Photo: Focus Pack Media/WEC
Ben Keating believes there’s “nothing to lose” in the final two FIA World Endurance Championship races of the season after already clinching the GTE-Am title for Corvette Racing last time out.
Keating and co-drivers Nick Catsburg and Nico Varrone enter Sunday’s penultimate round of the season at Fuji Speedway with an insurmountable lead in the drivers’ championship, following key class victories at the 1000 Miles of Sebring, 6 Hours of Portimao and 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Additionally, the Bronze-rated Texan put the No. 33 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R on pole for the 6 Hours of Fuji, his third top qualifying effort of the season out of seven events.
“It’s been interesting,” Keating told Sportscar365. “There’s something competitiveness-wise, in the way I approach the weekend that I’ve questioned my competitive edge.
“OK, we’re still competing for a race win but without that same level of stress of what’s going to happen, it doesn’t have the same level of worry.
“It just feels different.”
Keating explained that the car rolled out of the container struggling for pace in Friday’s pair of Free Practice sessions, prior to an overhaul in setup made before qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
“We were struggling with our setup,” he explained.
“The team has been trying to use everything that they did last year with the GTE-Pro car and the fact is, it’s the same car but two different chassis and for whatever reason they like two different things.
“Every time it hasn’t worked for us in this car. They made some big changes, changing the aero balance, changing the toe, changing the differential, all before qualifying, and it was magical when I got out there,
“Before that, when we are chasing our tail a bit in mixed conditions, it was a weird feeling from my standpoint of saying, ‘I’m not happy with where we are but does it really matter?’
“We have a lot to gain if we can win a race but we have nothing to lose.”
Keating added: “I think about last year in Bahrain in the Aston Martin. I had to finish the race. I had to finish a certain way and I had to be conservative. I had to make sure nobody took me out.
“It’s definitely a different mindset of not taking any risks and not letting anybody get close to me. It didn’t really matter if I won the race as long as I finished.
“This year, you don’t have any of that to worry about. Nobody does for that matter.
“We’re just going to charge hard for the win.”
When asked if there is a different feeling within the Pratt Miller-run camp this weekend, Keating said they’re still in sort of a celebratory mood after already securing nearly all of the key objectives on the season.
“Every weekend as a team, we’re all kind of celebrating still,” he said. “It’s fun to be together. It’s fun to talk about being world champions.
“It’s unusual that we’ve achieved it with two races to go.
“The air around the garage has changed. There’s a little bit of a relief but there’s also a little bit of pride. This was something special this year.
“This season continues to be a fairy-tale season. Every time you think it can’t get any better, it keeps getting better. I’m just trying to soak up and enjoy every last minute.”
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