Date: 22.03.10
James Walker discovered one of the agonies of endurance racing
last night when the No.64 JLowe Racing Porsche was forced to retire
from the Daytona 24 Hour race after just four hours.
James enjoyed the time he had on track during the practice
sessions and was itching to get into his first 24 hour race.
Team-mate Eric Lux had qualified the Porsche in 17th place, right
in the middle of a massive grid of GT cars. The race began under
caution due to heavy rain but after a few tentative laps the race
was on.
Lux did a great job, hustling the Porsche right up into the top
six before he handed it over to Tim Sugden, who also had a good
run, maintaining position throughout his stint.
The third driver to go was James and he jumped in as soon as
Sugden returned to the pits. Everything was looking good: James was
immediately on the pace and settling in for a long run.
Unfortunately just a few laps into James' stint the Porsche's
engine let go without any warning. All the Jersey racer could do
was nurse the car back to the pits where quick checks by the team
confirmed the problem was terminal.
"The entire JLowe Racing Team put in so much effort that it's a
real shame we couldn't get a result," said James. "The car felt
great in the build-up and I could tell even after a few laps that
we had a car that could have fought for the win. It's always tough
when a race doesn't go your way but there was nothing we could have
done to prevent the engine problem from happening. Despite this
I've really enjoyed my first taste of endurance racing. Now I'm
heading back to the UK to start training again and preparing for
the 2010 season. We are in the middle of putting a deal together
for this year so watch this space!"