Liz Halliday and Stephen Simpson endured an eventful LMP1 debut in the Nurburgring 1000kms after a series of on track incidents left them down in tenth place.
Although former American Le Mans LMP2 Champion has a wealth of experience in sportscars, her arrival in the Creation AIM LMP1 signalled the first time she has raced in the premier class. For sometime A1 GP driver Simpson, the weekend marked his sportscar debut.
The race started badly when Simpson was caught up in the spin of an LMP2 machine, causing a blockage in the cooling ducts and requiring attention from mechanics. Dropping down to 42nd overall, the team's fortunes failed to improve when Halliday took over the wheel and was hit by a rival to force her back into the pit lane.
From here, both Halliday and Simpson battled on, moving up to a respectable 22nd place overall and tenth in class. Although they wouldn't score any points, Halliday was pleased with her first effort with Creation.
It's been a steep learning curve but I've really enjoyed being back in the thick of the action again and I was very impressed with the whole Creation team. It's a new car and a new track for me but I think I improved throughout the race and it's been a fantastic and very worthwhile experience. I have never raced with Stephen before but he's a fantastic co-driver and very helpful. He's an easy guy to work with and very quick so I'm really looking forward to my two races in the US with him and the team.
Simpson was also pleased with his first event having overcome the fact that he has never raced for more than an hour in one stint.
This is my first ever sportscar event and before now I've never been in a race for more than an hour. Doing two double-stints was very different, but really enjoyable. I've learned so much this weekend and overall I'm really happy.
![Liz Halliday tests for Creation AIM [Pic credit: lizhalliday.com]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/476585.jpg)
