Jack Manchester demonstrated his true potential at the third round of the 2019 European Le Mans Series in Barcelona this weekend, with Thunderhead Carlin Racing taking the chequered flag in ninth place following a spirited drive.
With pace to threaten the top five all weekend long, Jack and teammates Harry Tincknell and Ben Barnicoat went into Saturday morning's qualifying with high hopes, eventually scoring a P8 start – just a few tenths shy of their target.
“The start went really well for me, making up places straight away, but obviously one of the main objectives of the first stint was to manage the tyres..."
Come the start of the race, Jack took the green flag and immediately gained three places through the first few turns with two impressive round-the-outside manoeuvres. Jack demonstrated great pace in his opening hour, fighting to maintain his position until he suffered contact from behind. This caused damage to the rear wing which compromised car #45’s aerodynamics and braking performance, with Jack eventually pitting in seventh at the first scheduled stop.
In an unlucky string of events, the delay to change the rear wing while Harry took the wheel coincided with a full course yellow period – just as Harry took to the track in the repaired car #45. With their competitors able to make a stop under these advantageous conditions, the team resumed the race from 14th place overall.
Jack returned to the car past the halfway point as darkness rolled in, and Thunderhead Carlin Racing found themselves placed tenth with ninth just up ahead thanks to Harry’s efforts. Jack held his position in the top ten comfortably into the dusk, until taking contact from behind and skilfully getting the car under control before pushing on again – matching the pace of his experienced teammates throughout the race.
Despite this final setback, the team soldiered on in chase of a top ten result and Harry and Ben completed their additional stints, claiming ninth as the chequered flag fell on lap 135.
With the potential of the team effectively demonstrated in adversity, Jack was upbeat following his best result of the 2019 season so far:
“The start went really well for me, making up places straight away, but obviously one of the main objectives of the first stint was to manage the tyres as I know Harry was going to be in the car after me. I maybe could have pushed a little more but it would have taken more out of the tyres and we needed to pace ourselves.
I got clipped at the rear of the car which meant we had to change the rear wing which cost us time but the boys did a great job to replace it quickly.
In my second stint, I was unlucky to be hit, but was able to keep the car under control and push on. Whilst it was frustrating, these things happen in endurance racing with such a large field. I showed good pace throughout the weekend and it was great for Harry, Ben and I to secure our first top ten finish. Of course, as an all-British team, we’re looking forward to our home race at Silverstone where we can build on this momentum.”
The next round of the European Le Mans series sees the team race on home soil for the first time at the Silverstone circuit, 31st August 2019.
ELMS Championship Standings
LMP2 Teams Classification – 13th (3 points)
LMP2 Drivers Classification – 13th (3 points)
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