Component failure ended Dan Harper’s dream of becoming the first driver from the UK or Ireland to get their hands on the Intercontinental GT World Challenge title at the closing round in America.
Harper and team-mates Augusto Farfus and Max Hesse fought valiantly to work their way into title contention around the 2.5-mile ‘Brickyard’ circuit only for a defective rear diffuser to spell the end.
It capped off a pretty tough couple of days for Harper and his German and Brazilian co-drivers as, initially, their car arrived late to the track due to a port strike that affected local freight deliveries.
Despite limited seat time, the trio’s early pace in pre-qualifying was promising and that continued into qualifying, but analysis of the data by engineers afterwards resulted in the call being made to replace the engine with a new one — a decision that meant they started from the back of the grid. Emboldened, Harper went from 23rd to seventh in the first half-hour with a brilliant charge up through the field before Farfus broke into the podium places where he stayed throughout the middle portion of the race.
However, the blistering run that got them to the top of the leaderboard came to a halt with Hesse at the wheel when the aerodynamic aid on their BMW M4 GT3 failed.
Despite Hesse nursing the car back to the pits so that mechanics could investigate the problem in the hope it could be fixed, it could not be cured retirement beckoned a short time later.
It was a weekend of contrasting fortunes for Team WRT as the sister car belonging to Sheldon van Der Linde, Dries Vanthoor and new Intercontinental GT Challenge champion Charles Weerts won at Indianapolis on corrected time from Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer, and Laurin Heinrich’s Porsche.
It ensured Team WRT successfully defended their victory — albeit by 0.260 seconds — while points for second was enough to hand Porsche a first IGTC manufacturers’ crown.
“Luck was against us from the off, with the delay of the car arriving costing us crucial track time, then having to change the engine after qualifying and start from the back of the grid,” said Harper. “A huge thank you must go to the whole Team WRT crew — everyone worked very long days and late nights to get the car prepared, to ensure it was competitive and ready to race.”