Le Mans, France (June 14, 2015)...The No. 40 Krohn Racing Ligier JSP2 Judd team had a more challenging race than they had expected this weekend at the 83rd annual 24 Hours of Le Mans July 13-14, 2015. The twice-around-the-clock endurance sports car race at the Circuit de la Sarthe featured 56 cars attempting to complete 24 hours of racing under variable weather conditions and challenging racing circumstances.
Although the Krohn Racing Ligier-Judd qualified mid-field and started from the 27th position on the grid, starting driver Portuguese Joao Barbosa, who lives in Miami, Florida, settled in, but not without some early race issues. Team owner/driver Tracy W. Krohn and Swedish teammate Nic Jonsson also rotated through the cockpit for the entire 24 hours, a known accomplishment at the difficult endurance classic.
The Krohn Racing team suffered its major issue about seven hours into the 24-hour race, when they had to spend over an hour in the pits with a major electrical problem. After changing numerous electrical components, the No. 40 Ligier-Judd returned to the track. However, additional electrical problems plagued the team, who lost traction control as a result of it, and the drivers had to overcome difficult driving conditions. A few on-track incidents and spins occurred due to the loss of the traction control system.
The talented and well prepared Krohn Racing crew was able to managed the car troubles thrown their way and the team was able to finish the race in 12th position in LMP2 class and 32nd overall.
TRACY W. KROHN, Krohn Racing Team Owner/Driver:
"Today was a tough day but we finished. I’ve had worse days at Le Mans. It wasn’t exactly the way we envisioned it. We had a lot of issues with the car. The electrical system was difficult to deal with. I wish I knew what the issue is that we keep having these repeat episodes with telemetry and electronics. We’ll get them resolved. It’s just part of the development process, I guess. At the end, the car was without traction control and with wet tires in the dry so it was a challenging experience to keep the car on the track and not impede anybody’s else’s race. In the end, it’s just such a thrill to finish this race and go out and do the parade lap and see all the car shows and fans. It’s a great experience. Thanks to the crew and Nic and Joao for doing a great job all week.”
NIC JONSSON, Krohn Racing Driver:
"I think it was a very challenging weekend being here for the first time in an LMP2 car, but at least we finished. We ran all 24 hours, which I think is an accomplishment in its own. Unfortunately, the result was not where we wanted it obviously and we had too many gremlins in the car from the very beginning. We started having traction control problems, the car was shutting down and also some other issues. At the end of the day, we were a lot more fortunate than others who had to retire their car. The Krohn guys did a great job keeping the car running all 24 hours. Thanks to the Michelin and Judd guys who supplied us with good tires and engine. Hopefully we can go now and learn from this and come back stronger next year.”
JOÃO BARBOSA, Krohn Racing Driver:
“It’s been quite a weekend, but a great weekend and a great race. During the race we had unexpected problems, but our team did such a great job just being there after being hit with so many electrical problems. It was really tough because the car ran really good the whole time, apart from that we were having some glitches here and there, but the team never quit. They were able to find some solutions to problems and fix them so we were able to go back out there. Le Mans is a very tough place all the time. It’s full of surprises so anything can happen. We could have had a really great day, but unfortunately it wasn’t our time to have that. I think it’s invaluable experience for the team to have been here for the first time with a Prototype to gather invaluable information for the future. I’m just really proud I was able to join these guys and the way they treated me during the whole week was just great and I wish them all the best for the rest of the year.”
HAYDEN BURVILL, Krohn Racing Engineer:
"Le Mans is one of the two challenging and famous races in the world and we brought the No. 40 Krohn Racing Ligier home in the best possible condition we could. The challenge we had was probably some electrical problems that we were unable to identify We had to stop for over an hour to change parts and replace systems in the car to keep it running and that’s not a very satisfying way to tackle an event like this. When you lose more than one hour and 23 minutes, that’s reflected in our final placing. But, like every time you compete in an endurance race, you learn something more about how you can do things better, and for us, I would say this was a good learning experience for the team.”
GARY HOLLAND, Krohn Racing Team Manager:
“I think we’ve had an extremely frustrating race with a number of circumstances which were against us. We didn’t give the drivers all of the tools that they needed to perform the jobs to their ability. They were driving without traction control for a large portion of the race, which contributed largely to some of the errors that happened, and unfortunately we were involved in a couple of on-track incidences. With all that being said, I think it’s important to recognize the fact that we finished the toughest race in the world in our first year here in a P2 car and we’re looking to build on that for next year and hopefully get another invite from the ACO to come back to Le Mans.”
The next race for Krohn Racing will be the 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring at Österreichring or the Zeltweg Circuit (near Knittelfeld, Austria) on July 11-12. It will be Round 3 of the 2015 European Le Mans Series and the first time for Krohn Racing to compete at the 4.326 km/2.688-mile circuit.
