The 4 hours of Navarra in the Ultimates CUP Series took place the weekend of 29-30th April 2023. Patrice Houllier HMC Racing’s Funyo N°290 was present.
Drivers Nicolas STURM and Marc-Antoine DANNIELOU took the track with the CN of the championship. The HMC Racing team had different goals, including a first: Finish the race. Indeed, the Funyo had never exceeded more than 3 hours in a row. A success for the HMC Racing team and the manufacturer Romain Angebeau:
Marc-Antoine DANNIELOU, driver of the Funyo N°290: “We have fulfilled, and even exceeded, all the objectives we had set for the weekend. All this on one of the most mechanically demanding European circuits. The work and experience of the entire HMC Racing team made it possible to achieve such a performance. My team-mate, Nicolas STURM, did some great solid relays. This is a good omen for the rest of this rider’s season, currently tied for the 2nd place in the 2023 Endurance CUP by Funyo Championship.”
Patrice Houllier, HMC Racing team manager: “The HMC Racing team had two challenges to face when they arrived in Navarra for this international Ultimate event, open to the best-performing prototypes such as LMP3, NP and CN. The first challenge was to show the strengths of the Funyo SP05 EVO, the second was to go through without technical problems. These 2 challenges were fulfilled, and even exceeded by the team. I would like to thank the two drivers Nicolas STURM and Marc-Antoine DANNIELOU for their great collaboration on this project. Our experience with the Sprint CUP and the Endurance CUP by Funyo where we have 6 to 10 cars was beneficial and helped us prepare for this meeting in Navarra.”
Romain Angebeau, Funyo manufacturer: “Once again, congratulations to Patrice Houllier and his HMC team for this very nice race that highlights the reliability and qualities of the Funyo SP05EVO 2023, congratulations also to the drivers who respected the team’s instructions. We had not yet had the opportunity to ride in 4H races of this level, it is a very successful exam. All the EVO modifications launched for 3 years on the car are highlighted here as the air-to-air exchanger for a perfect cooling of the engine, the hub doors and the larger reinforced transmission on a circuit reputed difficult and bumpy. We are currently developing an electric power steering system that has been under test since last winter and that we hope to see on a 6H race before the end of the year. With its evolutions, the value-for-money-performance-pleasure ratio remains the same for the drivers of the Funyo, it also marks a real difference of race philosophy in front of prototypes certainly very advanced technically, but with higher operating costs.»
Among the objectives of the start of the race, we can also talk about the performance of the Funyo which was close to the CN. We can also applaud the performance of the Michelin tires adapted to the Funyo by the manufacturer, only one set of tires was used for the race weekend, including qualifying tests.
On the mechanical side, the Funyo has made no additional stops in addition to the mandatory stops for petrol and driver changes thanks to the technical improvements made by Romain Angebeau since 2019 following exchanges with the different teams of the paddock Funyo.
The goals are fulfilled, the Funyo SP05 can do real endurance races. All this without any mechanical problems, thanks to the reliability of the car and the expertise of team manager Patrice Houllier.
The Funyo N°290 finished the 4 hours of race second in the CN category and TOP 10 overall.
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