Mature performance helps Robertson Racing home at Petit Le Mans

Robertson Racing survived a chaotic 14th annual Petit Le Mans to come home 12th in class and 26th overall as the curtain came down on their 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron season.

 

Andrea Robertson, David Murry and Melanie Snow produced a mistake-free display at Road Atlanta aboard the #40 Ford GT in what was perhaps their toughest sportscar outing of the year.

 

The combination of 50-plus starters, Road Atlanta’s reasonably short 12-turn layout and stifling conditions ensured the trio had their work cut out to maintain concentration throughout the 1000-mile/10-hour race as the gaggle of faster prototypes took few prisoners while lapping slower traffic.

 

Ironically, in the early stages it was Murry on the offensive after the team was forced to withdraw from qualifying following a sizeable free practice incident. Scything through the GTC competitors, he was subsequently able to break into the GT class top ten amid a flurry of early caution periods, even if an over-ambitious move from one of the Audi prototypes - which resulted in contact - briefly threatened to undo his good work.

 

Their rivals’ various pit strategies ensured Robertson settled back into 12th place once installed before delivering a mature performance to keep the car in contention. Snow then sampled her first taste of Petit Le Mans 2011 around the half-distance mark.

 

Having also performed admirably in the tricky circumstances to maintain 12th, it was left to Murry and then Robertson to reel off the final hours without further incident.

 

Andrew ‘H’ Smith, Team Manager: “I’m delighted with how well Andrea, Melanie and David performed in such tricky conditions. It felt like the Ford was often a target out there as the prototypes took a lot of risks to get past, but fortunately we’ve got a pretty tough car. Mind you, it’s wearing a few bruises to tell the tale! As we demonstrated with the Le Mans 24 Hours podium earlier this year, reliability is definitely our strong suit and that certainly played a part.

 

“Now that the season is over we can go away and assess our options for 2012. All in all it’s been a good year with the Le Mans result obviously a highlight. But as a team we’ve taken great steps forward, a fact demonstrated by the pro car’s performances. It’s no secret that we are seeking investment that will help us continue making progress. Finally, I’d like to personally thank all those who have supported us. We know the Ford GT has become something of a fan-favourite and rest-assured we are doing all we can to keep it racing into 2012.”

 

Don’t forget to search ‘Robertson Racing’ on facebook for all the team’s latest news and images, or visit www.RobertsonRace.com.

 

ENDS