After being the team to beat throughout the opening weekend of the European Le Mans Series at Silverstone last weekend, the Thiriet by TDS Racing trio of Mathias Beche, Pierre Thiriet and Ryo Hirakawa were early casualties from the race after a throttle issue pitched the #46 machine into the barriers.
Beche in particular had been a stand out driver, setting the pole position time that was more than one second faster than anyone else, but the Swiss driver was unable to get on track on Sunday as Thiriet took the car for the first stint, but the car only lasted eleven laps before its trip into the barriers at Luffield.
“I had to start on the wrong side of the track, the coldest and wettest one, in slick tires,” said Thiriet. “They quickly dropped in temperature and it was hard to be in the right pace at the first corner. I went a bit off the track but I limited the damages.
“At the beginning, I had a good pace because I could still see the leader which did not widen the gap on me.
“I felt something was wrong on the car and I went straight into the gravel.” The drivers had a good pace, the car was good. Everything was there to have a good result. « It is a shame as we could win this race. You’ll have to count on us at Imola… “
Beche was disappointed with the final result and with the decision to start the pole sitter from the right side of the track, feeling the team should have been given the choice what side of the track to start the race from, but the Swiss driver insists they are ready to put this result behind them and fight for victory during the second round at Imola.
“It was a big disadvantage to start from the right side of the track and the Race Control should have found a compromise so that the pole position gives a real advantage,” said Beche.
“Pierre was among more experienced drivers but he defended himself well. He was aggressive in the traffic. Then he had this issue.
“That weekend, we had THE car to have a good result and to be in a position to win. We lost important points. Even if I am currently disappointed, it is part of the sport, it is the race! Everything will be erased for the next round.”
