In 2021 Team Thor became the first Icelandic team to join the Michelin Le Mans Cup, with team owner and driver Audunn Gudmundsson taking up the challenge of ACO rules Endurance Racing after two years in Radicals.
The 51-year-old fromGarðabær, near to the Icelandic capital of Rekjavik, has had a steep learning curve but this season, driving with 2021 MLMC Driver’s champion Colin Noble, Gudmundsson has secured two podiums from the first four races of the 2023 season, including a second place in the first Road To Le Mans race in June.
The Icelandic/Scottish duo are currently lying second the LMP3 standings, 18 points behind the championship leaders Gillian Henrion and Julien Gerbi at Team Virage.
With two podium finishes and lying second in the championship standings after the first three rounds, how would Audunn Gudmundsson sum up the performance of the team so far this season?“This has been, for sure the best team we have had, with Gustavo, David, Jordi, Fjordbach father and son and of course all the other members,” he said. “Then we have Colin Noble, who is a phenomenon driver and a great teacher and partner.The team has good spirit and a passion for success.”
Le Mans was a bitter-sweet experience for the team, gaining their first podium finish in the Michelin Le Mans Cup in the first race.In the second race Noble took the chequered flag in the lead but hadn’t served the one second stop and go penalty for not respecting the minimum pitstop time, dropping the team back to 15th place.
Despite the penalty, what were the positives that Audunn Gudmunsson took away from a competitive showing at Le Mans? “Actually, it was not so frustrating,” he admitted. “After I was forced off the track /made a mistake and needed to go to pit to replace the front end of the car, we were running towards the back of the field. Then the safety car came out at exactly the correct time for us and all of a sudden, we were number one; this position was not earned, but just luck.It was super nice to see when Colin posted the fastest lap and came over the finish line in P1. That made us believe that we have a strong car, team and drivers.”
What difference has Colin Noble made for the team and for Audunn Gudmundsson as his teammate? “Everything!” was the short answer Gudmundsson gave. “Colin is very fast, he is super good and talented.He is consistent and more or less makes very few/no mistake.He is a super good teacher and very honest. The only thing I can complain is that I am always slower than him.”
2023 marks the third MLMC season for Team Thor and it has been a steep learning curve in this highly competitive series.Does Audunn Gudmundsson feel that the team is where it needs to be now? “Yes, more or less this is what we aimed for,” he said. “We talked about getting to podium in one or more races, so we are now achieving our goals.Nevertheless we can not forget to enjoy the ride and I can say that it has been super easy with Colin and the team. Everyone is working very hard to get the best results possible.”
The next race on the calendar is Aragon in Spain, which is a new circuit on the MLMC calendar. What does Audunn Gudmundsson think of this new track? “We did have a test day earlier this year in Aragon, I felt I did not do so good,” he admitted.“The track is technical, hard physically, there will be much heat, and you can easily destroy your tyres.Maybe everybody will have similar problems, I do not know.At least we are looking forward to this race.”
And the expectations for Team Thor at the next race in Spain? “To do our best and enjoy, hopefully that will give us a good result!”
The next round of the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup will be at Motorland Aragon on Friday 25 August.
