DHG Racing started the historic season exceptionally competitively during the Mugello Classic. With pole positions, podium finishes, and a victory, David and Olivier Hart were at the front throughout the weekend, setting a competitive tone for the rest of the season.
In the Classic Endurance Racing 1 series, intended for cars from the sixties and seventies, David and Olivier Hart started excellently. Aboard the extraordinary Ferrari 512M, a great lap was delivered during qualifying that proved good enough for pole position.
However, during qualifying, the Ferrari’s V12 broke down, meaning the car unfortunately saw no further action. Hard work will be undertaken in the coming period to get the Ferrari back on the asphalt as quickly as possible.
In the Endurance Racing Legends, David and Olivier were well-placed with the Courage C60. A third-fastest time was recorded in the first qualifying session, while in the second session, after the set-up of the Courage was further refined, the search for a clear lap was rewarded with the fastest time.
The first race of the weekend started with David Hart behind the wheel, who brought the car in third after a very strong stint. Following the mandatory pit stop, Olivier Hart was able to fight his way forward with several excellent overtakes to ultimately finish second behind former factory driver Emmanuel Collard in his Pescarolo LMP1.
In the second race, luck was not on DHG Racing’s side. Despite a strong start and a fine first part of the race, David and Olivier suffered a significant loss of time during the pit stop due to a poorly timed virtual safety car. While the competition was able to pit without losing time, this did not apply to the Courage, meaning a top result was no longer possible.
In the Group C class, the DHG Racing team brought the beautiful Peugeot 905 to the track, a car that, in the hands of Olivier Hart, was no less than five seconds faster than the competition in the first qualifying session. On a circuit that was new to him, Olivier also proved significantly faster in the second qualifying session, allowing the Peugeot to start both races from pole position.
In the first race, the team dominated until a problem with a wheel forced the Peugeot to make an extra stop. A lap down, DHG Racing had to give everything to make up time, which they succeeded in doing remarkably well; despite the little time available to recover, David and Olivier still finished fourth.
David Hart took full responsibility for the second race, and in this contest, DHG Racing was rewarded for their hard work in Mugello. David dominated the race with a massive lead of 100 seconds, securing a well-deserved crowning achievement for the weekend. And so, despite some bad luck here and there, the DHG Racing team proved to be exceptionally strong. This bodes well for the rest of the season.
