Pure Driving Pleasure!

Straight after the performance balancing tests for
the GT3 Brazilian Championship on April 21st and
22nd, Christophe flew off to Washington and the
Virginia International Raceway, to take part in the
second round of the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car
Series. An event which served as a test for the
Supercar Life Racing team, who came out of it with
flying colours.


Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series: Bosch Engineering 250
24th-25th April, Virginia International Raceway.
Christophe and Scott very close to the podium!


Setting the best time during the two test days for the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series at the Homestead circuit in Miami back in early April, Christophe was back behind the wheel of the Supercar Life Racing Riley-BMW, alongside his boss and co-driver Scott Tucker on April 24th and 25th at the
Virginia International Raceway, a circuit which has a reputation of being both demanding and tricky.


"The track is very enjoyable to drive, but it is totally unforgiving," the French driver commented, having set the fifth-best time during the first free practice session. After plenty of work, Christophe was able to set the best time of the second session, before handing the car over to his teammate.


Scott Tucker was caught out in a corner which had been partially covered in grass by a previous car, and could not avoid going off.
"It was just a little off, but when it came down, the front bonnet planted itself in the sand and damaged the front of the car," Christophe explained. "The team did a remarkable job to repair the Riley-BMW, but as the qualifying session was straight afterwards, we weren't really able to take part. So we were last of the Prototypes."


However, this didn't mean starting from the back of the grid as, in the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series, there are two starting grids, with the Daytona Prototypes starting first, and then the GT cars.


"Scott made a good start and put in a very good stint which, thanks to the team's good strategy during the Safety Car period, allowed us to refuel after one hour of racing in 8th position, on the same lap as the leaders," the Frenchman continued.


The first pit stop was disturbed by a slight fumble during the driver changeover-Scott's radio cable got stuck in the safety belts, losing them some time-as well as a ten-second penalty due to a mechanic putting a foot over the line when the car had not yet stopped, and due to the refueller
having a partially open visor, cost the team approximately 30 seconds.


"One hour and 45 minutes remained when I went back out. I pushed and I could quickly catch up with the leaders. Although the performance of the cars is very close, and it was impossible to put a wheel off the racing line, I nevertheless managed to overtake a Brumos car, driven by Barbosa, but it was difficult to attempt other overtaking manoeuvres without risking a collision. I kept calm and waited for the right moment."


Christophe made his pit stop at the right moment and strengthened his position. He was 6th when the Safety Car came out for one last time.
"The Safety Car pulled in just before the last lap, when ten cars were nose to tail. The restart was absolutely ferocious, especially as after over two hours of racing, the track was covered with tyre residues and also oil left by Wallace's engine. Over the radio, team manager David Stone told me that we had to finish the race. This cut my wings slightly, as in this sort of situation, you really have to go without asking yourself too many questions. At the first corner, the three cars in front of me ran into each other. Things went everywhere and I jumped on the brake pedal in order not
to compromise our hopes of finishing the race. If I'd chosen the accelerator instead, who knows what would have happened! Quite honestly, we could even have managed a win, as four of us came out of the first corner side by side, but reason won at the end of the day, in order to be
certain of crossing the finish line and to start the season with a solid result."


Christophe was very close to the third-placed car when, suddenly, his Riley-BMW became totally undriveable. Suspected a puncture, he contacted his team over the radio. The next moment, his engineer Bill Riley informed him that the telemetry showed everything was normal and that he could continue.


"Actually," Christopher commented, "I must have picked up a lot of rubber on my tyres during the Safety Car period. I accelerated, but a car had been able to pass me in the meantime. I overtook him again, and was right back up with the third-placed car, and I crossed the finish line level with
it."


For 16/1000th of a second, less than a heartbeat, Bouchut and Tucker
missed a podium position.


"After the race, I said that there are some victories which do not taste
like victories, and there are some fourth-place finishes which feel like a
win," Christophe commented. "For our true Grand-Am debut, the result
is more than positive. We didn't know exactly where we stood compared
to more experienced teams in this category. We have now proved that
team we form with Scott is able to aim for the podium and that a win is
on the cards."


Fifth in the points classification, the two drivers can now face the rest of the season with confidence. "Everyone is delighted in the team," he commented. "It is really good to work with people like that. In my career, I have been with so many teams who do not know the meaning of the word
'compliment', so I appreciate things like this more than ever. I would like to thank the whole team for their kindness and collaboration. I must also admit that I have not had such pleasure driving since my big accident in the Total 24 Hours of Spa last year. My two stints in Virginia were pure
driving pleasure which quite literally brought racing back to life. After 21 years of racing, that is a real joy!"


Christophe will be back behind the wheel of the Riley-BMW at Laguna Seca on May 16th and 17th (Supercar Life Racing is missing the next round as Scott Tucker will be taking part in the Ferrari Challenge) Another American Adventure.


Le Mans Series: debut at Spa-Francorchamps
On track with the Lamborghini Gallardo!
Before heading for California, Christophe will be off to the Ardennes for the Belgian round of the Le Mans Series on May 9th and 10th. This will be the first race for the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 entered in the LMGT2 category by team and tuner Reiter Engineering.


"I tested the car at the Paul Ricard in early April," Christophe explained. "It is a brand new car which needs a lot more work on the set up, so this will be a difficult challenge in a very close category, and up against wellprepared rivals such as Porsche or Ferrari. We were two seconds slower than the best GT2 cars at the Paul Ricard. Further to the set-up work which has already taken place, we hope to be within one second of them, although the Belgian track, with its long fast corners, is not the best track for the Lamborghini, which is fast in a straight line. With my teammate Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis, a great Bavarian personality, we are not expecting an easy race. To finish in the top six would be a fine performance, we'll have to wait and see."


Coming Soon:
9th-10th May: Spa-Francorchamps-2nd round of the Le Mans Series (Belgium).
16th-17th May: Laguna Seca-3rd round of the Grand Am Rolex Sport Car Series (USA).
30th-31st May: Watkins Glen-Porsche Cup (USA)