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Belfast Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Strong qualifying puts us in hunt to savour 24 Hours of Le Mans delight, insists Charlie Eastwood
Eastwood and team-mates Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy picked up the pace when it really mattered ahead of the marathon event in France and will start from the third row of the grid. Although they still have some work to do, particularly in respect of extracting extra speed from their TF Sport-run machine around the 8.467-mile Circuit de la Sarthe, the trio are in the ballpark in the build-up to the biggest motorsport meeting on the calendar. In Thursday's two-stage Hyperpole session, Eastwood successfully advanced out of the 12-car field with the second-fastest time, recording a 3:54.646 lap, which was followed by Andrade's career-best GT time at Le Mans – a 3:55.740 effort – on his final circuit to stay in sixth spot. From there, the yellow and black car has a decent chance of climbing up through the field during the opening exchanges of the race, which is due to get under way at 3pm BST. Starting ahead of them is the pole-sitting Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage, the No.21 factory AF Corse Ferrari 296 and the No.46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo thanks to a superb lap by the former MotoGP race winner and title holder Valentino Rossi. A strong result would also help reignite Eastwood's FIA World Endurance Championship campaign as Le Mans offers two sets of points scoring opportunities across the 24 hours. 'Clearly, the top couple of cars are super-fast, but we have not been the sixth-fastest car since we've been here all week. I think all three of us did a really good job,' reflected Eastwood, who triumphed in his class in 2020 when he was part of the Aston Martin Racing family. 'We are not the fastest, but we are definitely not the slowest – we are in the mix for sure and I feel that we can definitely fight from sixth on the grid come race day. 'The Corvette and the team have been super-faultless. 'We have been tuning the car more and more to a good place. 'As we have in the last couple of races, we have executed really well up to now. We just need to make sure we continue to execute this weekend as well.'
The Independent
08-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
F1 Academy champion gives health update after massive fireball crash
Former F1 Academy champion Marta Garcia has reassured fans she is recovering in hospital after a frightening fireball crash in which she was momentarily trapped in her smoke-filled Porsche car. Garcia, the first F1 Academy champion in 2023, was taken to hospital for precautionary checks after a high-speed crash while racing for the Iron Dames in Saturday's Le Mans Cup race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Garcia was leading the GT3 Class when her Porsche 911 was sent off track after being clipped from behind by Elesio Donno in the AF Corse Ferrari, smashing into a tyre barrier and rebounding back onto the circuit, with the vehicle then catching fire. The 24-year-old was then scarily stuck in her car before marshals broke through the passenger-side door to help her escape from the smoke-filled cockpit. 'Yesterday, I experienced one of the toughest moments in my career,' Garcia wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of her in the hospital where she was taken for precautionary checks after inhaling some smoke. She was released from hospital on Tuesday morning. 'I had a very heavy crash at the Circuit de Barcelona, with an impact of 21 Gs. Another driver hit me from behind and I went straight into a tyre barrier next to the wall. 'The car caught fire, and although I managed to get out by myself, I inhaled some smoke and felt dizzy afterwards. 'I couldn't open my door because it was stuck from the impact, and I started panicking as more and more smoke was coming into the car… until the marshals broke the co-driver's door and got me out. 'I'm so thankful to them for reacting so quickly and for the job they did.' Donno, 20, took full blame for the incident and apologised with a statement on Instagram, saying: 'I would like to sincerely apologize to Marta Garcia and the Iron Dames team for the incident during the Michelin Le Mans Cup race at Montmelò. 'I take full responsibility for my actions on track. Sorry again.' Garcia's Iron Dames team also released a statement, expressing their 'gratitude' to the trackside marshals for their quick response. 'We are pleased to confirm that Marta Garcia is recovering well following her incident,' a statement read. 'After undergoing extensive medical examinations, she has been cleared of any major injuries and is already back to smiling. As a precaution, she stayed under observation overnight and will have a follow-up assessment. 'We extend our gratitude to the trackside and hospital medical teams, as well as to all the fans for their support. Marta's health and safety remain our top priority, and we look forward to seeing her back on track soon.' Garcia won the inaugural F1 Academy title – the all-female racing series – in 2023 and raced in the Formula Regional European Championship last year, though failed to score a point in 20 races.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Rolex 24, Hour 19: Crash shakes up LMP2
A significant contender in LMP2 has fallen after Colton Herta's crash at the West Horseshoe took CrowdStrike Racing by APR out of contention with five hours left at Daytona. Further inspection when the car was brought back to the pits uncovered a broken rear wishbone. Whether that broken suspension was the cause or the effect of Herta spinning and crashing at the West Horseshoe is yet to be revealed. But it brought out a full course yellow for the first time since sunrise. Algarve Pro Racing's crew got the car back out on track about 10 minutes ago after rebuilding most of the rear of the car but the No. 04 machine, a strong contender for the LMP2 win today, is now 10 laps down in its class. The race restarted with five hours and 21 minutes to go, but immediately went back to FCY for a three-car incident in GTD. Alessandro Pier Guidi in the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari and Scott Andrews in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG spun going into Turn 1, and Pier Guidi crashed into the side of the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini of Misha Goikhberg. The Lamborghini was towed away, while the Mercedes and Ferrari both limped back to the pits. Green flag racing is back underway despite a Turn 1 collision between Filipe Albuquerque (No. 10 Cadillac) and Marco Wittmann (No. 25 BMW) that caused a left-rear puncture for the BMW. Nick Tandy leads in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, ahead of teammate Matt Campbell in the No. 6 Porsche, and Kevin Magnussen in the No. 24 RLL BMW M Hybrid V8. Scott Dixon is fourth in the No. 93 MSR Acura ARX-06 despite just picking up a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pits. Dane Cameron and AO Racing are fighting at the front of LMP2, Matthieu Vaxiviere is a close second for AF Corse. The No. 99 leads the No. 88, with the No. 8 Tower Motorsports car of Sebastian Alvarez in third and the No. 18 ERA Motorsport car of Ryan Dalziel in fourth. Neil Verhagen leads GTD PRO for Paul Miller Racing in the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, from the No. 4 Corvette of Nico Varrone, the No. 65 Ford of Dennis Olsen and the other Corvette, the No. 3 of Antonio Garcia. Marvin Kirchhöfer maintains the No. 13 AWA Corvette's lead in GTD but he has the Mercedes-AMG of Kenton Koch, the Porsche of Tom Sargent, and the Aston Martin of Zacharie Robichon right behind him. HOUR 19 STANDINGS Story originally appeared on Racer
