A regular contender of the LMP2 top 5 in the 2015 World Endurance Championship (WEC), TEAM SARD MORAND is getting ready for the 6 Hours of Fuji (October 11) with a new driving line-up. Chris Cumming from Canada joins Pierre Ragues from France and Oliver Webb from Great Britain at the wheel of the LMP2 #43 Morgan EVO SARD for the last three rounds of the season.
An endurance racing stalwart in the United States with victories in the American Le Mans Series and Tudor United SportsCar Championship (TUSCC), Chris Cumming currently holds the third position in the standings of the LMPC class in the 2015 TUSCC. This year also marked his Le Mans debut at the wheel of an LMP2 Ligier JS P2. He shared the driving duties with a pair of promising youngsters, Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre.
On the Fuji circuit and in the spectacular scenery of one of Japan’s three Sacred Mountains, Benoit Morand and his « guys » are looking forward for more achievements. The Swiss team scored a runner-up finish as early as its WEC debut at Spa-Francorchamps last May and Benoit Morand is confident to see his drivers on the podium again very soon.
How did you get in contact with Chris Cumming, who will compete his first race with the team at Fuji? Benoit Morand: Through Adrian Taylor, a friend of mine, I got in touch with Eric Burch’s P1 Groupe company to fill in for Zoel Amberg for the remainder of the 2015 season. P1 Groupe suggested Chris and I accepted without hesitation. I follow the Tudor United SportsCar Championship very closely and he is completing a very good season. I hope he’ll enjoy racing with us.
Will the fact of bearing the name of SARD, which is quite famous in Japanese motorsport, raise further interest for the team there? Yes. I think that the Japanese fans will be interested in our car. Our sponsor (timepieces manufacturer Franck Muller) also is renowned in Japan.
The forthcoming WEC rounds will be competed outside Europe for the remainder of the season. How does the team feel about this new stage? In 2010 we entered a Formula Le Mans prototype in the ILMC race at Zhuhai (China). We were the only team to take this challenge and we finished ninth overall. Of course things are way more complex this year, but the WEC is doing a very good job and provides maximum support for our team. So things are fine. It is very exciting for the whole team to compete at such a high level.
Since its WEC debut, the team rapidly made its way up to the top 5 of the LMP2 class with a podium finish. What is the objective for the 6 Hours of Fuji? For the 6 Hours of Fuji and the two remaining rounds as well, our clear objective is P4 in the final LMP2 standings and at least one more podium finish. We know we can make it. Oliver Webb and Pierre Ragues are highly motivated, and so is Chris Cumming. I think we are completing a good season. Considering all the problems encountered since the beginning of 2015, we can boast impressive achievements, with the precious help of my partner Duka Gervala and a few other faithful friends.
The sixth round of the 205 WEC, the 6 Hours of Fuji will take place on Sunday October 11.
Press release Team Sard Morand
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