Exclusive: Jonny Adam interview 21 | 06 | 2017

FIFER JONNY ADAM became the latest Scot to become a Le Mans 24-Hours winner when he won the GTE Pro class in dramatic style. Partnered in his #97 Aston Martin by England’s Darren Turner and Brazilian Daniel Serra, Jonny took the lead in a thrilling, nailbiting finish on the last corner of the penultimate lap. (Watch the last, dramatic 15 minutes of Jonny’s dramatic Le Mans 24-Hours win)

Forty-eight hours after standing on the top step of the podium, celebrating in front of a sea of thousands of spectators and team members under the cloudless blue sky at La Sarthe, Jonny spoke with Jim McGill to give his most comprehensive interview after becoming a Le Mans 24-Hours winner. (Related: Fifer Jonny Adam wins Le Mans)

Not only does he describe the dramatic last couple of laps, but the 32-year-old from Kirkcaldy explains the build-up to the weekend; how he thought his move for the lead was actually at the end of the final lap of the race; and how he was deafened by the road of the crowd as he took the lead.

Jim McGill: Was it always planned that you would do the final stint?

Jonny Adam: Yes; and it was a pretty nice stint really. I had a bit of added pressure because Darren and Daniel had done a really nice job through the night part of the race. Obviously Darren started the weekend off really well for us by getting pole position, then through the early parts of the race we all had really good stints.

With the way the team planned the driving time, I was always going to finish the race, and the situation was that I was immediately locked into the fight for the victory in GT Pro. So there was added pressure before I even clambered into the seat for the last two hours.

But it turned out well.

JM: How many stints did you do?

JA: Four; I did about eight-and-a-half hours in total in the car. The last stint was extended just a little bit. But we were always in a race with someone. The Balance of Performance across our category ensures that all the cars are really close between all the manufacturers.

We had a fight with Ferrari in qualifying, where we pipped them by something like half-a-tenth for pole. Ford were fast with the #67 and #68 cars. Then obviously the Corvette and the Porsche cars. Porsche was fast through the night, but the Corvette was the one to beat. For the last seven-eight hours we were trading places; all three of our drivers had a fight with the Corvette at some stage.

But it was all good, and fair. There was nothing between the Corvette and Aston on straight line speed, and the speeds through the corners were evenly matched.

JM: What time did you go into your car for your last stint?

JA: It was about 12.50pm, so just over two hours to the end of the race at 3pm local time. The strategy was we knew we needed to have a splash at the end, but it was, literally, a splash for us; a 10-second fuel-fill.

We knew the Corvette was pitting seven-eight laps before us, so we knew their splash at the end of the race wasn’t really going to be a ‘splash’; it was going to be a routine stop without a tyre change, but a full fuel-fill which was going to be 32-seconds.

So when they pitted, we elected to cover them. We came into the pits at the same time rather than leaving it till later in the race.

It ended up being brilliant for spectators, because it meant both the Corvette and I were racing close on-track, rather than on strategy for the last 46 minutes of the race. Everyone could see how tight the fight was.

JM: The TV coverage and commentary of your final overtake exiting the chicane on to the start-finish straight is epic.

JA: It’s good; isn’t it. Le Mans is all about endurance racing, but the spirit of Le Mans is all about racing right to the chequered flag. But racing hard, but fair.

I think both myself and Jordan gave each other enough respect. Jordan Taylor has had a stunning year so far, winning Daytona and Sebring, essentially everything in IMSA; winning Le Mans would have been the clean sweep for him.

I said to myself when I was sitting trying to keep with him — obviously at one point he had fresher tyres than me, so he literally had more pace and opened a gap to about seven-eight car lengths — “don’t let him get too far away, because there will be a chance to pounce, and it’ll probably come more towards the end of the stint than the beginning”. And that’s exactly the way it unfolded.

JM: Has the fact you’re a Le Mans 24-Hours winner sunk in yet?

JA: Not yet. I think it’ll probably take another couple of weeks. But it has, certainly, back at the team’s base. As you can imagine, Prodrive and Aston Martin have waited nine years since they won in GT1, but 10 years since they won in our famous green colours in 2007; and obviously Darren was part of that success. So he’s been really patient to wait for this next win.

We’ve come so close; when we elected to run the GTE car we’ve been on the podium; we won the GT Am class in 2014; but we’ve always chased the GT Pro victory. That’s the one everyone wants.

To do it, and be part of it; be part of history … I think this year’s race will probably go down as one of the most memorable races for fans, for the championship, for what it was; a 24-hour race being decided at the last corner.

The congratulations we’ve all been getting have come from other manufacturers; fans around the world; the media, from everyone. And believe me, it’s all been well accepted. It’s a really nice feeling for Prodrive and everyone at Aston Martin.

 

JM: From a personal point of view, can you sum up what it means to be a Le Mans winner?

JA: There’s three milestones in my career really. One was signing with Aston in 2013. To actually be offered a contract with a manufacturer is what any young racing driver wants at any level of the sport. So that was a nice tick in the box.

Then to be given the opportunity last year to do Le Mans, the last of the 24-hour races I had to achieve  … and when you actually take part, as you know, there’s no race like it. To get a finish first time out at Le Mans was a nice feeling.

To look up at the podium and fully appreciate what it is, I felt: “I want to get up there as soon as possible”.

And then this year, to actually win the race, win it the way we did, to stand on that podium with two really good friends and team-mates; to stand and look down at the sea of spectators and teams was amazing.

I didn’t have to really speak to people after the race; I just had to look at their facial expression to see what the win meant to them.

JM: Was there a slightly different approach in the build-up to this year’s race weekend?

JA: We had put to much into it, as everyone else does. But this year we went the extra mile to make sure we were 110% prepared and ready for it.

I don’t know. There was just something about the mood in the camp we had going into the weekend, especially after qualifying, that there was a spring in everyone’s step around the garage. We’d never had that feeing before. We genuinely felt we could do this.

When I was in the car for the last stint, it was a case of “don’t give up, because these boys have worked so bloody hard, they don’t want to finish runner-up — I need to win”.

Fortunately, it worked out for me. It could have gone the other way, it could’ve gone wrong, and we might not have had the pace to win, but it turned out to be the right result for us.

JM: It’s a long way from racing Seat Cupras at Knockhill.

JA: It is (laughs). As you know, I started racing when I was 10-years-old in 1994 at Crail. Dad and I would basically just do everything together to get me on-track. It’s been a rollercoaster, up and down career all the way.

I’ve never had anything handed to me; I had to work for it, put a lot on the line to get me going racing, then rely on some really, really key people and sponsors along the way, who are still with me.

I’ve got people who have been with me on the journey for 15-odd years … and they were all at Le Mans. So they were in it as much as I was. Pretty special to go all the way, and just dream, of one day winning big races like this.

You’ve got the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula 1; the Indianapolis 500 in the States, and you have the 24-Hours of Le Mans. These are the Holy Grail.

I just wanted to achieve a win. I didn’t know when it would come, and that’s why, when I was fighting for the win, I said to myself, “look, you might never, ever in your career, be in this position again, so if there’s a chance, don’t not take it. I have to take it with both hands and go for it”.

JM: What was going through your mind on the last lap?

JA: After I saw the lock-up that Jordan had, and then the problem he had with the front left tyre, I knew he was weak and I pounced there and then.

Going by him, on the exit of the chicane, I genuinely thought it was the last lap of the race; that we were finishing off. Everyone in the garages and paddock was standing on the pitwall, and everyone was standing in the grandstand ready for the LMP1 winner to take the flag because it was the last lap of the race … but we hadn’t actually started our final lap.

When I went passed the Corvette, I literally couldn’t hear the engine note because of the roar of the crowd screaming on the left-hand side.

So going on to the last lap, the team came on the radio saying “one more to go”. Obviously, after the Corvette had its puncture and disappeared in my mirrors, the case was “don’t do anything silly”, and it was the slowest, longest lap I did all week.

You know what it’s like; we’ve had punctures in the past, and the key was not to do anything silly, so it was a pretty chilled-out last lap. And it was cool, because going into the Ford Chicane we had a massive, huge Aston Martin hospitality unit, which was absolutely rammed with Aston guests.

Normally we don’t give out flags before the end of the race, because we never want to tempt fate. But the flags were all out flying from the balconies; it was absolutely rammed. So that was quite cool to see that.

And then, obviously, the nice thing was to see the boys hanging over the pitwall. The great thing was, the sister car, the #95 car, was essentially rear-gunner for the race; well, for that final part of the race, and we delivered the perfect “photo-finish, side-by-side” shot for the team as we crossed the line together, just inches apart. It was pretty cool.

Even on the warm-down lap, seeing what it meant to the marshals, who come from all over the world, to see on their faces what it meant, and how we finished it off, was brilliant. It was great to put on such a show for them.

JM: Tyres are always crucial, and the weekend was searingly hot. How important was Dunlop?

JA: I have to say, Dunlop did a stellar job over the weekend. They really came up with a great tyre for the warm conditions. That’s where we’re now in the fortunate position, hopefully, that the Dunlop should work now in warm conditions. And obviously with the World Endurance Championship, where we’re now lying second behind the Ford GT of Andy Priaulx and Harry Tinknell, I think for the rest of the year, with the flyaways — Austin, Mexico, Bahrain — all the warm climates, we should be in a  position to compete when it comes to tyre performance with the Dunlop. They’ve done a mega job.

JM: Any chance of having a break?

JA: No. I fly away tonight to Paul Ricard for a six-hour race in the Blancpain Championship. We’re leading Blancpain; we’re leading Pro-Am class with Ahmad Al Harthy, so I’ve got that.

Then, obviously, next is the Spa 24-Hours race in the Blancpain Championship at the end of July.

But the great thing is, the Le Mans-winning car has been left, as it normally is, in the condition it was in when we finished the race; it’s always photographed in its grimey state. This year though, I get to drive it up the hill at Goodwood all three days next weekend at the Festival of Speed.

I’ve driven the #95 car up the hill a coupe of years ago, but it’ll be nice to drive the car that I raced, and won at Le Mans, in the condition it was in when we took the chequered flag. That’ll be special.

So, it’s not a quite time for a break; I’m right back on it again.

JM: As ever, thanks Jonny.

JA: No problem; any time.

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Jim McGill