Speedy Racing Team Sebah race report

SPEEDY RACING TEAM SEBAH, SECOND AT LE MANS 24 HOURS!

The Swiss team achieved a superb result by finishing second in the LMP2 class in only their second attempt at the Le Mans 24 Hours race. After a solid race, the team's Lola #33 supported by REBELLION and LEMO finished just behind the works assisted Porsche #31 of Danish Team Essex.

Jonny Kane, Benjamin Leuenberger and Xavier Pompidou drove faultlessly to obtain this result in a race made difficult by the heat and the many interventions of the safety car.

Jonny KANE: "It is fantastic! It is the first time that I've finished the 24 Hours and it's in second position. I took great pleasure at the wheel, it hasn't hit home yet that we've achieved such a great result! The team managed to keep the car running, even when we encountered a few minor problems and they called the rights shots with the strategy.

Benjamin LEUENBERGER: "It is a great emotion for me, it was fantastic to stand on the podium in front of such a big crowd. It is like a dream which becomes reality. It was my birthday Thursday, so this second place is very a nice gift! Thank you to all the team who've done a remarkable job all week."

Xavier POMPIDOU: "Enormous! It is really an enormous thrill for me to stand on Le Mans 24 Hour podium for the second time, eleven years after my first time (2nd LMP1 in 1998). SPEEDY RACING TEAM SEBAH is young in prototype and now is part of Le Mans legend, it is a great reward for the people and the partners who support this programme.

The other car of SPEEDY RACING TEAM SEBAH, number 13, LMP1 Lola - Aston Martin also finished the race after being delayed at twenty-two hours into the race by a gear box failure.

The Lola driven by Andrea Belicchi, Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost was heading for a very good result while fighting with Team Kolles Audi for 6th place in the general classification after 21 hours of the race and 3rd of the "petrol" prototypes. After managing to replace the faulty gearbox components, the car re-entered the race and crossed the line in fourteenth position.

Andrea BELICCHI: "the gearbox locked in 4th gear and I could not change ratio any more. I managed to bring the car back to the pits and the team carried out a repair which kept us in the race. It is disappointing to see a good performance disappearing like this, but that's racing. Even so, it's a great achievement to make it to the finish."

Neel JANI: "It was my first time at Le Mans and I must say that I am captivated by it. I am used to racing against competitors alone in my single-seater, but here the challenge is also towards ourself to deliver the right pace, with teamates. I would like to be back the next year and why not to aim at the victory if we can fight the diesel with better regulations."

Nicolas PROST: "It is disappointing to lose a good result so close to the goal, but we showed that we are on the pace of the best private teams such as Pescarolo or Oreca. We will continue to work hard and improve to be in front of the next time."

With one second place in LMP2 and the two cars making it to the chequered flag, SPEEDY RACING TEAM SEBAH came away from the race happy with their results in the 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours.

-credit: speedy-racing.com