We won the race, we won the championship, we are going to Le Mans!

24 February 2019

The Inter Europol Competition team won the Asian Le Mans Sepang race, won the Asian Le Mans Series and is going to do the 24 hours of Le Mans!

 

With entering the Asian Le Mans Series, the Inter Europol Competition team had only one goal; to win an entry to Le Mans. And the hard work paid off.

 

In the first race at Shanghai (China), the team’s #13 LMP3, with drivers Kuba Smiechowski and Martin Hippe, was on pole and went on to win the race. In Fuji (Japan) the pair started from 5thand finished the race in second place. In the third race in Buriram (Thailand) Smiechowski/Hippe qualified third and finished second. And here in Sepang, Smiechowski qualified 5th, but one car had to start from the back of the grid, so started from 4thand Hippe took the car over the finish line to win the race.

 

The race in Sepang was only marred by a touch by an LMP2 car (actually from the same team which caused the same damage in Buriram). The #13 suffered a broken right rear bullet but the team was prepared this time and fixed the problem during the last pitstop.

 

Martin Hippe:“I am very happy with the result. The team did a fantastic job specially with the little problem during the last pitstop. The car was actually perfect. And of course I am very happy to win another race and the championship”

 

Kuba Smiechowski:“It was very hot. At the end of my first stint, I was pretty much done. It was impossible for me to do a double stint in this heat. But I was able to cool down relatively quickly and get back in the car again. It felt much better than before. After the Algarve car hit me, I thought, not again, it is over. The touch had the rear bullet hanging onto the tarmack but during the pit stop the crew repaired the car in lighting speed. Amazing stuff of all the crew. Then Hippe took the car home. Like he always does. Great job done by all and I am very proud. And excited about going to Le Mans.”

 

Sascha Fassbender (Team Manager):“Going to Le Mans was the target of the team by doing the Asian Le Mans Series. We reached our goal. I think we did a perfect job as a team, with the drivers and crew very involved we got the result we deserved. This race we had a slightly different strategy, and it paid off realy well. I am now quite emotionally and we are definitely going to enjoy this win.”

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