Oli Webb and his ByKolles team headed to historic Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for the latest round of the World Endurance Championship.
Spa was basking in stunning sunshine and high temperatures when the cars took to the first practice session which, for Bykolles, was cut short with technical issues, limiting running.
The second session was more productive but the heat and high downforce was playing havoc with the tyres which were wearing fast.
Qualifying was equally challenging with Bykolles’ closest rivals turning up the power to nudge ahead putting Oli, Simon Trummer and James Rossiter in P9 overall and P3 in class with an aggregate lap time of 2:03:571.
The race started well, and with Rossiter at the wheel he passed one of the Rebellion cars after Eau Rouge. However, an hour in, the team started to suffer once again from high tyre degregation, compounded by rising car temps leading to a 20 minute pit stop, frustratingly putting them 4 laps down. The rest of the race was spent pushing back through the field with Oli completing the middle stints before Simon Trummer nursed a rather tired Bykolles car home. Despite the numerous hurdles, the team fought hard to collect P6 overall and P3 in class to pick up a second podium in as many races.
After the race, Webb commented: « Not an easy weekend, the high track temperatures didn’t help us, we were running pretty high downforce, this coupled with the heat meant we suffered from fairly severe tyre wear issues before overheating put us in the pits for an extended stop. I’m pleased we managed to pull through and of course its great to be on the podium but at the end of the day we want wins. We’re bringing some upgrades to Le Mans so we’re hopeful of progress there. As always, big thanks to Bykolles for the hard work all weekend. »
The teams now have a break before the jewel in the WEC crown, the Le Mans 24 Hour race on the 18th June.
Press Release,