Indian racing star Karun Chandhok’s team JRM Racing performed impressively in the final race of its opening season in the FIA World Endurance Championship, named the Six Hours of Shanghai. The team stood second in the privateers' class and the overall ranking was fifth, which has been at par with the best performance of the team this season. This was the team's second consecutive podium finish, exhibiting the constant improvement of the team.
David Brabham, Karun Chandhok and Peter Dumbreck drove the #22 HPD ARX 03a to commence the race at overall fourth position, from the Privateers' pole. From the start of the race, Karun stayed ahead of Rebellion #12 as well as the Strakka cars. It could have been a favourable finish for Karun but he succumbed to both, and then stopped for the race's first pit-stop, finally attaining sixth position.
A couple of hours after the race started, the Strakka had a puncture calling for a replacement rear end, while Karun climbed up to fifth spot. Some time later, the Indian driver handed over to Peter, who chose to open the throttle immediately, maintaining the fifth position in the race and covering laps at a constant pace. There were several problems during the last driver change, which cost the team a minute and the contention for a win in the privateers’ class. However, David kept afloat the fifth position overall, which was also second in class.
Karun Chandhok was in high spirits after the impressive win. He commented, “We started off reasonably well and the first couple of laps were okay but we realised early on that we were not quick enough when compared to the #12 Rebellion and the Strakka. I could hold the Strakka back initially as I had pretty good traction and straight line speed, but I got stuck behind a Porsche at the wrong moment and Jonny [Kane] got ahead of me. After that I just found a consistent pace and drove my own race. It was a bit lonely, with nobody behind, even though I did have a battle with Danny towards the end of my triple stint. But to finish on the podium again is a perfect way to end the season. We can be very proud of the way we have improved over the year and I have really enjoyed my first season in endurance racing.”
The team manager and chief engineer, Nigel Stepney, also said about the season, “We have progressed a lot during the whole season and it’s a testament to how far we have come that I am slightly disappointed we didn’t win! I We should have won this race but we know the reasons why we didn't – we lost time changing the rear bodywork even though we did it without having to do an extra pit stop, and the problem with the gears didn't allow us to be where we should have been. But the team has done an excellent job throughout the whole year, and with this first season of experience under our belt now we will see what we are capable next year”
James Rumsey, who is the team principal, said, “It was a good day today, it’s always good to finish on the podium. I am sure that if we hadn't had the problems we had during today's race we would have won, so it’s a bit disappointing if I say the truth, but overall I am very satisfied with our first year in endurance racing. The team has done a fantastic job and has improved continually throughout the season. Our main task now is to use the winter effectively. We will improve the car and team's performance and work on finding the funding for next season. I would like to congratulate Toyota on their incredible performance this year, and Audi on their World Championship win“.
