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[h=2]Hedlund ready for Fuji challenge in Gulf Porsche[/h] Saturday, 14 October 2017


By Stephen Kilbey / Images by JEP/LAT



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American racer Mike Hedlund is set to make his debut FIA WEC start tomorrow, racing in GTE Am with Gulf Racing UK. The Pirelli World Challenge regular, who competed at Le Mans earlier this year in the same spec GTE Porsche 911 RSR to Gulf's with Proton Competition, is racing with the team as in place of its owner Mike Wainwright. He'll partner with British driver Ben Barker and Australian Nick Foster, the team searching for its second WEC podium of the year.

It's set to be a one-off drive, as the team has confirmed to RACER that GTE Am race winner Khaled Al Qubaisi will take the seat at Shanghai, for what will be be his first WEC start since the final race of the season in 2016. Wainwright meanwhile, will return to the team for the season finale at Bahrain.

"I got the chance to drive with Gulf through Ben Barker (who he will share the team's 911 RSR with this weekend)," Hedlund (above) told RACER. "It's just a one off, I'd never been to Japan before, so I really wanted to come for this one. The WEC race at Fuji has been a target for me for a while."
It's not been an easy weekend so far though for Hedlund, who has had to learn his way around the Fuji Speedway in challenging conditions. Mist and rain has affected every on-track session prior to the race, making it difficult for the less experienced drivers in the field to get fully up to speed with the circuit.
The 39-year-old's time in the car at Le Mans and during last year's ELMS season, he says, has really helped him get to grips with the circuit.
"It's the same spec Porsche as the one I drove in the European Le Mans Series last year, so the learning curve has been the different Dunlop tires we're using. The ones in the WEC are customer tires, whereas in the ELMS, they're spec. Learning the track has also been tough. But, luckily it's a short lap, so even though the conditions have been poor during free practice, it's not been too complex to learn.
"The problem is that the weather is just so changeable here, there are pockets of mist and rain that keep coming in and out. Sometimes it just affects one or two corners, too, so it can catch you by surprise."
The threat of rain during the race means that the teams will have to push hard early on to gain places, in case the race is red flagged like it was in 2013 because the conditions were too poor to run in.
"I think in the race tomorrow, the weather will be bad. So bad, that we're just hoping that there will actually be a race at all!" Hedlund admitted. "If there is, it will be fierce at the start because if it gets shortened, you'll want to be in a good position early. At the same time, though, we'll need to be careful, because it can be a tricky circuit."
Whatever happens in the six hours, it's been a learning experience in Hedlund's first trip to Fuji and one that has made a real impression on him. Despite only being in Japan a few days, he's already keen to come back for more racing in the future.
"I'm loving my time here," he said. "I've never experienced such a polite group of fans. The autograph session was great – it was so busy even in the poor weather, and I was so surprised that people actually know about me, and got me to sign pictures of me in the K-PAX PWC McLaren. I'm really humbled that people follow what I do this far away from home.