Sporting the colours of Algarve Pro Racing, Rene Binder, James Allen and newcomer Steven Thomas kicked off their latest FIA WEC project with third place in the Pro-Am class of the LMP2 during the 1,000 miles of Sebring at the weekend.
After the award ceremony in the pouring rain, Rene took the opportunity to once again thank his team, Algarve Pro Racing, saying: “A podium in the Pro-Am classification of the LMP2 was not our goal actually, but still, our team can be totally satisfied with their performance here at Sebring after being practically turned upside down these last few weeks. And so, I want to say a big thank you to everyone in the team! Our car was extremely fast, and we were at least able to show our potential with it, which is all we can do at the moment.”
The 1,000-mile race at Sebring had to be stopped three times in all. Once when the Argentinean Jose Maria Lopez crashed heavily and then a second and a third time after storm warnings, which put an early end to Rene’s charge up the field. Rene: “I think we might even have secured second place in the Pro-Am classification. We were very unlucky at one point during a safety car period and that dropped us back a lap, but ultimately, we obviously have to set ourselves fresh goals with our new crew of drivers.”
After the banning of Russian Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat, Algarve Pro Racing are focused on chasing points in the Pro-Am classification for the time being while Rene now sees an interesting challenge opening up working with the American, Steven Thomas: “Endurance racing is a team sport,” said Rene. “It’s also about supporting colleagues as best you can and tackling races in a strategic manner. There are quite a few extremely fast Bronze drivers out on track in the prototypes, but Steven is doing a really terrific job and should achieve a whole lot more given the strength of his ambition.”
The 2022 WEC season is set to continue with the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, May 7th. The grand prix circuit in the Belgian Ardennes has been one of Rene’s favourite tracks for many years: “I was on the front row for my first outing in German Formula 3 and then went on to win a race in the rain,” he told us. “Spa is one of the classics, just like Le Mans and Sebring. For me, it’s one of the most notable features of the FIA World Endurance Championship that you get to drive at such famous racetracks, and I’m really looking forward to this second round of the season.”