LMP2 points leader Phil Hanson says that he has ‘absolute confidence’ that the reliability issues that plagued United Autosports at the beginning of the WEC season will not resurface at Le Mans, a track that is famously tough on cars.
United Autosports leads the points standings heading into the 88th running of the French endurance classic after having won the past three races in a row. The team experienced a difficult start of the season with mechanical issues at Silverstone and Fuji, the former resulting in a retirement mere minutes into the race.
Hanson told MotorsportWeek.com in an exclusive interview that he is not concerned about new issues popping up at Le Mans, a track that is notorious for causing reliability issues in cars.
“I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily on my mind, because I’ve got full confidence in the team’s ability of how they have ironed out the problem and prevented them from happening again,” Hanson explained. “There’s a really thorough process that United does to ensure that they don’t happen anymore.
“To be honest, the identification and analysis that goes into this are more throrough and much more complex than any team that I have raced for. Not that I have raced for many teams, but generally speaking I think United does the most in-depth work to make sure that the scenarios don’t reoccur.
“So I have got absolute confidence that the car will be as good as it can be. Obviously, I can’t talk about unforeseen error or unforeseen issue that can happen, which always does happen.
Hanson went on to say that he tries not to think about reliability problems, as it would negatively impact his mindset going into the race.
“But I don’t think about it much because United actually give me so much confidence with the job that they do and all the preparation they do away from the track that it never tends to be on my mind. Which is a very good thing.
I think also as a driver, if you’re constantly thinking about it, the inevitable eventually happens. I think it’s just better to not think about it and focus on what you are there to do.”
