Scrutineering Conversations – Part 11
Matthew Marsh

Matthew, when I spoke to you after your car had retired on your debut at Le Mans in 2007 you said you’d never come here again? 

“That just goes to show you can’t believe anything that any racing driver, and particularly this one, says.”

So why are you here?

“After we tried in’05 to get an entry for the 2006 race (with the GruppeM run Noble Group sponsored Porsche) and were unsuccessful, I then went back to Hong Kong and was doing a sponsor event when this guy turned up; a Ferrari customer, Henrik Nielsen - and he made the biggest mistake that any enthusiast can. 

“My advice to him now, albeit rather belatedly, is never ever ask a racing driver ‘How do I get involved?’ because the answer is almost inevitably, and in my case absolutely inevitably, going to involve considerable financial pain on their part. Having said that, I have a huge amount to be grateful to him for his backing through Flex Box (a business dealing in shipping containers), and he tells me he’s enjoyed every minute of what’s become a real adventure.

“In fairness, he was taking guests to F1 races and whilst they were enjoying themselves, they were getting rather less back from the considerable expense than they were due.

“After I raced and became the first ever Hong Kong driver at Le Mans with GPC Giesse, his response was, ‘That was really cool, what next?’  Carrera Cup was next and then the Rolex 24, again in a Ferrari, and then we drove down to the Sebring test and, again, God bless him, he loved it all and asked ‘What next?’

“It was his suggestion that a drive at Le Mans for this year was the next sensible step and after talking to several GT2 teams we ended up here in LMP2 with KSM. The team is great and the drivers are gelling well together. Jean (de Pourtales) has been on the phone in the weeks before the race giving me loads of advice about preparation and on how this event works. Hideki is just right on the button with advice and feedback and the car just looks great.”

GG