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Manila Bulletin devider Drive devider Did you see the Filipino team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

Did you see the Filipino team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

Published Sep 21, 2020 05:29 pm

The world’s most grueling race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, just concluded. For the third consecutive year, it was won by Toyota’s Gazoo Racing team. Yet Pinoy fans had another team to root for: Eurasia Motorsporsts.

Competing in Southeast Asia since 2003, the racing team has joined various racing series from Formula BMW, GT Asia, the Macau Grand Prix, and Le Mans. As its name suggests the team is a fusion of European and Asian staff working together to achieve victory. The team has seen success in open-wheel, formula, touring car, and more recently, endurance racing. The team is managed by racing veteran Mark Goddard, who serves as the team principal.

Some successful drivers, like Renault F1 driver, Daniel Ricciardo; Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 driver, Antonio Giovanazzi; and Lotus F1 Junior driver, Marlon Stockinger, have raced with the team. Currently, Filipino and Vios Cup veteran, Daniel Miranda, is driving one of the team’s TCR International touring car entries.

For the 88th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Eurasia entered Ligier car number 35 in the LMP2 category, one of the most competitive in the race. There was no Filipino driver behind the wheel this time, but Goddard takes pride in the team’s healthy roster of hardworking and ingenious Filipino engineers and technicians. These team members and his love for the country are the reason Eurasia Motorsport flies the Philippine flag.

Driving the number 35 car were 28-year old Australian, Nick Foster; ex-F1 driver Roberto Merhi; and 60-year old Japanese driver, Nobuya Yamanaka who always dreamed of racing at Le Mans.

After 24 hours of continuous racing, Eurasia managed to secure 14th place in the LMP2 category and 18th overall despite several incidents early on in the race. This is a massive improvement from starting 17th in their class and 23rd overall.

It’s an impressive result considering many teams fail to even complete the full 24 hours of racing. Besides going flat out for a full day, the “world’s most grueling race” requires teams to race through the dark track at night, endure changes in weather, deal with potential mechanical failures and avoid the frequent track incidents.

This is just Eurasia Motorsport’s fourth time entering the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but we’re looking forward to more. To find out where Eurasia is racing and to cheer on the Filipino team, visit their website here.

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motorsports Philippine flag le mans
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