Kirkcaldy's Jonny Adam out of luck in bid to win second Le Mans 24

Sharing driving dutes with team mates Alex Lynn and Maxime Martin in the #97 Aston Martin Vantage across the weekend's gruelling 24-hour race, the Kirkcady racer had to settle for a 13th place finish in the GTE Pro class.

While simply finishing the world's most iconic endurance race is an achievement in itself - many cars fail to reach the halfway stage - Adam had his sights firmly set on emulating his dramatic victory in 2017.

However, a combination of factors, most notably a restriction on the car's turbo boost enforced by race officials, resulted in a disappointing event.

"We were a bit unlucky over the weekend," Adam said.

"Our car qualified 14th after my team mate got blocked on his one special lap with the new tyres, but we could have been at the very front because our sister Aston got pole position.

"As a result of that, we were then given a bit less power for the race by the organisation, which was a bit frustrating because although we qualified on pole it was only by a tenth of a second.

"Sometimes these decisions go for or against you, and we felt it went against us, but it's an amazing championship and they are there to police things and make sure the cars are all relatively competitive.

"We trust the championship, and although they maybe didn't make the right call, at the end of the day it's motorsport and I'm sure it will come around in our favour like it did two years ago."

To add to Adam's frustrations, a high speed crash involving co-driver Lynn in the ninth hour of the race resulted in a lengthy pit stop, costing the team several laps.

"We never had the luck or a good clean run through the race," Adam added.

"Even if we ran the perfect race from green flag to chequered flag the best we could have finished was seventh or eight, so it's not where we wanted to be.

"We were the only Aston to finish so it was not the race the team planned, especially after qualifying with one car so strongly.

"But that's my fourth Le Mans 24 and I'm very fortunate that Aston has given me a car that got to the finish line on each occasion, because it's a brutal race.

"It's basically a 24-hour sprint and all the boys worked so hard behind the scenes to make the car as good as possible."

The event was the final race on the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship calendar, with Adam finishing in 20th position overall.

The new 2019-20 super season is due to start in September and the Balwearie High alumni is confident he and Aston Martin can push harder for the title.

"Our potential for next year is very strong," Adam explained.

"We've been doing a lot of testing and getting a better understanding of the car, and a better tyre.

"All of the data and information from this year will help massively towards next year and I'm really confident we can put something together to challenge for the world championship, and at next year's Le Mans."

Adam now returns to home soil in the British GT Championship at Donington Park this weekend.