Even with a strong driver line-up you need some luck. And there was little luck for the Inter Europol Competition team this weekend in the VdeV six-hour race at Navarra (Spain). Martin HIppe, ELMS regular, teamed up with Kuba Smiechowski and Pontus Fredricsson in the #22 LMP3. Paul Scheuschner in the #33 LMP3 was joined by the young quick Swiss driver Moritz Müller-Crepon. The #33 suffered a broken driveshaft but finished the race in 14^thplace; the #22 had clutch problems and had to retire.

Just into the second hour, with Müller-Crepon behind the wheel of the #33, the car suffered a broken driveshaft. Within 30 minutes he team send the car back into the race with a new driveshaft. Both drivers did a great job with quick and consistent lap times, but looked at a gap of 21 laps to the leader. But they finished the race in 14^thplace. The race got suspended with 32 minutes to go, as the #11 car caught fire; luckily the driver was out in good time.

Fredricsson in the #22 drove a very good first stint. He moved from 9^thjust after the start to second at the end of his stint. In the fourth hour when Smiechowski was leading the race, the #22 LMP3 suffered a clutch problem. The team tried to repair, but Smiechowski/ Fredricsson and Hippe had to retire the car.

Kuba Smiechowski:“What can I say? It’s a shame because the car felt pretty good. I think our tactic was also good and were able to use the safety car to pit and refuel the car and that gave us a big advantage. It looked like an easy win, but this is motorsports and you just never know. The clutch just gave up and we could not continue.”

Moritz Müller-Crepon: “It was unfortunate that we had to change the driveshaft in the second hour. We showed some really good speed but were not rewarded with a podium. I liked the experience of doing some laps in the night and of course I am grateful for the opportunity to drive with the team.”

Paul Scheuschner: “Today was an unfortunate day for both cars. Traffic management at this track was difficult. I got stuck behind some cars and as a gentleman driver I cannot do the drivethroughs to get out of these situations. I really like the track and enjoyed racing here. Driving into the night was interesting as well. It was a challenging day, but we are still in a good position in the championship and will see what Le Mans will bring.”