TOCKWITH Motorsports charged to a 12th-placed overall finish at the famous Le Mans 24-Hours race.

The North Yorkshire-based team also came tenth in the LMP2 class, making for an excellent first showing at the prestigious France event.

Running a Ligier-Gibson JS P217, in partnership with Gulf Oil International, TMS enjoyed an almost trouble-free run in unusually hot temperatures.

Having started the race 25th on the grid and 17th in class, the Tockwith car steadily rose through the order and, as more fancied runners from the LMP1 class hit trouble, solidly-engineered reliability ensured the team was there to pick up the pieces.

Former Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok, Nigel Moore and Le Mans rookie Phil Hanson also ensured the car delivered on its potential with team principal Simon Moore saying: “I always hoped we could achieve a top-ten in class, but anything can happen at Le Mans and I think we coped with most eventualities and fought our way through them.”

Chandhok, the only Indian in the race and a veteran of five previous Le Mans starts, was full of praise for TMS’s debut performance, adding: “With a rookie team and a rookie driver in Hanson, who is only 17, I think we should be pleased, considering we started in 25th.

“The boys did a great job and a big thank you to all the mechanics and engineers who worked tirelessly. Their workload isn’t just for 24 hours, but all through the previous three weeks.

“I also think it is the hottest 24-Hour race I’ve ever participated in and it’s the first time I’ve done it in a closed-roof car. It’s nice to get to the end.

“It was a race of attrition and we just ploughed on.”

Team-mate Hanson became the youngest-ever LMP2 top-ten finisher at 17 years and 336 days and added: “The goal was to finish and we knew that was going to be tough enough so, to be classified in the top ten, is incredible.

“It was my first Le Mans and I don’t think it will be my last and, with the knowledge I’ve gained this week, I believe I’ll be more competitive again next time.”

Team captain Nigel Moore, who started and finished the race with strong multiple stints in extreme temperatures that made track conditions perilous, also enthused: “It felt like it ran like a train.

“I think we only came into the actual pit twice all race and one of those was to make sure everything was OK, so we didn’t stop out on the track with an hour to go. We were in the pits for the minimum amount of time, which is what you’ve got to do, to do well.

“This is an absolutely mega achievement. For 90 per cent of the team, this was their first time at Le Mans, so I’m really, really happy.

“This is a team that my Dad and I built, so it meant a lot more than my debut in 2009.”

TMS will be back in action during the next round of the World Endurance Championship, which is ‘The 6-hours of Nürburgring’, in Germany on July 16.