Modell vying to maintain 24H Series podium run on sunny South of France coast
Wednesday, July 08, 2015
Devon Modell will contest his third twice-around-the-clock endurance race of the season this weekend (10-12 July), as the Kent racer is entered in the 24 Hours of Circuit Paul Ricard under the Speedworks Motorsport banner.
Modell, a resident of Maidstone in Kent, traverses the English Channel and makes his way to Circuit Paul Ricard in the South of France for the second time in just over a fortnight, following a recent outing in the Blancpain Endurance Series at the end of last month.
The Aston Martin Evolution Academy recruit will be reunited with the Speedworks Motorsport team and its Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 in the fourth instalment of the Hankook 24H Series, having so far reached the SP3 class podium in the arid heat of Dubai, among the rolling hills of Mugello and in heavy rain Zandvoort.
He and teammates Ollie Hancock and John Gilbert now sit atop the SP3 standings and the Speedworks trio will be hoping to maintain their 100 per cent podium record and extend their lead at the highly technical Paul Ricard track in Le Castellet.
With its large run-off areas, Paul Ricard is a very forgiving circuit and, with no hills or reference points, it will be difficult for many of the drivers to maintain a competitive pace during the night – something Modell feels that will play to his strengths.
Nicknamed ‘The Dark Knight’, not because he’s a masked vigilante crime-fighter, but because he has shown a great deal of skill while driving through the hours of darkness, Modell is confident he can add more silverware to his ever-expanding trophy cabinet at Paul Ricard.
“I’m looking forward to this weekend,” said Modell. “The weather is meant to be well about 30 degrees Celsius and, being on the French Coast, what more could you ask for. Thankfully, the Aston Martin is fitted with air conditioning to keep us drivers cool, but I have the duty of driving during the midday sun, where I’ll have a tough task of trying to manage tyre degradation – they will ‘drop off’ quite quickly in that sort of heat – while also trying to manage engine temperatures.
“I’ve been to Circuit Paul Ricard twice already this year – once for a test and then for the latest round of the Blancpain Endurance Series – and I feel confident at the circuit now. The chicane along the back straight is in use this weekend, which will hamper the Aston Martin slightly, as its main strengths are its straight line speed, but it shouldn’t prevent us from achieving another podium. We are now leading the Drivers’ standings and we are fully focused on keeping a firm grip at the top and the only way to do that is score some strong points.”
Qualifying for the Hankook 24H Series’ 24 Hours of Circuit Paul Ricard is scheduled to get underway at 17.15 on Friday (10 July), with the start of the race itself at 14.30 the following day (11 July).
Source material - Devon Modell
