Sportscars: Racing Team Netherlands not at the start at Road Atlanta
Sportscars: Racing Team Netherlands not at the start at Road Atlanta
After successful performances at Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen, RTN is missing this weekend
This Saturday, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will host the 25th edition of Motul Petit Le Mans, the ten-hour race that forms the season finale of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Racing Team Netherlands, which is in second place after three of the four races in the standings of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, will be the missing apple, the team announced via a statement on social media. There were also concerns about the possible consequences of the event, but for now its impact seems to be falling.
Text: René de Boer (Twitter: @renedeboer)
Photo: PR
Given the complications of the past few weeks surrounding Frits van Eerd, the initiator and funder of Racing Team Netherlands, the decision not to participate in Petit Le Mans comes as much of a surprise. The statement of the team reads as follows: “In light of Frits van Eerd’s decision to fully develop his situation in the coming period, Racing Team Netherlands will not participate in the IMSA race next weekend in Atlanta. We understand and aim are destined and destined him our support.”
From a sporting point of view, of course, it’s a shame, because after strong performances in the first three endurance races of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring and the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen, the team occupies second overall just four points behind PR1/Mathiasen Motorsport, drivers Frits van Eerd and Giedo van der Garde in the driver standings also only four points behind PR1/Mathiasen Motorsport drivers Ben Keating, Scott Huffaker and Mikkel Jensen to have. A good result in the LMP2 class would definitely have been a realistic option, but of course other things are now on more important matters.