Post Race - 12hrs of Sebring

The season has officially kicked off for Doodleco Motorsport with the 12hrs of Sebring on Saturday. This is the first championship entry for the team and expectations were low but through a mixture of consistent driving and a great performance by last minute entry, Joito05, the Doodleco Acura came across the line in 13th position.

After a messy start to the race due to the leader clearing off on the formation lap, Tango Wh1skey held position and claimed his first victim when passing slow traffic. After being held up, the Lola Mazda which was ahead of Tango made an error trying to pass a Ford GT on the inside of a corner. Tango took the opportunity to follow the Mazda through but as he got on the power the Mazda appeared to back off causing Tango to nudge the Mazda into a spin, taking position in the process.

After the first driver change there was contact once again with the Mazda who ran wide through Turn 17 and then had a bad entry into turn 1. The Doodleco car made a move on the outside and had the position but the Mazda failed to back off into the chicane and ended up facing the wrong way for the second time, but now suffering damage.

Approaching the halfway point in the race, it was clear that the car was starting to settle in and was setting new personal best times. With more cars pulling into the pits with technical problems, Doodleco was working up into the top 15. Shortly before the 7 hour mark however, disaster struck as Tango Wh1skey locked up into the hairpin, slamming into a Viper and causing major damage to the bodywork of both cars. After a slow crawl back to the pits it was obvious that the engineers had some work to do but only one hour later the car was back and in the hands of Joito05. The delay had cost the team most of its hard work and was sitting 33rd overall with just 4 hours remaining.

Joito05 stormed back through the GTE cars, pushing hard to make up for the time lost. His effort was not wasted as the flag dropped with Doodleco Motorsport sitting in 13th position, ahead of all the GTEs.

With such a performance we thank Joito05 and announce that it would be our privilege for him to return with the team at Le Mans in June. In the mean time we will be testing and developing the car ready for round two of the TORA Endurance Championship.

TORA Endurance Championship - Sebring 12hrs

Doodleco Motorsport is set to debut in the TORA Endurance Championship this weekend with the season opener, 12hrs of Sebring.

Using the Acura ARX-01b, the team hopes to remain consistant and trouble free for the season which should lead to some strong performances. The aims of this year are to finish with as few problems as possible whilst learning how to perform better in the future. Pre-season testing has already outlined that Doodleco is likely to sit at the back of the field however this doesn't deter the team's spirit.

The 2013 championship will consist of 5 races, starting this weekend with the 12hrs of Sebring. Round two will be at the end of June, the Le Mans 24hrs. After Le Mans the team will be looking to prepare a GT car for the second half of the season. Currently the third round is to be confirmed but rounds 4 (Britcar 12hrs at Silverstone) and 5 (Nurburgring 24hrs) will be GT and Production races.

Doodleco Motorsport Supports Help for Heroes

In recent years, motorsport has become increasingly linked with assisting injured military personnel and their families. Both Mission Motorsport and Race 2 Recovery compete with the support of Help for Heroes, and now Doodleco Motorsport has joined them in the virtual world.

Help for Heroes was set up in 2007 to provide direct, practical support to wounded injured and sick Service personnel and their families. To date, H4H has funded a variety of projects including the £8m Rehabilitation Complex at Headley Court, a new £3.5m treatment centre for Combat Stress, adaptive adventure training through the Battle Back programme and the creation of a £6m Quick Reaction Fund to support individuals in need.

As a member of the UK Armed Services, I am keen to promote this good cause. For this reason, Doodleco Motorsport has partnered up with H4H with the goal of receiving donations and sponsorship to compete in the 2013 GTR24h in October. Throughout the year, we will have an online page that people can donate directly to the team with all proceeds going to H4H. To add to this, we will be bringing some collection tins to Denmark and some H4H wrist bands and posters so people can give a small donation to us personally if they so wish.

I must stress that this charity does not go towards funding the military, it is just about helping those who need support. I ask that you do not let personal feelings towards armed conflict prevent you from seeing the benefits that H4H provides.

Anyone wishing to sponsor us please do so by going to this address...

http://www.bmycharity.com/Doodleco

 

I thank you all for your support.