𝗛𝘂𝗯𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵.
𝗟e Mans France August 22, 2021 :
HubAuto Racing have been unable to convert their incredulous Hyper Pole P1 position into a podium finish with the de la Sarthe Circuit claiming the car seven and a half hours before the end of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It was a challenging race from the start for HubAuto Racing with contact made on lap one resulting in a spin, followed by two early penalties for Maxime Martin – exceeding track limits and passing under a safety car. The multiple issues left the car contending at the back of the LMGTE Pro class.
Despite the early issues the team never really seemed to have the pace, unable to match times set by the other Porsche 911 RSR’s. The team were left running on their own for a long period. They were travelling in 5th position before the car retired.
“Apart from the early issues, our Porsche 911 RSR struggled to match the pace of the other Porsches and factory teams. It was a difficult race, yet it is a very long race with anything possible. We kept pushing, aiming for a final classification Unfortunately, this was not to be, with a technical issue resulting in the car not able to get back to the pits.” said Morris Chen, Team Principal and Owner.
Chen continued “We are extremely disappointed. We came to Le Mans with big goals. As the first Asian team in history to compete in the LMGTE Pro we aimed to finish, to be there at the end. It was a massive test for our team to step up against the experience and budget of the works teams of Ferrari, Porsche and Corvette, but I think we left a remarkable impression. We have shown that privateer teams can compete and perhaps we have inspired some other teams looking to step up too. “
“On the positive we also need to remind ourselves of where we have come from. This is only our second Le Mans appearance when last year we competed in LMGTE Am. We only took control of the Porsche 911 RSR two weeks prior to Le Mans. The official test day was only the second time running the Porsche. For our team this was a huge learning curve –a new car for our crew and for Dries Vanthoor, Alvaro Parente and Maxime Martin. We surprised everyone by taking Hyper Pole. We have shown our capabilities despite the mammoth hill we have had to climb to get here.” Chen said.
“We need to thank many people for helping us get to Le Mans and Europe. Our team partner at Le Mans-Project One Motorsport, Porsche AG and Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific. We must thank our crew, our drivers, our supporters, our families and especially our sponsors who believed in us and backed us from the start. There are a multitude of people back in Taiwan, Malaysia and Australia that also got our crew to Europe amidst the pandemic.”
HubAuto Racing will now be reviewing the learnings from the race outcomes. There are several future options that the team is considering, which will be decided shortly.