Enzo Potolicchio’s 8Star Motorsport squad fell agonisingly short of a podium finish at the 2014 12 Hours of Sebring following a number of problems midway through the race which put them out of contention.
8Star were going strong in the once round the clock classic until the team had to call in Eric Lux to repair some damage suffered when he had a spin in the ORECA FLM09.
Having fallen 18 laps down from the leader, it was Tom Kimber-Smith who was tasked with trying to salvage something from the second round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
“The team actually did an incredible job when repairing the car because we only lost about 18 laps, which is pretty good considering the damage we sustained. We had setup issues beforehand and found that they had been cured after the crash, so I don’t know whether we had some mechanical problems beforehand or whether the track just came to us,” stated Kimber-Smith.
“I felt very comfortable in the car – more comfortable than I’ve felt all week – and we seemed to be getting quicker and quicker. With such great pace, it’s a shame we’re not higher up the order and fighting, because I think we’d walk this race. A lot of things would have had to go our way if we were to challenge for the victory and it was too much to hope for.”
After the Brit got out of the car, having regained four laps, it was Lux’s turn once again to try and take the fight to the class leaders but could only drag out another five laps over his stint.
8Star newcomer Sean Rayhall though showed in the last 90 minutes that the pace the car held would have easily put them in contention for at least a podium if it wasn’t for the repairs the mechanics had to carry out.
