Drudi: Final Laps to LMGT3 Win “Never Ending” Without A/C

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Mattia Drudi said the last laps of Sunday’s 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas felt like they were “never ending” after the air conditioning system failed in his No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

The Aston Martin factory driver completed the final 45-minute green flag stretch to the checkered flag in the heat-stricken enduro without working A/C to give the American squad its second FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 class victory, two years on from its maiden triumph.

Additionally, for Drudi and his FIA Silver-rated co-driver Zach Robichon, it marked both their first career wins in the car they shared with team principal Ian James.

“The team made a really good call when [we swapped], Zach and me, undercutting the Porsche in front of me,” Drudi explained.

“I had clean air on new tires and pulled out a bit from the group behind me.

“After the last safety car, there was one Hypercar behind me on the restart that made a little bit of a gap, so it made my life a bit easier.

“I tried to push as much as I could the first four, five laps. It worked out because I had a five or six-second gap to manage.”

However, during the race’s second Virtual Safety Car-turned safety car period, which came out with 1 hour and 10 minutes to go, the A/C began to malfunction.

“It wasn’t so easy,” said Drudi. “It was getting hotter and hotter.

“I was more fighting with myself then with other cars. It was just not ideal. Of course the track is quite physical.

“There’s a long straight but the first sector is quite demanding for the car and drivers. It was not easy but the last laps were like never ending, but it worked out.”

Drudi, however, still managed to take a controlling victory, finishing five seconds ahead of second-placed Ayhancan Guven in the No. 91 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo.

The class win broke a 14-race winless streak for the team and came on home soil of sorts for the U.S.-based Briton James and Canadian Robichon.

“It feels like a weight off our shoulders, a little bit of a ‘finally,'” Robichon told Sportscar365.

“We’ve done a lot of the right things in different races this year and last year for that matter, and for one reason or another, haven’t been able to close the deal.

“Today I was very happy that we didn’t find a way to lose. The team did a great job. They always do. I have full confidence in them.

“Ian and Mattia both did perfect jobs. It made my life easy in that middle stint and kept our head down. We knew we had the pace and the car would make it to the end if we were nice to it.

“I think that was a big part of it, making sure we didn’t take any unnecessary risks because we knew we had the pace around here. High speed, high grip is exactly what the Aston loves the best.”

James: Double LMGT3 Podium, Valkyrie Result “Testament” How Far Team’s Come

For James, Sunday’s race was a banner day, with the LMGT3 pole-sitting No. 23 entry of Eduardo Barrichello, Jonny Adam and Gray Newell finishing third in class, marking Heart of Racing’s first WEC double podium.

Additionally, the No. 007 Aston Martin Valkyrie of Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble equaled the car’s best-ever WEC finish in fourth.

“There’s a lot of American influence in the team and the funding comes from America,” said James. “We go racing for Seattle Children’s Hospital every time we hit the track. It’s always great to do it on home turf.

“Getting the sister car on the podium was [also] great. To have two cars in WEC on the podium is real hard [achievement]. I’m super proud of that.

“The Valkyrie was only two seconds off its first podium. To be out here, fighting with these guys in Hypercar with the Valkyrie, I think it’s a testament to how far it’s come.

“To be honest as a race fan, just watching the racing today was pretty intense. I don’t have many nails left. It was good racing throughout the field for six hours and that’s what it’s all about.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John