Jackie Chan DC Racing knocked its rivals out on the Ring
- 3rd win in 4 races for the Jackie Chan DC Racing and crew Tung-Thomas-Jarvis
- 4th win back to back for the ORECA 07 in FIA WEC
- 1st pole position for the Jackie Chan DC Racing this season
Four races and already a third win for Jackie Chan DC Racing’s #38 ORECA 07 in the FIA World Endurance Championship. After a significant 2nd place overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Chinese team has once again delivered a flawless performance, under a dry weather.
One race per month and almost as many wins since last April. That’s what a first analysis could be when looking at Jackie Chan DC Racing’s results, especially the #38’s crew Thomas Laurent-Ho-Pin Tung-Oliver Jarvis. Currently very successful, the three men have once again expressed their full power and demonstrated homogeneity in their ability as a trio, at the wheel of the red and black ORECA 07.
Though they did not post the best time in the qualifying, they still clinched the pole position of these 6 Hours of Nürburgring, following on G-Drive Racing’s disqualification.
Jackie Chan DC Racing started in pole but Vaillante Rebellion’s two cars immediately took control of the race, Canal-Prost-Senna in the lead with the #31. From the very beginning of the race, the rivalry between the Swiss squad and their Chinese opponent was clear. For others, things seemed already compromised following on sanctions given by race commissioners. G-Drive Racing had a penalty of several minutes, after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Same for CEFS Manor TRS Racing, following on dangerous behaviour of the #24 on track during the practice sessions. A 30-second penalty was given to the #35 Alpine for similar reasons. With those disadvantages, more or less important time wise, chances of victory for those protagonists got compromised from the very beginning.
In the end, the battle for the first place mainly involved Jackie Chan DC Racing’s prototypes as well as Vaillante Rebellion’s, CEFS Manor TRS Racing’s #25 and Team Signatech Alpine Matmut’s #36 Alpine A470. Early on during the 2nd hour, Jarvis got in the lead. A position which the British driver and his teammates never let go of until the finish line, widening the gap to over a minute, which even allowed them time to change rear bodywork at the end of the 4th hour.
Despite the great races delivered by Jackie Chan DC Racing’s sister car, Vaillante Rebellion’s #31 or Signatech Alpine Matmut’s Alpine A470, the great ease of the #38’s crew, combined with Jackie Chan DC Racing by Jota Sport’s efficiency, could not be beaten on the German track; they crossed the finish line one lap ahead of their opponents. With a very consistent race, Vaillante Rebellion enabled trio Prost-Canal-Senna to climb on the second step of the podium while Team Signatech Alpine Matmut managed to steal the last podium place from the Swiss team’s second car, just half an hour before the finish line, posting the fastest lap time in class at the same time. The second Alpine was let down by its gear box and had to withdraw.
This 4th round of the season was the last race before the summer break. With Jackie Chan DC Racing well settled at the top of the rankings, rivals will try to make the most of this rest to later on oppose the domination of the Sino-British team. After four races in Europe, FIA WEC contenders will meet again in September for the second part of the Championship.
Oliver Jarvis: “Last year, when Audi decided not to continue, I thought it was ‘the end of the world’ for me. Then I went into LM P2, with Jackie Chan DC Racing, a fantastic team! I’m so happy to be part of the squad, everybody’s so efficient and lovely. I’ve got two wonderful teammates. I might be the oldest yet they don’t need my advice, they’re both really good. We work really well the three of us together and we make very little mistakes. The whole staff is doing an impeccable job. This race was a delight and to win before the break is great.”
Ho-Pin Tung: “The car was impeccable once again. Since Silverstone, we’ve been making progress on every single race, thanks to everybody’s hard work. The current car/drivers/team combination works perfectly well at the moment, everybody’s doing a remarkable job and I’m really glad.”