Jonny Edgar’s Pace at COTA Goes Unrewarded
D.Tolson and Sons athlete Jonny Edgar endured a tough weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, with he and TF Sport recording their first DNF of the FIA World Endurance Championship season at the Lone Star Le Mans.
Fresh from a gruelling 24 hours of Zolder, where he secured a strong fifth-place finish, Cumbria’s finest crossed the Atlantic to rejoin teammates Dani Juncadella and Ben Keating for round six of the world championship. On Corvette’s home soil, the #33 crew were targeting a big result to keep their LMGT3 title fight alive.
Friday’s opening practice brought early encouragement as the team’s yellow Corvette Z06 GT3 set the pace in soaring Texan heat. Edgar then carried that momentum over into Saturday with another impressive showing in final practice before qualifying beckoned.
With Keating required to take the opening segment of qualifying, his lap advanced the car into Hyperpole, where Edgar took over. Rain began to fall, making conditions treacherous, yet he delivered the team’s best qualifying of the season with fifth on the grid. A subsequent 3-place grid penalty, however, dropped them to eighth for race start.
Sunday’s Lone Star Le Mans started behind the safety car due to the torrential rain, with over two hours lost before the race eventually went green. TF Sport’s problems soon surfaced as their Corvette developed a recurring issue in restarting after pit stops, costing Edgar and his teammates valuable time. Mid-race, Edgar also battled a technical glitch while running behind the safety car but he managed to keep the car circulating. Later, the team’s efforts were undone when Juncadella suffered a suspension failure at Turn 11, forcing retirement and ending their run of season finishes.
Despite the setback, Edgar and his teammates remain in the thick of the title race, holding third in the LMGT3 standings.
Jonny: “It’s very disappointing to come away from COTA with no points and a DNF. The team did a great job all weekend and our car looked to be really competitive at times. It’s a blow for our title aspirations but it does help that the other two teams in front of us in the standings didn’t score a lot of points and there’s still 14 hours of racing to go over two more events. I’m just looking ahead to the next round at Fuji. Like here, Fuji will be another new circuit for me and I can’t wait to get back on track again.”
The penultimate round of the FIA WEC takes place at Fuji Speedway on 28 September, where Edgar and his TF Sport Corvette team will be aiming to bounce back with a big points haul. The 6 Hours of Fuji will be live streamed on FIAWEC.TV and broadcast in the UK on TNT Sports and across Europe on Eurosport.
