A year to confirm the good results of the Team THIRIET by TDS Racing !
After its beautiful third place obtained in the LMP2 Teams Championship in 2011, the Team THIRIET by TDS Racing intends to improve this result. Indeed, the team will aim at the title this year in the ELMS, the European Le Mans Series, the new naming of this championship. First duels this weekend on the HTTT circuit.
In 2011, the team had agreed on one year of apprenticeship in order to discover a new discipline (Endurance), a new car (a LMP2 car) as well as a new racing format (6 hours). But the team from Vendres made more than learning with, at the end, two pole positions (Castellet and Imola), two victories (Spa and Estoril) and a third place in the LMP2 Teams Championship !
This year, the objective will be completely different with the Teams title in sight as Xavier Combet, the team manager of the Team Thiriet By TDS Racing, underlines it: «We are very motivated by the results of last year. This naturally engendered a big work of the whole team this winter. Our partner Thiriet Surgelés, very satisfied with our performances of 2011, wished to pursue and strengthen our collaboration. It is the reason why the team is henceforth called «Team THIRIET by TDS Racing». Our season is off to be good with the 24 Hours of le Mans, as a climax, where we are lucky to be held. Every year is different, dices are systematically thrown again but it is obvious that this season, we shall aim at the first place in ELMS!»
To reach this objective, the team will enter an Oreca LMP2 2012 version (n°46) entrusted to two experimented and fast drivers who were already part of the team last year. We shall find the Swiss driver Mathias Beche (3rd 2010 Formula Le Mans Championship, 4th 2011LMP2 Drivers Championship) as well as the French man Pierre Thiriet (4th 2011LMP2 Drivers Championship) behind the wheel of the car.
In order to be ready for the first race that will take place on the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit this coming weekend, the whole team went to the same circuit on 9th and 10th March on the occasion of the Official European Le Mans Series Tests. Everything went fine as Xavier Combet confirms: «After this winter break, we really looked forward to returning to private and official tests. We worked a lot, we put back all the automatisms in place and validated all the work realized during the winter. The first feeling is positive. The feedbacks on the new Oreca aerodynamic kit, which allows us to have more performance, are good. That consolidates the work of the team. We are impatient to be in Le Castellet, it will allow us to know where the other competitors are even if the official tests gave us a preview. Some teams are very fast, it will be necessary to count on them. Furthermore, we are welcoming a team like Loeb Racing within the championship and we are delighted! The final straight before the first race is coming, we shall try to realize the best result.»
The first round will take place on 1st April (start at 12h00) on the mythic Paul Ricard layout.
Thiriet by TDS Racing PR