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Race report

JRM Racing finishes second at Fuji, achieving best result of the season

#22 JRM HPD ARX 03a Honda: David Brabham, Karun Chandhok, Peter Dumbreck

#22 JRM HPD ARX 03a Honda: David Brabham, Karun Chandhok, Peter Dumbreck

XPB Images

JRM Racing achieved its best result of the season today at the Six Hours of Fuji in Japan, finishing second in the privateers’ class and fifth overall.

The #22 HPD ARX-03a driven by David Brabham, Peter Dumbreck and Karun Chandhok had qualified in P3 in the privateers’ class for the penultimate race of the FIA World Endurance Championship, setting up a good race today.

Peter got the six hours underway for the team and had a good start, gaining a place in the first corner. He was in the car for the first two hours and 40 minutes, managing the tyres perfectly and lapping at a very consistent pace.

#22 JRM HPD ARX 03a Honda: David Brabham, Karun Chandhok, Peter Dumbreck
#22 JRM HPD ARX 03a Honda: David Brabham, Karun Chandhok, Peter Dumbreck

Photo by: xpb.cc

After a double stint, the Scot handed over to David.

The Safety Car had to come out half way through the race so debris on track could be cleared, but David looked after the tyres and when the race got underway again he was able to run at consistent pace, constantly swapping track positions with the #12 Rebellion.

Karun drove the #22 during the last third of the race. Minor contact with the #1 Audi was made during his first stint, and during the last minutes of the race he also had to do an extra pit stop to change the rear end of the car that had been damaged.

Nevertheless he managed to stay in fifth position and even set the team’s fastest lap of the race, a 1:30.907.

After achieving the best result of the season so far, the team looks forward to the eighth and final race of the year that will take place in China in two weeks’ time.

Karun Chandhok: "Great to be on the podium! It was a good race and finishing for the team was a fantastic feeling, particularly as it’s our best finish of the season so far.

I had a bit of contact with the Audi and there was a bit of bodywork damage but apart from that we were reasonably quick.

We do need a little bit more pace to finish ahead of the Rebellion – we stick with them at some parts of the race and only need a little bit more to get ahead.

It’s nice to get a trophy for the boys, and it’s very positive for us and for the team moral."

I'm very pleased after a couple of hard weekends in Brazil and Bahrain, and hopefully we can finish the season strongly in China.

David Brabham: "The team did a very good job today and to achieve our first podium so far is the best way to end the weekend. I had a good double stint.

We had a bit of an issue after the Safety Car in terms of the front tyres not getting up to pressure, but other than that it was a solid run.

I felt pretty good in the car, it was very drivable and I felt that I could push the car along without damaging the tyres, which is what you want."

Peter Dumbreck: "A very positive day today. I was in the car a long time, nearly three hours, but I feel fine, and am looking forward to celebrating this result with the team!

The start was pretty good and we were able to gain a couple of places. I was trying to settle in the car but it was taking a long time for my tyre pressures to come up, but when I got the new tyres on I knew it was time to push.

However it wasn't until my third stint that my tyres felt really good and I was able to have confidence in the car to push. The only problem I had was when the Aston Martin turned into me.

Overall it’s been a good weekend that sets us up nicely for the finale in two weeks."

Nigel Stepney, team manager and chief engineer: "This is our best result so far and we are absolutely delighted. The race went according to plan.

We probably lost the chance to fight the Rebellion during Peter's second stint on new tyres when we had a bit of a performance problem.

But the boys did a fantastic job changing the rear bodywork in an extra pit stop and it was a positive race overall. We've been promising it for two races, Brazil and Bahrain, so it’s finally nice to get to the end and achieve what we know we can do."

James Rumsey, team principal: "Overall, a very positive result today; we can be very happy and proud. The team has worked very hard during the whole weekend and finally it all came together in the race.

This is our best result of a season where we have improved race after race and we certainly deserved it. It’s also great to finally see our drivers on the podium for the first time. Now we have to continue working hard and do our best to end the season on a high."

Source: JRM Racing

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