Racer looking to round off difficult year on a high in Le Mans

Caerphilly amateur race car driver Graham Cole is set to compete in the TTE/Free Proto event in Le Mans, France, this month.

Cole will be looking to round off a difficult year on a high.

His GCCRacing team, which is sponsored by Caerphilly-based Richwest Engineering, suffered a number of engine problems throughout the course of the year, meaning the team has failed to make the grid for a single race in 2022.

The team came into the year off the back of a trouble-hit 2021, where engine damage and tyre punctures dented their ambitions.

The new engine had been designed specifically to race in the 2022 UK-based Zeo Prototype Series.

Cole said: “We raced in France for three seasons with a fair degree of success at famous circuits like Le Mans, Dijon, Magny Cours, etc prior to the Covid outbreak, but it was always our intention to race back here in the UK.

“However, while the French TTE/Free Proto series only permitted engines up to 2.0 litres, here in the UK the Zeo series allowed for more powerful engines. Hence we set about developing a turbo charged motor capable of competing at the front of the Zeo grid”.

However, the changes to the engine came with alterations to almost all elements of the car, including the chassis, gearbox and electronics.

The team’s usual suppliers did not have the racing slicks in the sizes needed due to a global shortage of rubber, meaning other teams competing with GCCRacing were also impacted.

However, the team has been able to source Pirelli tyres and is now raring to go at Le Mans.