Belén García's debut in the European Le Mans Series at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was full of challenges and twists and turns.
Launching her new campaign on home soil, the Spanish driver worked hard with teammates Wyatt Brichacek and Alexander Mattschull from Monday. After spending time moulding a new seat to perfect her setup in the cockpit, the DKR Engineering team also had to obtain authorisation to install a second harness from the governing bodies to accommodate the physical differences between its three drivers.
Despite the early setbacks, the trio completed 195 laps, including 55 for Belén, before analysing the data collected to fine-tune their settings for the race weekend. However, the challenges became tougher on Friday, with a shortened programme for Belén due to a flat spot – a first in her career! A few hours later, the #4 Duqueine M30 - D08 caught fire during the practice session reserved for Bronze drivers…
The Kendy Janclaes-led team demonstrated its ability to react, dealing with the damage and changing the engine during a long night's work. The team returned to the track on Saturday morning for the final practice session before Wyatt Brichacek tackled qualifying. Despite a significant track time deficit compared to the competition, the American driver set a new lap record for DKR Engineering on the Spanish circuit in 1m35.409s. This performance, just 0.7s down from pole position, also earned him fourth place on the grid in the LMP3 category.
"We got off to a tough start for several reasons, mainly the car catching on fire due to a faulty fuel tank seal", said Belén. “It felt like nothing was going our way at all, but there was still everything to fight for, and we all found a strong common ground in our mental approach: it’s not over until it’s over! We worked as a team to improve and prepare for qualifying and the race. I was proud of how we bounced back as a team after so many setbacks, and we gave it our all after Wyatt’s outstanding qualifying run to maximise our performance.”
On Sunday at 11:30 am, Alexander Mattschull was entrusted to start the race with a full set of new tyres. He quickly gained a place on the provisional podium before slipping back to sixth. Quickly confronted by the traffic of the LMP2s vying for overall victory, the Bronze driver fiercely maintained his position and even took advantage of a virtual safety car to briefly lead the category.
The German put in a double stint of one hour and forty-five minutes, ending with a great battle in the top five before handing over to Belén García. Despite losing a few seconds due to the right rear wheel, she took to the track in sixth place. Shod with the tyres used by Wyatt Brichacek in qualifying, the RACC Mobility Club and the Centre d'Alt Rendiment de Sant Cugat del Vallès backed driver quickly settled into the rhythm and was one of the fastest competitors in her category.
Faced with a situation unprecedented in her career, namely battling for positions while having to watch the faster LMP2 cars in her rear-view mirrors, Belén García pulled out all the stops. Despite the traffic and an initial duel with the #15 RLR M Sport, she quickly climbed into the top four before battling for the third step of the podium with the #88 Inter Europol Competition and the #11 Eurointernational.
Serious and diligent in managing her Michelin tyres when temperatures were at their hottest, the Spaniard was highly consistent over her 40-lap stint and was firmly in fourth place when she handed over to Wyatt Brichacek.
"As I did very few laps since the beginning of the week, six from Friday onwards, I needed to adapt and get to know the car in my stint, so the pace at the beginning wasn't up to my expectations, honestly", summed up Belén, always demanding of herself. “Afterwards, I improved and settled into a good rhythm. One of the main challenges is how hard it is to deal with the traffic. With LMP2 lapping seven to eight seconds faster than our LMP3, it is a lot of work on track! It took me a while to figure out how to manage it, but in the end, it was fine. We would have been able to finish a bit higher in the classification were it not for a few issues here and there, but it was still a credible performance after everything we have been through this week.”
With new tyres, Wyatt Brichacek took to the track for the race's final hour. After starting sixth, the American quickly put the #4 Duqueine M30 - D08 back in the top five by setting the fastest race lap in the category. Despite a spin at Turn 7 after a full course yellow, he pursued his push before another full course yellow impeded his comeback with 15 minutes to go. The trio eventually had to settle for fifth place, just nine seconds behind their rivals.
"It is good to score some points and finish not far behind the frontrunners and podium finishers for our first race together, but everyone knows I always strive for more”, concludes Belén. “The most important thing to remember from this weekend is I can take all the laps I did this time to start from a different place and it is going to be hugely helpful and useful for our next race. We identified and fixed some of our main issues, and we will be able to work on some things we couldn't do this weekend. It's a solid result, but I know I can do better, and we will work to maximise our potential together beginning with the next round. With all our misfortunes, hopefully, our bad luck is behind us. Let's aim for more in France!”
With this first weekend of racing truly character-building, Belén García and her teammates now look ahead to the next round, scheduled for 3 to 5 May at Circuit Paul Ricard (France).
