2015 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2: Karun Chandhok finishes fifth

It was a tough outing for the Murphy Prototypes Endurance Racing Team at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite the various ups and downs the Irish team managed to finish a respectable fifth position overall in the LMP2 class following a great effort from its three drivers by Indian driver Karun Chandhok, Nathanael Berthon and Mark Patterson. The Murphy Prototypes didn’t have a perfect qualifying session which saw them start from eighth and it was Berthon was the first of the three Murphy Prototypes’ drivers to get behind the wheel of the team’s Nissan-powered Oreca 03R prototype. Chandhok followed him and drove impressively to push the car up the grid and by the time he ended his stint and passed on the car to Patterson, the Murphy Prototypes were running in a strong third position. 

But during the night stint, they slid down the grid to fifth position in the KMP2 class. But a few retirements meant they were back in third position by the halfway stage. Karun was in the car for the sunrise shift and was delayed while the team removed some debris from the air intakes. Disaster struck the Murphy team when Patterson was clipped from behind as a car went to overtake. It took the pit crew almost 20 minutes to fix the car and all the hard work done was undone. Chandhok drove brilliantly in the final stages to cut the six lap deficit and grab fifth position when the chequered flag came out. Although he finished fifth, Chandhok was in the reckoning for a famous podium finish to make our country proud but well Indian motorsport fans will have to wait one more year at least before that happens. 

Speaking about the race, Karun Chandhok said, “It’s a hard race to finish and I’m pleased for the whole team to have achieved it. Although we had a few problems, I think we may have only gained one place if we hadn’t. This would have still not seen us on the podium and that’s what we were aiming for of course. I think that as a team, we are getting the best out of the car and therefore, this weekend represented a great effort all round.”

KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) had a perfect outing at the 83rd round of the historic the 24 Hours of Le Mans that resulted in a commanding LMP2 class victory. Such was the domination of KCMG that they grabbed the pole position, fastest lap of the race and a maiden victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship, of which Le Mans is round three. Since Le Mans is the blue riband event, winners are allotted double points and this has pushed the Hong Kong outfit top of the championship tables.