Manuel Sudau has been part of Maniti Racing’s championship-winning GSI Endurance Series campaign in 2022/23, but his journey to get there, among his teammates, was highly unusual. Upon a sizeable departure of drivers at Team RSO, they all landed at Maniti Racing, allowing them to change team name in the championship, and change the course of the title race too.
Under the Team RSO banner, they were still in good form, taking a couple of Top 5 finishes in the opening half of the season. This wasn’t a step that Sudau took lightly, and he said that: “As a team leader and board member of RSO for seven years, it was a particularly difficult step”.
However, with the increasingly big challenge to keep the team alive, Sudau left amicably alongside four teammates, all of whom were entered into their GTP effort. Despite the emotional toll of this, the logistical benefits to Maniti Racing now having two entries in the newest IVRA category were plain to see.
“We immediately benefitted from nearly 10 people working on the new LMDh – a massive advantage for setup work, driving style transition, and car understanding”, Sudau said. And results in the second half of the season have shown this level of form in the team.
They picked up another two 3rd placed finishes on each side of a pivotal win at Motegi, which could be looked back on as the key moment in the GSI Endurance Series this season. That is certainly the way that Sudau views the season.
He said that: “The key was the incredible calmness, cool-headedness, discipline, and excellent teamwork”, allowing the team to get to the highest performance level, which is needed for an IVRA championship win. And for this championship to come among teammates that Sudau has known for years, makes it even sweeter.
“It’s amazing to witness the tremendous learning curve we’ve undergone over the three years we’ve been part of IVRA”, he explained. He also referenced the benefit to his new team, Maniti Racing, describing the IVRA season as “beyond perfect”.
It is the first time Maniti Racing have won the top class of GSI Endurance Series competition under the IVRA banner. But, Sudau knows as well as anyone, that they can’t afford to stand still in this game, and so preparations for next season are already taking place.
“We’re excited about our future with Maniti and are already building an even more formidable team behind the scenes for the upcoming season!”. Historically, this has been something Maniti Racing have done well, as they have regularly taken IVRA titles each season, and with these new drivers at their disposal, one can only picture them getting stronger.