Strakka Racing has withdrawn from the Le Mans 24 Hours after a testing crash, with Krohn Racing replacing them on the entry list for the 2014 edition.
The team’s Strakka DOME S103, which was testing at Spa-Francorchamps, suffered an off at the hands of Danny Watts at Eau Rouge, with the team today confirming that the damage sustained in the crash is unrepairable in time for Le Mans.
“It happened on the first day’s running at Eau Rouge and if you leave the track there, it is going to result in damage,” explained team manager Karl Patman. “Danny Watts was driving at the time. Crucially, he’s absolutely fine but we don’t have the time to be able to assess, repair the car and acquire sufficient spares in time. It has been a tight programme and this put any chance of competing out of the window.”
Replacing Strakka on the entry list for the race will be Houston-based Krohn Racing, with Tracy Krohn, Nic Jonsson and Ben Collins driving the #57 Ferrari 458 Italia, with Collins coming into the team after being replaced by Archie Hamilton at RAM Racing.
“We could not be happier to receive this invitation from the ACO to race at Le Mans again this year,” Krohn said to Sportscar365. “It will be the ninth year for Nic and I and we are excited to have Ben [Collins] joining us.
“We’ve got plenty to do in the next couple of weeks to get our car prepared and to ACO specs but we’ll do it and be ready for race week. Normally, we would say that we have our sights set on victory, but with all candor, at this point we are just really, really happy to be on the grid! We can’t wait to get out on the track!”
Strakka, however, have said that the team will be at the remaining rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship despite missing the first three rounds: “Strakka Racing would like to apologise to the organisers, technical partners and our fans for both the unfortunate timing and impact of withdrawing from the Le Mans 24 Hours race,” said team founder Nick Leventis.
“Everybody has worked tirelessly to get this car to where it needs to be and we are really sorry that we won’t be out this year. We owe it to everyone involved in the project to make this a success and we will.”
