Top Ten Finish for Mann in IMS Return

October 19, 2021

Seven-time Indianapolis 500 competitor Pippa Mann earned a ninth-place finish with teammates Sean Gibbons and Sam Owen in the Intercontinental GT Challenge Indianapolis 8 Hour race on October 17th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Driving the No. 7 Valkyrie Porsche Cayman GT4 for OGH Motosports with NOLA Sport, Mann made her debut in SRO competition and her second International GT4 appearance of the season, after a successful ADAC Total 24-hour race at the Nurburgring Nordschleife in June.

Mann’s first time driving the car was Friday, in rainy conditions. Saturday’s qualifying session brought completely different conditions – bright and cold – and lots of traffic. More than 40 cars on track in every 15-minute segment made for a busy and chaotic session.

Mann encountered a red flag after her first flying lap, then was unable to get another representative lap due to the GT3 traffic. Gibbons experienced similar issues, and with a lower average lap time from all 3 drivers than expected, the trio qualified 11th in a stacked field of 13 GT4 cars. It was clear that managing traffic would be key in the race.

Driving the first stint on Sunday, Mann advanced to P10 before handing the car over. By the halfway point of the race, the team was quietly climbing up the order, and she was closing in on sixth place when the ABS failed in turn one, causing the tire to delaminate and taking out the right-front radiator.

Instead of retiring the car, the Nolasport crew went to work, preparing the Valkyrie OGH Motorsports car to finish the eight-hour race. With continued attrition, the team was classified at P9 at the checkered flag.

“This was by far the toughest endurance race I’ve ever competed in,” said Mann. “The speed difference between us and the GT3 cars felt massive on this race track and there were just so many of them.

“When one of your primary goals for your team coming into the race is not to get hit by a GT3 car, that tells you something of what we were all dealing with out there - for them trying to navigate their way around us, and for us trying to compete in our race within their race. While speed and class differences are very normal in endurance racing, at this track, this weekend, it was certainly a major factor for all of the teams and drivers.

“I’m gutted we had the ABS issue, but it was just a freak thing where some pick-up that had accumulated inside our wheel well over the course of the race broke free and attacked our wheel speed sensor. I’m thankful it happened on a safe part of the racetrack, and that there wasn’t any further damage to car beyond that caused by the tire delamination. I’m very grateful to the hard work from the Nolasport crew for getting us back out on track to finish out the race, but I'm still gutted our chance for a better result ended this way.

“Sean and Sam both drove great stints out there, and we were quietly sticking to our plan, ticking off the laps and moving forward. I would like to thank them both again for the invitation to join them for this race. Also, thank you to Bell Techlogix and Indy Women in Tech for coming along on this eight hour adventure with me.”

Mann returns to action in just under two weeks when she resumes her coaching and co-driving duties at Sebring International Raceway for the 24-Hour World Racing League event on October 29-31, 2021.

© 2024 Pippa Mann | British Race Car Driver
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