A1 Team Malaysia’s Alex Yoong Second in 2007 LeMans Series Debut
Valencia, Spain, 6 May 2007
A1 Team Malaysia driver, Alex Yoong, joined Charouz Racing System for the Le Mans Series race this weekend in Valencia with the team finishing second after six hours of tough endurance racing.
All Yoong’s driving skills and experience were put to the test this weekend. Without any prior testing the Malaysian driver went straight into the official pre-race sessions for the Le Mans Series 1000km race. Sharing the Charouz Racing System car with A1 Team Czech Republic driver, Jan Charouz and German driver, Stefan Mucke, Yoong was the only one of the three not to have driven the car before the weekend, yet he was able to post lap times similar to his team mates and contribute to the success of the team.
In the first practice session, the team ran third fastest of the 46 cars quickly showing that they have podium potential. In the remaining practice sessions Yoong and his team mates focused on developing the car for the race today with ninth and sixth fastest times. Qualifying for the race saw the Charouz Racing System car finish fifth fastest in the LMP1 class and seventh overall for a fourth row grid slot to start the six hour race.
At the green flag the field of sportscars took the rolling start and were soon into a rhythm. The endurance format requires a different style of racing, with the drivers needing to turn consistent, clean laps and a strong race pace. Over the course of the race the Charouz car ran faultlessly and with other cars struggling to maintain reliability and the pace needed to finish on the podium, the three talented drivers were able to improve from the seventh place start to third place.
The team had been duelling hard with the second placed Pescarolo Rollcentre Racing car for much of the race distance, trading positions in the fight for the best finish. With only ten minutes left of the race and Charouz lying second, but with their rivals hot on their heels, misfortune struck the rival racer and damaged the suspension necessitated an extra pitstop for them, giving Yoong and his team a clear track to the second place finish at the chequered flag.
Yoong said of the day: “It was nail-biting stuff. Watching Stefan in the last stint dicing with the Pescarolo I was on the edge of my seat and just willing him on. It was a great result for us and I’m delighted to be racing with the Charouz team.
“It’s been quite a challenging weekend for me. I had to jump in the car without any testing and it took me longer to acclimatise than I thought it would.
“The Charouz Racing Systems car was great this weekend. We didn’t find the perfect setup but we ran quickly and most importantly, reliably. We weren’t as quick as we hoped we’d be, but this is a high downforce track, while Le Mans is low downforce, so hopefully that will suit the car better. Everything we’ve done this weekend has been with one eye on the Le Mans 24 hour race, so we’ve gathered plenty of information that we can use to develop the car for the test next month. All in all, a great result for the team.”
Yoong returns to sportscar racing with the Charouz Racing Systems crew next month with official testing for the Le Mans 24 hours race at Le Sartre circuit on 3 June, with 55 cars aiming to take the start of this, the most famous endurance race in the world. The A1 Team Malaysia driver competed in the event for the first time last year, joining the Racing for Holland team on that occasion. Although the team only completed twelve hours of racing, Yoong had, by that time, had been bitten by the Le Mans bug and was determined to return for a second attempt at conquering the event. He will share testing duties with team mates Charouz and Mucke.
