Barwell Motorsport. To contact Matt, click here.

The Hanergy Aston Martin, designed by Matt, was among the most
colourful designs on the WEC grid in 2015 (Aston Martin Racing).

James Newbold (JN): How do you get into this line of work?

Matt Reeves (MR): Part of my third year major project at university was to work with Prodrive on a commercial car, which got me a foot in the door back in 2005. Initially, I started off with the automotive sector in Warwick, which was doing after-market design and limited edition body-packs and bits and pieces like that for Alfa Romeo and Subaru.

From there I got moved onto motorsport projects, originally mocking up base liveries for clients, taking photos of the car and mocking up what their brand would look like on the car. Not long after that I got moved into the corporate marketing department and it just progressed from there, working on race and rally programmes with Aston being the biggest of those.

Motorsport is a very tight business, people move onto different teams and once I was part-time freelance, I kept in contact with people and the work has kept coming in each year with new teams, some start-ups, some fairly established. A lot of it has been word of mouth, and as a result I’ve hardly had any time to do my own marketing, which is a good problem to have.

JN: Your schedule must be very different from the majority of people who work in motorsport, for whom the winter months are pretty quiet!

MR: Yes, it’s very seasonal obviously – there’s still bits and pieces, for the races through the year some of the teams require marketing materials, guest invitations, posters and things like that. I also work with another ex-Aston Martin colleague who runs a marketing PR business and together we have a few non-motorsport projects to keep me going through the off-season as it were – the period from October to March once the cars are out there is very busy, which I enjoy.

JN: Is there a temptation to stick with liveries that have proven successful in the past?

MR: Of course there’s always the iconic liveries in the back of your mind, but you try not take too many cues from them and steer more towards something that is your own work. My first livery which I was involved with from the start was the Gulf Aston Martin DBR9 in 2008 – I know it just looks like a stripe on a car, but there’s a lot more to it than that!  

JN: Is there a process you follow to ensure maximum visibility for sponsors?

MR: The first thing you have to plan out is where to put the logos and key branding to get the most coverage. People always think the side and the doors is a primary spot, but the front around the bumper area gets just as much. The rear wing is probably less of a valuable spot than people think, although it’s a bigger area. It’s just a matter of making sure brands have the exposure they’re after for the money they’re putting in. 

Once you’ve got those, it’s a case of looking at the sponsors’ design cues, if they have any, which mostly depends on whether they are going to be a title sponsor. The colours are fairly set – a lot of the teams that come to me will have a brand which they want to carry through on the car as well. For example, if it was black or blue then you wouldn’t pick up that it was sponsored by McDonalds.

JN: How satisfying is it to see your designs do well?

MR: It’s great to see it work out on the track, it makes it all worthwhile. The Gulf Aston Martin from 2008 was my first major one I worked on and to see it through from the concept stage, mock-ups in Photoshop, getting it through to production and to then win the GT class at Le Mans was incredible. I also worked on the Jota last year and did a slight update for this year.

New Indy Lights car a big step forward - Harvey

Jack Harvey believes his spending a second season in Indy Lights will stand him in good stead ahead of his planned graduation to the IndyCar Series in 2016.

Unlike fellow Briton Jack Hawksworth, who had prior experience of American racing in the Pro Mazda series and only spent a year in Lights before progressing, GP3 graduate Harvey opted to stick around for 2015, which heralded the arrival of the category’s first new chassis since 2002 – the Dallara IL-15.

Although Harvey, 22, missed out on the title for the second year in succession – after losing to Gabby Chaves on countback of second places in 2014, Spencer Pigot stepped up to the plate in 2015 – he felt the experience was a productive one and described the new car as a huge step forward.

Harvey got to celebrate at IMS after winning the Freedom 100 (Indy Lights).

“It was night and day to be honest – the difference between them both was huge,” said Harvey, who added victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to his repertoire in the Freedom 100.

“The only thing that I really knew going into the season was the tracks and my team. After that everything else was completely different; moving into a brand new chassis and a turbo engine took a bit of getting used to, but it was the same for everyone. I think overall we had a solid season, although it obviously wasn’t the end result we wanted.”

The 2012 British F3 champion made his IndyCar test debut at Sonoma with Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports and topped the times ahead of the likes of Nelson Piquet Jr. and Matthew Brabham, who already has a deal in place to attempt the Indianapolis 500 next May. But although the Honda-powered DW12 was the quickest car he’s ever driven, Harvey did admit that the step up wasn’t as big as he first expected.

“I was a little underwhelmed by the power of the IndyCar, which I think was testament to how fast the new Indy Lights car is,” he added. “It really has provided a great platform to progress into IndyCar; I think we showed that by being quickest of the rookies and right up there with the regular guys.”

Jack Harvey fact file

·       Harvey beat a strong field including Carlos Sainz Jr., Alex Lynn and Harry Tincknell to win the 2012 British F3 championship. Just two years later, the growth of the FIA European F3 championship and GP3 had made the series redundant.

·       Should Harvey complete his expected graduation to IndyCar, he will face up against former GP3 rival Conor Daly for the title of Rookie of the Year. In his single season in the category, won by current Red Bull F1 driver Daniil Kvyat, Harvey took two wins at Silverstone and Monza on his way to fifth in points.

·       Harvey’s career to date has been backed by the Racing Steps Foundation, which also boasts Formula E racer Oliver Turvey and Ferrari GT driver James Calado among its alumni. FR3.5 champion Oliver Rowland is seeking to become the first RSF-supported racer to reach F1. “If Ollie can be the first RSF driver to get to Formula One that would be amazing; he’s had a fantastic year, and best of luck to him", says Harvey. "We’ve raced together for a long time and we’ve been friends for a long time, so it would be nice to see him achieve that. It’s looking like he’s going to be in a good position next year in GP2, so we’ll have to see how it goes.”