Only 9 weeks after elbow injury, Ben Keating returned to do his first WEC race of the season to the 24H of Le Mans, converting his entry into his fourth class victory. Speaking to media after the race, Keating summarized the journey to get to the top step of the podium once again.
Driving together with Nicky Catsburg and Jonny Edgar, an established and win-proven Corvette lineup, Keating spoke about the importance of a strong driver lineup and their past achievements.
“I would say that when Niki and I won in the Corvette in 2023, that was far and away the worst weather, or the worst conditions I’ve ever experienced. I think over half the field retired with damage. It was a really difficult race. This has to be the best weather I’ve ever seen in Le Mans in the 12 times I’ve done it. It was a green race. I’d be shocked if we didn’t go further in this race than ever before,” said Keating at the press conference following his win.
This is Keating’s 9th WEC victory, which makes him the series’ most-successful American driver to date. His fourth triumph at the French classic comes in one of the most competitive GT fields to date: “And it made for really competitive racing. But, you know, you talked about the heat, and I think that the extreme heat out there was really beneficial for our car. You know, if it were a green flag race, all of the LMGT3 cars would have done somewhere around 34 to 35 stints, and we had 15 sets of tires.
“And so you had to double-stint and triple-stint in our car. The Corvette is really good at taking care of its Goodyear tires. And so I think that, you know, it was an advantage for us to have the heat, especially at the end of the day after the safety car in the morning when everybody was punched up and close. We needed it to be hot outside.”
In March, Ben Keating suffered an elbow injury when mountain biking and required surgery. He admitted to the media that he doesn’t feel fully prepared to race in Le Mans, after missing the first two opening rounds of the championship due to recovery. Despite, he appreciated the team effort that led them to the win: “You always believe it can happen, absolutely. I don’t care how good your car or team is. You can’t come into a 24-hour race expecting to do well. You just have to do your job, and we had a perfect race… no penalties, no mistakes. The car is in pretty good shape, and that’s what you need to do to win this race.
“It’s so good to be with these guys. I enjoy Nicky. I’m super-proud of Jonny. To win with Corvette is really special again. But it’s even better to have my name on the side of it. In 2023 when we won with the Corvette, I didn’t have Keating Chevrolet! Now I have Keating Chevrolet so I can put my dealership on it. Hopefully we win on Sunday and sell Corvettes on Monday!,” summarized Keating.
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