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Pierson: Portimao Win “Means a Lot” After Sebring Heartbreak

Josh Pierson relieved with victory at Portimao after disastrous race at Sebring…

Photo: MPS Agency

Josh Pierson was delighted to bounce back from heartbreak at the FIA World Endurance Championship season-opener by taking the LMP2 class win at the 6 Hours of Portimao.

Pierson, teaming up with full-season co-driver Oliver Jarvis and Tom Blomqvist’s stand-in Giedo van der Garde, took victory in a one-two finish for United Autosports.

The result represented a significant upturn in fortunes for Pierson and the No. 23 United entry, which retired from the lead of last month’s 1000 Miles of Sebring when a loose TV camera triggered the car’s onboard ignition off switch.

After the events in Florida, Pierson stated that the result in Portugal was the best possible way to recover from the setback.

“It’s been a rough start to the year, there’s no other way to put it,” he told Sportscar365.

“It was an unfortunate DNF at Sebring that was out of our control and a really tough pill to swallow because we had a dominating lead and the car was just on rails.

“We had a fantastic car and I have all of the United Autosports team to thank for that.

“Really disappointing in Sebring and there’s no better way to come back than the top step of the podium. So super, super excited and happy for everyone involved.

“For me personally it hasn’t been the best year so far, but it’s great to finally get that first win in.

“A big upswing in confidence coming into the next round.”

Pierson went on to admit that the events in Sebring affected him mentally, especially considering he also retired from the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring the day after the WEC race.

“I was, really really disappointed in Sebring and I walked out of that event with my head hung really low.

“Because it wasn’t only the 1000 Miles for us, Giedo was right there with me in the Twelve Hours and we had a disappointing DNF there as well.

“So the whole of Super Sebring in general was really disappointing for me and I think it really had an impact on my mental state.

“Racing is a mental game and it’s about how you come back. I told myself walking out ‘I’m just going to push as hard as I can to win the next one and to get on with it.

“So I’m really happy for everyone at United Autosports and for as us well.

“It means a lot to come back this way and now we’ve got to go and give a nice comeback to Tom [Blomqvist] as well at Spa.”

Late Radio Issue “A Bit Nerve-Wracking”

United’s run to victory was almost derailed in the latter stages of the race when the radio on board the No. 23 car began malfunctioning with Van der Garde at the wheel.

As the Dutchman explained, he was originally set to carry out a triple stint, but that was cut short when the issue took hold.

“We had no communication and they thought it was my helmet, so that’s why we had to change to Olly,” he said. “But he finished off in style.”

This led to a chaotic pitstop where van der Garde brought the car to a halt and frantically gestured to the team to try and bring across the problem, while mechanics kept their distance from the car as the team also needed to serve a five-second penalty for an earlier pitstop infringement.

After that was completed, Jarvis rushed over to the cockpit for the unplanned driver change, after which Van der Garde could be heard on the broadcast shouting about the radio malfunction to team personnel.

Only after the change took place was it discovered that the issue was with the car, rather than van der Garde’s own equipment.

“I was done and got the call thirty seconds before Giedo boxed to get ready,” said Jarvis.

“Jumped in and unfortunately, there was an issue with the radio on the car side. So the team and myself did our best to communicate via the pit board.

“I kind of had to think for myself and we managed to make it work.”

Pierson, who had already completed his drive time, watched the whole saga unfold from the garage.

“It was definitely a bit nerve-wracking,” he admitted.

“I think I was especially shaken a little bit when Giedo was in the car and all of a sudden [the team] says box and I’m thinking ‘all right, here we go, the stop’s coming up.’

“I knew we had to serve that penalty. When he went by after we had told him to pit, everyone got a little nervous.

“Are we going to make it? Do we have enough fuel? He came back in, he did the right thing.

“He saw on the dash that he had enough and brought it back home. And in the end, we were able to capitalize on that and walk away with the win.”

Davey Euwema is Sportscar365's European Editor. Based in The Netherlands, Euwema covers the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, among other series.

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