Kiwi keeps hammer down
Hartley vows to push hard after Le Mans success and not just defend series lead
The Supercars Championship and Auckland Council’s events arm Ateed continue to negotiate an extension to their current deal to stage a championship round at Pukekohe Park Raceway. The existing five- year deal expires after this year’s event in November but it appears an extension is all but guaranteed. The two parties appeared at loggerheads after last year’s event where crowd numbers dropped. Supercars have since changed the format to hopefully create more exciting races and Ateed is known to be keen on keeping the event in Auckland, with Pukekohe Park Raceway the only viable option. An announcement is imminent. Le Mans 24 Hour- winning Kiwi Brendon Hartley is out to win races and add to his championship lead rather than trying to protect it as the World Endurance Championship resumes at the Nurburging this weekend.
Hartley, fellow New Zealander Earl Bamber and German Timo Bernhard captured the famous Le Mans title in spectacular fashion last month as they overcame mechanical issues in their Porsche to roar back into the lead late in the race.
“Winning Le Mans was amazing,” Hartley told the Herald. “Anyone watching the race though would have seen that after three hours we were down and in the garage. The three of us were a bit grumpy at that stage. But we sat down with the team and decided to go for it and management said to push hard and give it everything. We just kept going and going and going and put everything we had into it.
“As the hours ticked down we made our way through the field and we began to believe that we might just be able to get on the podium. Towards the end of the race other cars began to have problems and we were closing on the LMP2 car that was leading. Finally with an hour to go we got past the lead car and went on to take the win.
“It’s still a bit hard to believe that we managed to get the win and for me personally it’s amazing to see my name on the trophy and that’s because we have such a great team. The win also proved that you have to keep going no matter what and over the years there have been so many great comebacks and stories at Le Mans and we have been part of [ yet] another part of the story.”
A double points score at Le Mans has helped the factory Porsche team takes a narrow lead in the manufacturers’ standings heading into round three of the championship at the Nurburgring. The trio of drivers — Hartley, Bamber and Bernhard hold a 17- point lead in the drivers’ standings as well.
“With the Le Mans win we are now leading the [ WEC] championship but there is still a long way to go,” Hartley said. “We struggled a little bit at the beginning of the season but at least we have been consistent. It’s hard to get a win because there are so many good drivers and cars out there on the track. There is still a long way to go in the championship so we just have to focus and concentrate on defending our points lead and extending it.”
With that lead in mind the 27- yearold Hartley is adamant the best approach isn’t to try and drive within themselves and avoid trouble but to push as hard as they can and try and win races.
The team will unleash a brand new high downforce aero package on their Porsche 919 that Hartley thinks will be well- suited to the German track.
“Nurburgring should suit our cars as we’ve been successful there is the past having won twice there in the past t wo seasons when Mark [ Webber] was in the car with us. Earl’s [ Bamber] with us now and we’re looking forward to getting another win here.
“I like the track a lot and the plan is to push on and go for another win and not try and defend our points lead. We want to push for a win this weekend and for the rest of the season.
“Eighteen points [ series lead] in this championship means nothing with so much more of the season to go. We’re just going to keep at it and the team will do it’s best to try for another victory.”