Kiwi’s seventh heaven as Hartley heads to Le Mans 24 Hour race

One of New Zealand’s most successful motor racers will be taking on the Le Mans 24 Hour race this weekend for the seventh time in his career.

Brendon Hartley is teaming with co-drivers Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima in an attempt to add a second outright win at the iconic twice around the clock race.

Hartley is a standout driver in the World Endurance Championship and has been a regular in the LMP1 class as a factory driver first for Porsche, and now in a similar role with Toyota. He first made his mark around the Circuit de la Sarthe in 2015 when he finished second, and two years later was standing on the top step alongside fellow Kiwi Earl Bamber and German Timo Bernhard.

After a couple of years away from the famous race, Hartley is keen to get going around a circuit he enjoys and a challenge he relishes.

“I’m really looking forward to the weekend. It’ll be a bit different to the normal Le Mans I’m used to,” Hartley told Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB.

“It’s strange not having any fans here but everyone’s excited about getting our biggest race of the year under way. Normally we spend 12 months of the year getting ready for this race but it has been longer this time for obvious reasons.

“I’m really pumped to get going and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Toyota; it’s the first time for me around Le Mans [in a Toyota].”

Taking to the Toyota Gazoo Racing’s TS050 like a duck to water on joining the Japanese team in 2019 for the WEC series, Hartley has notched a win and five second places.

He has carried this form into the Le Mans 24 Hour, setting the secondfastest time during first qualifying.

“It is awesome to be back on track again, particularly here at Le Mans. Last year, I got my first taste of the TS050 Hybrid in practice and you can feel that this car was made to drive here.

“It’s been a real pleasure to drive the car again and to start our preparations, so now I’m just looking forward to the race. We’ve got plenty to do to be ready but we’re all motivated,” said Hartley.

This is the last year of the spacecraft-like LMP1 cars as the organisers are replacing them with Le Mans Hypercars based on existing manufacturers’ road-going cars.

“It’s probably one of the most complicated cars in the world. I have experience in the past of driving something similar but different in a Porsche 919 that I won Le Mans in a few years ago,” said Hartley.

“They [Toyota and Porsche] both have 50-page driver manuals but are quite different in how power is delivered and handled. The speeds are similar to a Formula 1 car but we have a roof.

“It’s a unique form of motorsport where you have the one race and with four different races going on. We’re in the fastest car; then there is LMP2, GTPros and GTM. A lot of respect has to be given by us and also by the other cars on track.

“We could be doing 300km/h overtaking someone going 70 to

80km/h slower. A big part of the job is reading the car in front and working out if they have seen us and weighing the risk versus reward.

“On top of that, you throw in racing at night, not on a purpose-built track as most of it is on country roads. Plus, there’s the weather to contend with.”

● Kiwi driver Scott McLaughlin will make his IndyCar debut in the season finale in Florida next month.

The two-time defending Supercars champion was set to make his debut earlier this year before the Covid-19 pandemic hit but is excited.

“I’ve been doing everything I can to keep up with the series this year, from watching as many races as I can on TV to even talking to the drivers and some of the engineers back at the Team Penske shop. I never knew if I would be able to get behind the wheel of one of these cars this year due to all the Covid-19 restrictions but I wanted to be ready if an opportunity came.”

McLaughlin is set to make his debut on October 25, one week after the Supercars season, which he leads, ends in Australia.