Ben Barker led from the front as the GR Racing team achieved the ambition of a lifetime by finishing on the podium at the world-famous Le Mans 24 Hours over the weekend.
The Briton, making his eighth consecutive appearance at the blue riband endurance event with privateer team, has finished on the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIAWEC) podium before, but admitted that doing so at Le Mans, and at the race’s centenary celebration, made the achievement particularly special.
“This is a mega result — and one that is long overdue!” Barker emphasised, having come close with the team’s fourth-place finish in 2022. “Any podium at Le Mans is special, but to get one at the 100th anniversary running of the event adds a little extra sparkle. Finishing in the top three is everything at this race, because Le Mans is such a unique event, with unique pressures on the teams, drivers and cars. Of course you want to win, but to be up on that podium, overlooking the sea of people as fans flood onto the track, is something that you’ll remember for ever. And to do this with GR Racing — the smallest team on the grid — after eight years of trying is extra special too. It’s an amazing feeling to finally get that monkey off our backs!”
The team’s #86 Porsche 911 RSR, sporting a special livery to mark the 100th anniversary event, started tenth amongst the highly-competitive GTE-Am field after Barker put in another stellar lap at a circuit he both enjoys and excels at, and the Briton ended his first race stint behind the wheel — having taken the start flagged by NBA star Lebron James — with GR Racing sitting atop the class standings.
“The race was frantic right from the start,” the Cambridge resident noted. “Even though we had 24 hours to go, there was an element of having to survive just through the early stages. Fortunately, the #86 remained unscathed, and had decent pace, so much so that I was able to get into the lead at around the two-hour mark and hold top spot through to the first driver change.”
Unfortunately for the GR Racing team, the unpredictable weather conditions that blighted the region throughout the event, removed the #86 from top spot shortly after the changeover, with Barker’s team-mate Ricardo Pera being caught out on slick tyres as a torrential downpour hit the far side of the 13.6km circuit. Lucky not to sustain greater damage, the Italian still struck the barriers with the rear of the car, but was able to return the injured machine to the pit-lane — where the GR Racing mechanics performed some typically exemplary work to limit the team’s losses.
“We were both lucky and unlucky,” Barker commented. “Ricky was extending our lead over the GTE-Am class when the rain came and, even though it was an isolated downpour, the amount of standing water was simply too much for slick tyres. He was lucky to miss the first barrier, as that would have inflicted greater damage on the car, but was powerless to prevent contact with the rear right corner as it spun down the track. Fortunately, however, he was able to get back to the pits, and the team effected repairs in just ten minutes — although it took some great communication from the engineers to the mechanics to ensure that we got back out ahead of the safety car that would have sent us another lap down.”
Despite dropping a lap to the new leaders, Barker, Pera and team owner Mike Wainwright continued to press on into and through the night, each turning stints that not only kept the #86 in touch with its rivals, but ultimately able to claim back the lap lost to repairs. In addition to Wainwright producing his best lap times at the iconic venue, the pair had provided a great double punch in terms of pace, with Barker ultimately ending up as the fastest Porsche driver through the night and at the top of the average lap times for the entire event. By keeping out of trouble — which a lot of their rivals appeared to bring upon themselves — the GR Racing trio moved inexorably up the leaderboard to sit fifth in class as the final hour approached and, with Barker completing his final stint before handing over to Pera once again, looking good for another notable result against bigger and better-funded opposition.
It was at this point that the team’s unrelenting desire paid off, with a couple of cars ahead of them running into final hour issues and Pera, who was nursing a very soft brake pedal throughout the run to the flag, moving up another couple of spots to be holding down a podium position with just a handful of laps to run. The tension was palpable in the GR Racing pit garage, but turned to exultation as the Italian crossed the line for the final time.
“You could feel the tension,” Barker confirmed, having returned from the podium celebrations. “But seeing Ricky get the car home in the top three at the end of another mad 24 hours was a feeling unlike any other. This is a small private team, that has been coming here year after year with largely the same crew behind the scenes, and this result, while a bit insane, is true reward for that effort and dedication. This is a real team success — and thoroughly deserved!”
Round five of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship takes place at Monza over the weekend of 7-9 July, but Barker’s attention shifts first to another 24 Hour event, at Spa-Francorchamps, as the third race of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup takes place between 29 June and 2 July.
