Third spot in Fuji encourages Tincknell
MOTOR RACING
Devon’s Harry Tincknell believes his third-place finish in Japan at the weekend represents a “solid” result in his quest for the World Endurance Championship title.
The Sidmouth racer and codriver Andy Priaulx qualified fourth at Fuji, but improved on that in the six-hour race to make it consecutive podiums following their second-place finish at Silverstone.
“We are pretty pleased,” said Tincknell. “Good results help keep morale up. We’re constantly bringing back trophies and champagne, so that goes down well.
“We got a solid third and were the best Ford by quite a stretch. The guys in the team did a great job and the pit-stops were perfect. Andy drove well and I did my bit too, so it was all done to the max. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite have the overall pace for the win.
“We knew it was going to be tough to have another weekend as good as Silverstone but we were really pleased.”
The result means their WEC title bid is well and truly back on track following a disastrous start. It included Tincknell sustaining a heavy crash at the Belgian circuit of Spa, before a 12th-place finish following a post-race penalty at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“I think the key thing is to get points even if we’re having a bad race. With BMW in the field now too, everyone can take points off each other, so a regular podium is better than one good race followed by a bad one,” he said.
“That is two races and two podium finishes where we have scored good points. We need to keep that run going. We still have half a season left to go so there are plenty of points left up for grabs.
“We need to get points where we can. If you have a bad race, that can be where the championship is won and lost.”
It leaves Tincknell in fine fettle heading to Shanghai, where his Ford Chip Ganassi Racing team have a 100 percent WEC record with two wins from two.
Although the track is not perfectly suited to the Ford GT’s characteristics, Tincknell feels confidence is high heading to China. He said: “We will have a good confidence boost ahead of Shanghai.
“We haven’t lost a race there – we’ve won both races – so hopefully we can make it three in a row. Whether that’s possible or not, I don’t know.
“Our main issue at the moment is straight-line speed, and that means, at tracks with long straights like Fuji, it is difficult,” he added.
“Shanghai has a long straight but a lot more corners as well, so hopefully we should be OK. We are feeling pretty positive.”