Comments after 4 Hours of Spielberg

Three Ferrari crews monopolised the podium after a race full of twists and turns, which remained uncertain down to the chequered flag. We heard from the drivers at the end of the award ceremony.

François Perrodo, AF Corse #88: “It was an exciting race. Spielberg is a challenging track, and I didn’t find starting with a double stint easy, especially after suffering a drive-through for track limits. It was really very tricky, but I managed to stay in third until the pit stop. Emmanuel [Collard] had to drive in impossible conditions on slicks in the pouring rain, trying to keep the 488 GTE on track. He did brilliantly not to make any mistakes and hand the car over to Alessio [Rovera]. However, it wasn’t an easy task for him either, driving on wets and then on intermediates as the track dried out and the cars behind were on slicks. It was a thrilling race from first to last lap, and it’s crucial for our position in the standings”.

Alessio Rovera, AF Corse #88: “The race was really intense, hard-fought down to the last because earlier we had fitted intermediates while our direct rivals were on slicks. It was very satisfying. The conditions were difficult, and my teammates had a great race. Perrodo was very fast in the dry during the first stint. It was a perfect weekend for the whole team”.

Matt Griffin, Spirit of Race #55: “Second place is a great result for the AF Corse family, who I congratulate on this one-two. Duncan [Cameron] did a double stint, as the rules require Bronze drivers to drive for an hour and a half. He set a great pace. I drove at mid-race, in the dry, and the 488 GTE went really well, so much so that I clocked the fastest lap of the race. Then the rain came, but I handled the situation very well and took the lead. During the Safety Car phase, things were very tricky, and probably other teams took better advantage of the situation than we did. Unfortunately, the driver change between me and David [Perel] came at the wrong time, when the Safety Car was pulling into the pits, but the race director hadn’t notified us. That probably cost us the win. David did well to hold off Molina during his stint, closing the gap to Rovera. So, the race was very positive with a great performance from our car and the AF Corse family”.

Miguel Molina, Iron Lynx #80: “Third place is a good result, achieved at the end of a difficult race, especially in the final stages. We chose a good strategy, but in the last four laps, the rain became heavier, and we were on slicks, so it was impossible to attack those ahead of us. The important thing is to mount the podium and take points because what counts is winning at the end of the season”.