Priaulx gets the most out of his weekend in Japan
A PODIUM place was the reward for Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell in the very challenging and exciting Six Hours of Fuji.
The fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship threw everything at the competitors, with changing conditions and safety car periods, but the crew of the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing car came through unscathed and finished third.
‘It was a really good and tough race and until the fourth hour mark we were really fighting for the lead,’ said Priaulx.
‘Towards the end we lost a bit of time in the pits and also had a grip issue in the final stint.
‘However, overall I am very happy with third place as it was a good weekend with our performance in both qualifying, where we were fourth, and the race.
‘I think it was the maximum considering our current performance, but the great thing is we have started to bag some more points with two podiums in the last two races, which is mega.’
Following a typically wet Fuji morning, the race started on a slippery track and after an exciting first hour the Ford GT was lying second.
After a couple of safety car periods the conditions improved and, with the cars on slick tyres, the competition in the LMGTE Pro class really started to hot up.
‘A race like this is certainly very exciting and challenging for the team, but, as usual, the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing team did a great job so a big thank you to all of them,’ Priaulx said.
For the fifth race of the series the teams will stay in the east, but this time it will be China, where they will race on the Shanghai International Circuit next month.
