Pune: Karun Chandhok used all his experience at the La Sarthe circuit to help debutant team Tockwith Motorsports finish in 10th position in the LMP2 class, in a frantic, dramatic and grueling edition of this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
Having started the race from 21st place in class on the grid in the iconic blue and orange Gulf livery that is synonymous with the race, the #34 Tockwith car steadily rose through the order.
The team was impressive on the reliability front resulting in an almost completely trouble-free run in unusually hot temperatures. Driving the Ligier Gibson JS P217, Karun started his work in the race with a quintuple stint at 5:15pm. Chandhok drove multiple long stints and a total of just under 9 hours, setting the fastest lap for the team with a 3:33.875 in his first stint.
“I’m very pleased to finish 10th this year. Going with a rookie team and a rookie teammate, this was always going to be a hard Le Mans. Throw in the fact that we didn’t have the most competitive chassis, and in the end to go from 21st on the grid to 10th in the race is a very good result,” said Chandhok.
“There was a huge campsite here full of Indian fans and it was such an honour to see the Indian tri-colour out in the grandstands,” is how Chandhok summed up.
