Hartley’s stunning return despite fatigue
Kiwi driver Brendon Hartley has marked his return to endurance racing with a double podium effort in the United States.
Dropped by Formula One team Torro Rosso, the 29-year-old Hartley showed his class in the longer form of racing at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida.
While the 2019 F1 season was roaring to life in Melbourne, Hartley was displaying the skills that helped him to two world endurance championships.
He finished third in both the 1000 Miles of Sebring and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, driving for SMP Racing and Mustang Sampling Raving respectively.
Hartley was the only driver of the 11 on double-duty to score podium finishes in the two events and had to battle fatigue as he had four spells behind the wheel of a Cadillac in the second race which was hit by heavy rain.
‘‘I think I’ll be tired tonight, especially after I taste a bit of champagne. I’m going to sleep well tonight,’’ Hartley told Sportscar365 yesterday.
‘‘The last time I jumped into the car I did four stints, which I didn’t expect I was going to be doing that.
‘‘After yesterday’s race I have to say I was completely drained by the end of the race.
‘‘I probably only [had] four hours’ sleep last night, having such a late night and such an early start this morning.
‘‘Going in the adrenaline kicks in, a couple of Red Bulls and a bit of caffeine. ‘‘I feel good, it wasn’t until I did the quad at the end that I started suffering.
‘‘I think I did all that I could and I’m really happy to be on two podiums.’’
The 1000-mile race was won by Toyota Gazoo Racing (Fernando Alonso, Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi) while the 12-hour race was won by the Action Express Racing trio of Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani and Eric Curran in a Cadillac.
New Zealand IndyCar star Scott Dixon had to be content with 15th in the 12-hour race and sixth in his class as he shared the Chip Ganassi Ford GT with Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook.
Hartley was proud of his efforts on limited preparations with both cars.
‘‘We had a really great race car, very forgiving. I really enjoy driving the Cadillac.’’