McLaren LMGT3 6 Hours of Fuji
The 6 Hours of Fuji ended with disappointment for the McLaren LMGT3 duo after a strong week of running in Japan, with eighth and 17th place for the #59 and #95 respectively.
The #95 McLaren LMGT3 Evo of Josh Caygill, Nico Pino and Marino Sato started from third place on the grid, with Caygill swiftly upgrading to second place on the opening lap. Contact through T1 with the sister car, however, sent the British driver spinning, with a second spin amidst traffic and loss of power - rectified with a reset in the pits – dropping the Sao Paulo podium-placers three laps down and sadly out of contention just one hour in. From there, Pino and Sato powered through double stints in intense heat but the time lost was too great, and the crew stayed in P17 to the checkered flag.
Meanwhile, the #59 opted for an alternative strategy with Bronze driver Cottingham handing over to Nicolas Costa after his first stint in an attempt to optimise performance in cockpit temperatures verging on 50°C. Together, Costa and Gregoire Saucy built up a healthy gap, handing the McLaren back to Cottingham in the fourth hour who maintained P4 in a competitive field of Gold and Platinum drivers.
With less than two hours on the clock, a Safety Car snatched away the time advantage– however, Costa and Saucy held onto P1 until the final stages when cars with fresh rubber came hunting. Without new tyres to counterattack, the #59 lost ground rapidly in the final half hour, ultimately crossing the line P8.
The season finale of the FIA World Endurance Championship is the 8 Hours of Bahrain on 2nd November 2024. Stay up to date with the team in the meantime on social @unitedautosports.
James Cottingham, Nicolas Costa and Gregoire Saucy - United Autosports McLaren Automotive LMGT3 racing drivers
#59 McLaren LMGT3
QUALI P5 | RACE P8 | CHAMP P10
James Cottingham: “I was really pleased with the start and my first stint. I got into a good rhythm and felt like I had great pace. I did my best to try and maintain P2, only losing one place to P3 right at the end of my first stint … the heat was getting the better of me and I was making mistakes, so it seemed to be the right thing to do to take a break. When I got out of the car, I was very relieved for that. In my second stint, I did my best to hold position in a field of Pros. We had a FCY infringement which was a lesson learnt. We drove a great race between the three of us … we just lost out on tyre strategy at the end, down to luck and the way the FCY and Safety Car unfolded. Once again as a team - the #59 car, United Autosports and McLaren – we’ve shown that we are competitive, leading a large part of the race. It’s such a shame we came away with nothing. But it puts us in good stead for the final race in Bahrain where hopefully we can put it right and finally get on that podium.”
Nicolas Costa: “An eventful race to say the least! We had a lot of positives despite a very bittersweet ending. We lead most of the race, we had the pace to win, the team did a great job and the drivers did a great job too. Unfortunately, our tyres fell off a cliff in the last half an hour. We had a Safety Car that we really didn’t need and in the end a lot of cars behind had new tyres. It’s hard to race when you have no rubber left. Our strategy had the potential to work out … but that’s motorsport for you. It wasn’t our day in the end.”
Gregoire Saucy: “My first stint was okay, but it was difficult with the tyres … as with the last stint. I think we degraded the tyres a lot with the second stint. I tried my best but in the end the others caught us. Without the Safety Car, we were sure a podium was there. We must remember that. But we will keep working and pushing in preparation for Bahrain.”
Josh Caygill, Nico Pino and Marino Sato - United Autosports McLaren Automotive LMGT3 racing drivers
#95 McLaren LMGT3
QUALI P3 | RACE P17 | CHAMP P12
Josh Caygill: “I didn’t expect the situation we found ourselves in. Everything after the T1 incident was a legacy of that to be honest … pushing too hard to come through traffic that we shouldn’t have been in. It’s tough because we were pretty much there in every session and we had a mega Qualifying result … but it ended up being everything it didn’t need to be. I feel bad for the team, but it makes me even more determined to finish the season right in Bahrain.”
Nico Pino: “Not the greatest race at all. We had contact early on with the sister car which resulted in us losing a lot of positions and time. And then, while Josh was doing a great job recovering … I don’t have the full details yet … but I think we had contact or a spin, and we lost many laps crawling into the pits due to a loss of power. From there, we didn’t have the pace or luck to get the laps back. We will review this race in detail and put everything into a good result at the final event of the season.”
Marino Sato: “That was really tough. The race was pretty much decided after the first hour. But nobody gave up to the end and we did our best with the situation we were given. Hopefully we can finish on a high in Bahrain.”
MANAGEMENT
Richard Dean, CEO United Autosports: “After a run of really strong results, this has brought us down to earth a bit. The #95 started strong but due to a number of reasons was out of contention within the first hour. It feels particularly unfair on the crew because from their perspective it was faultless. The #59 lead most of that race but a Safety Car late on negated the strategic call and the gap we had built up. It’s disappointing but we have to focus on Bahrain.”
Mick McDonagh, Director of MSO Motorsport, McLaren Automotive: “Once again it has been a frustrating weekend for both cars, but we must remember this is our first year of the programme and we are battling with the best GT teams in the world. We will take the learnings from each race and keep pushing forwards. It’s pleasing to see the pure pace of the car and that we are fighting for podiums at this level. We are working with fine margins. After six hours of racing, it all came down to seconds between first and tenth, but I really do think it’s a case of when, not if, that we will be victorious.”