G-Drive Racing by APR: 24 Hours of Le Mans 12-Hour Update
22 August 2021 | adminleveridge
G-Drive Racing operated by Algarve Pro Racing is recovering from its earlier woes.
The #26 trio of Nyck de Vries, Franco Colapinto and Roman Rusinov lie 14th in LMP2 at the midpoint of the 89th 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the Pro-Am #25 entry of Roberto Merhi, John Falb and Rui Andrade crashed out of the race at midnight.
Having gone from competing at the head of LMP2 to four laps down following a collision with a class competitor, the #26 G-Drive Racing by APR crew has since recouped some lost time and positions.
Rusinov initially rose from 19th to 17th during his first race stint, which immediately followed a protracted repair stop, and De Vries was 14th when he passed the car to Argentinian young gun Colapinto, who has consistently chipped away at the large gap to 13th.
The #25 crew, meanwhile, tumbled down the LMP2 classification after an early trip into the gravel for Merhi, but Falb dragged the team back up from 23rd to 12th, even though random bursts of precipitation made for a tricky stint.
In fact, the slick-shod American span at the exit of the Ford Chicane, conveniently enabling him to dart into the pits for intermediate tyres, but conditions stabilised once again and Andrade later continued his Am teammate’s good work.
Unfortunately, the young Angolan hit the wall at high-speed just before the strike of midnight, and while the #25 Aurus was beyond repair, the driver emerged from the wreckage unscathed.