JRM Racing takes pole in Privateer class for Six Hours of Shanghai

JRM Racing will start the Six Hours of Shanghai, the eighth and final round of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship, from pole position in class and fourth overall on the grid.

This is the team’s first-ever pole in the championship and best qualifying result of the season. Karun Chandhok, the only of the three JRM Racing drivers with previous experience of the Shanghai International Circuit, was out in the #22 and set a fastest time of 1:51.003.

#22 JRM HPD ARX 03a Honda: Karun Chandhok

Photo by: Andy Chan

As a result he only completed 10 laps to check out the cold and slippery Shanghai track and prepare for the decisive qualifying session. In the end it made little difference as the Indian secured pole by 0.016 over the #12 Rebellion.

Tomorrow's race will be the first time Shanghai hosts an FIA World Endurance Championship round and it will also mark the end of the 2012 championship.

Karun Chandhok: "I'm absolutely thrilled with today's result. It’s the first time we've finished as the fastest privateer car and it’s a great feeling as we have promised it for so long.

We know tomorrow won't be easy, as we are all very close here, but we can be very happy with what we achieved today. I think we have improved massively during the season and it’s good to be starting ahead of our main rivals.

Tomorrow's race will be tough as the Strakka and Rebellion guys are very strong. The team is working hard and doing an excellent job, and results like today's gives a confidence boost for tomorrow."

Nigel Stepney, team manager and chief engineer: "A fantastic day for the team. Karun did an excellent job in qualifying and this result shows how the team has come forward since the beginning of the year.

This is our best result of the season and even though qualifying is not major for an endurance race, it gives the team a boost and is important for the morale.

For sure it will help us tomorrow as we only have the Audis and the Toyota in front of us and it makes it easier to have a clean start, staying out of trouble. Now we look forward to tomorrow and hope that this is just the start of an excellent weekend in Shanghai.

James Rumsey, team principal: "I'm very happy for the team, to be on pole position is a great result. Tomorrow we will start the race at the clear end of the track and we won't have traffic on the first few laps...

I'm already looking forward to it. It’s been a hard season getting up to speed, so it’s nice to be finishing the season on the sharp end. We knew we had the potential to achieve these positive results, it was just a matter of time.

After being on the podium for the first time in Japan two weeks ago, I hope tomorrow we can do it again and end the season on a high.

Source: JRM Racing