Strakka Racing will give its Honda Performance Development ARX-03c one last run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, after the team announced its withdrawal from the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship.
The team is pulling out of the 2013 championship in order to finalise its long-term sportscar racing plans. Jonny Kane will drive the LMP1 prototype up the Goodwood hill on all three days of the festival.
New regulations for the 2014 WEC season mean that the team’s open cockpit car will be ineligible to enter the WEC next season, meaning Strakka have to replace the current car and make a significant new investment in order to continue competing in endurance racing.
Strakka won the LMP1 Privateer’s category at the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans despite suffering a high speed accident during qualifying. The 128mph accident cost the team’s only spare front end and engine cover, as well as one of only two rear end assemblies. The cost of replacing these parts meant the team would not be able to compete at its usual high level for the remainder of the 2013 season.
“We are currently considering a number of very exciting opportunities that will commit Strakka Racing to top level sportscar racing well into the future, so it’s imperative we focus all our efforts on this important decision-making process,” said team manager Dan Walmsley. “It was a very difficult decision not to contest the remaining rounds of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship, but a decision that was taken in the best interests of the team’s long-term sportscar racing future. We hope to be able to announce our exciting new plans very soon.”
