Nivea for men gears up for second round of endurance challenge

Nivea for men gears up for second round of endurance challenge
Following its first place finish at the inaugural race of the NIVEA FOR MEN Endurance Challenge 2008, the NIVEA FOR MEN team is gearing up for the next race set for May 30 - 31, 2008 at Dubai Autodrome.
Team Manager Mike Wilkes is counting on the same squad that triumphed in the first round, with the addition of Christophe Hissette.  “With the team at full strength, we’re hoping to duplicate the result of the first round and put the pressure on other teams come the final round in October,” Wilkes added.
Besides the team manager and Christophe Hissette, the NIVEA FOR MEN squad includes UAE national Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum, Guy Sheffield, Sean Murphy, Maurits Knopjes and Ken Waterhouse.
Wilkes expects the competition to be tough as usual, but is confident that his drivers will have a good race. “The other teams are becoming more experienced, and their drivers undoubtedly getting faster so we have to stick to our strategy and just give it our best shot.”
In these races, he admits, luck can play a part. In a recent race in Thailand, for example, the NIVEA FOR MEN team worked hard against some excellent international teams to take and hold the lead for several hours, only to find themselves dumped back down the leader board with a broken exhaust.  “It was a small problem which only took a few minutes to repair.  But it was enough to knock us off the top spot for the rest of the race,” Wilkes recalls.
Not one to reveal his strategy before a race, Wilkes says that’s for the other team to figure out. In the meantime, he believes he has got a pretty well-experienced team with a lot of racing hours and credentials behind them. “This will be our last planned 24 hours together before we travel to Le Mans to take part in the French National 24 hour championship at the end of September.  We have a few things that need some practice and fine tuning before we go to Le Mans, so keep an eye on the NIVEA FOR MEN team during the race in May, we may just have a few surprises up our sleeves,” he ended.