Once again running the #231 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport with Dr. Fareed Ali, Simon Atkinson, Kevin Gleason and Leyton Clarke behind the wheel, the team ran consistently in the top five and had eyes on a strong podium position until a holed radiator put paid to those hopes in the early hours of Sunday morning.

In a case of what might have been, the Spanish heat rewarded the OCC LASIK with Newbridge Motorsport outfit with fourth position in SP3 class, 30th overall, after 558 laps around Circuit de Catalunya and only a late night cooling leak, which resulted in a loss of 15 laps while replacing the radiator, prevented the team from securing its first podium finish. 

“It was a great weekend, we once again had some very competitive driving in the CREVENTIC 24H Series,” stated Team Manager Richard Tovey. “The team and drivers performed brilliantly throughout both testing and the race. I’m really pleased with the development of the Porsche and the event has enabled us to focus on development of the car so we can make further progress in the CREVENTIC series next year.”

Dr. Fareed Ali
“We all had a thrilling and enjoyable weekend of racing in the 24. I think it is a sign of the overall progress the team has made that we’re disappointed to have finished fourth in our class. The disappointment however will serve as motivation for us all to continue to improve our performance ahead of the next race and we can all be proud of this accomplishment as there were nine very capable teams in our class. 

“It would have been a podium but a random piece of gravel puncturing our radiator prevented a dream finish, but we have to accept that that is the nature of racing. I am very proud of our team for their hard work during the entire weekend. I also want to thank my three teammates for sharing this experience with us. 

“Kevin Gleason joined us for the second race in a row and put in consistently fast stints throughout without any sleep at all… This was my first opportunity to race alongside British pro-driver Leyton Clarke, and I can only say that he is a professional in every sense of the word. He set the stage for the entire race with a superb opening stint, keeping the car safe during those hectic opening laps. The entire team benefited from Leyton’s expert advice on everything from car setup to driver changes.

“Simon Atkinson was an enjoyable presence in the garage. By his final stint he was lapping such a couple seconds of the pro drivers’ time. His performance certainly is a motivation for me to continue to improve my own racing skills. 

“And so we are all looking forward to battling for a podium at the next race.”

Kevin Gleason
“It was a lot of fun, we made a lot of progress from Paul Ricard, so that’s really positive. The car was more balanced to and easier to drive, so that helped all the drivers with the pace and tyre wear. The Newbridge guys worked really hard and did a great job as ever.  It was hard work of course as I got to drive too many hours with no sleep!  It wss the first time I couldn’t sleep during a 24-hour race but it was certainly worth it. Fareed really stepped up his pace throughout the weekend too which made it all the more enjoyable.”

Leyton Clarke
“The race was extremely tough; the heat was way more of a problem for us when in the car, rather than spectating. Without the cooling issue in the night, we would had been on the podium, which is good to know. It shows we had good pace throughout the 24-hours and the team was great. Next time we’ll be there!”

Next race for the OCC Racing Newbridge run team will be the 24H Epilog Brno at Automotodrom Brno, Czech Republic, in mid-October (14-16th). The OCC Racing Team is glad to welcome suitable drivers for the event who may be willing to participate in the SP3 class. Please don’t hesitate on contacting us with any queries.