No luck in Strakka win

The British outfit secured the best result for an LMP2 car at the Hungaroring but, after winning the Michel Green Challenge in April and coming fifth at the Le Mans 24 Hours in June, Phillips said last weekend’s triumph was deserved - both tactically and technically.

"A lucky win? I don't think so. I believe you make your own luck," he said. "We simply prepared thoroughly and did our job as professionally as possible.

"The outcome was always going to hinge massively on the way we dealt with the traffic round the twisty circuit. That was a point we stressed to our drivers: we told them the race would no doubt be about survival and they responded brilliantly.

"Our car was one of the few that didn't take a single knock."

Phillips admitted that his car is less powerful than the LMP1 favourites, but pointed to their tactical advantage on a slow circuit along with new technical developments that gave them an edge.

"At the start, we knew there was every chance we would get swamped by the powerful LMP1 cars on the run to the first turn, so we just let that happen and then concentrated on staying out of trouble, but you could see many of the other cars taking risks overtaking slower runners," he added.

"We were third at the halfway point, and then the Peugeot pitted. That's when we sensed that a win was possible.

"(Strakka’s new aero downforce system) worked at once," explained Phillips.

"That made our job much easier, leaving us to concentrate on other jobs, such as fine-tuning our car's handling and making sure that the drivers felt comfortable.

"It's also clear that our Michelin rubber gave us a tyre advantage over the other LMP2 cars. Along with Michelin, we prepared thoroughly for the Hungaroring, since wear was likely to be an issue."