BIRMINGHAM, UK - 1st September 2003 - Conekt are one of the official sponsors of the Lola Judd Sportscar owned by Taurus Sports, which raced at Spa, Belgium on Sunday, 31st August.
Norwich-based Taurus Sports achieved fourth place in the 1,000km of Spa on Sunday, a result that demonstrated that a private team in the right hands can mix it with the best of the factory supported teams. Starting from the third row of a 35 car grid, the Lola Judd V10 B2K/10b piloted by Briton Justin Keen, Italian Gianni Lavaggi and American Larry Oberto proved to have both speed and reliability and, in a race of 6 hours duration, only 32 seconds separated the team from a podium place.
Justin Keen:
"Finishing fourth in such a prestigious race is a good result but having been so close to a podium place its difficult not to feel a little disappointed, especially when the team worked so hard throughout the weekend. The car ran very well and it was pleasing to be competitive and stay incident free in such difficult weather conditions. We double-stinted the tyres and by the end that was hard work as I had to nurse it round the circuit. I felt good today and it was only when I handed over to Larry that the effects of three hours ten minutes at the wheel started to kick in."
Larry Oberto:
"It was great to be back in the car and racing on such a fantastic circuit. Although there was some understeer I felt comfortable and my lap times began to improve whilst the track was relatively clear. Then I seemed to have a long period in traffic, which was frustrating, and the wet dry conditions were a real challenge. The set-up was great and the team worked very hard. Sometimes the luck deserts you and for us today it was probably the difference between third and fourth place. I shall now go away and prepare for Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. The team have once again proved that they can prepare a sports car to compete in top level endurance racing and I shall be ready for the challenge come October."
Gianni Lavaggi:
"The clutch went after just two laps and I drove for almost two hours without it. The whole configuration of the team was good and the car was competitive. This enabled me to put the leading cars under pressure. I had a good battle with the second placed DBA car that eventually ended when Shimoda overpushed and went off the track. The tyres were a problem near the end but the biggest difficulty was the slow traffic and bad driving. It is frustrating when you are pushing quick times to then have to take evasive action across the grass to avoid back markers."
Ian Dawson:
"Having felt that we were well worth a podium finish it is easy to identify two or three areas that could have been the difference between fourth place and the rostrum. However, we finished a good fourth after 6 hours in a competitive race with 35 starters and difficult weather conditions. That is a success story. I was really delighted with the way the team worked together and the competitiveness of the car. We were extremely well served by Judd Engines, Dunlop Tyres and our three highly accomplished drivers. They were a credit to Taurus Sports. Justin deserves a special mention for the way that he was able to drive so consistently fast, lap after lap for a three-hour stint. He did everything that the team asked of him and proved that he and the car are a force to be reckoned with in any company."
Spa-Francorchamps, 1,000km de Spa, Race Result:
| Position | Number | Car | Class | Laps |
| 1 | 25 | Audi R8 | SR1 | 144 |
| 2 | 16 | Courage Peugeot | SR1 | 140 |
| 3 | 2 | Dome Judd | SR1 | 138 |
| 4 | 6 | Lola Judd | SR1 | 31.935s |
| 5 | 52 | Lucchini SR | SR2 | 129 |
| 6 | 122 | Mosler MT900R | GT0 | 127 |
Press Release provided by Polygon Marketing.
