Manu Collard (Team Penske) : "A top 5 LMP2 for its 25th start at Le Mans"

When Manu Collard left the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2017 after his accident, he must have thought that driving a proto at Le Mans was out of his mind. Five years later, here he is in the top 5 of the LMP2 category at the wheel of an Oreca 07 entered by Team Penske. Is this a childhood dream for the 50-year-old ? Certainly... 

Manu Collard has now competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 25 times, most recently last weekend in the company of Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron. With 96 laps completed in the race, the Frenchman has fulfilled his mission as a Silver driver, namely to accompany the American team before the arrival in Hypercar next season. 

"Finishing fifth in a field of 27 LMP2 cars is still a very positive thing," Manu Collard told Endurance at the finish in the Penske pit. "There is still a bit of frustration but we didn't have the speed of Jota and Prema. We didn't have any problems in the race. The only alert was a change of bonnet. The good thing is that the team is happy with my work and I had fun on the track."

Two years after leaving Le Mans with a podium finish in GTE-Am, the former Pescarolo driver never thought he would return to Le Mans in LMP2, especially with Team Penske, his former ALMS team. "I would never have imagined such a scenario", he confides, still moved. "Penske is a big team, a big machine. The pressure was on. Before I said yes, I thought about it because I didn't want to be a problem for the crew."

Manu Collard's Team Penske adventure came to an end with a good result: "I was able to bring my racing experience and I have no regrets whatsoever. What happened to me is very positive and of course it makes me want to continue, even if I am well aware that I am no longer at the level of the youngsters. I have my place in Silver knowing that I completed two days of testing before Sebring and only the meetings afterwards. Everything went from strength to strength: 8th, 4th, 5th."