Here is what our drivers had to say hours before the green flag of the 6 Hours of Imola, second round of EES sixth season
Zoltan Varkonyi – GOTeam Racing #21
Your comeback to LMP2 was a successful one, coming out of the first race with a win. Are you looking to do the same in Imola?
First of all, I congratulate everyone who reached the checkered flag in the previous round. We will try our best to repeat it. But it won’t be easy, since traffic management will be the key to the success of the race.
It is very early in the season, but as we speak it looks like the fight for the title might go down as a duel between you and reigning champions Hyperion Esports. Are there any other teams which could potentially step up and fight you for the final win?
For us the goal is to win the championship, but we are well aware of the excellent quality and strength of the Hyperion Esports lineup. It’s hard to say at the moment but I think the SimFreem and VEM might be the ones to join the battle.
Samuel Korthof – The Fuel Saver #23
The first race of the season hasn’t been the easiest one for The Fuel Saver, what went wrong in Bahrain?
Our first driver Arco had technical issues so we had to switch drivers in the first lap. In the pits we had some problems with boxing the car. I am glad we had this kind of things right from the start so we as new team can learn from that. We got a lot of experience under the belt but as a team we are experiencing this for the first time.
Round 2 is a quick way to bounce back – what are your expectations for Imola?
As soon as we left the problems behind us in Bahrein we showed some competitive pace. And our biggest goal of getting the car to the finish in one piece was achieved. We are still in a learning phase as a team but if we stay out of trouble in the first few hours I am convinced that we can go for a good result. Imola is a small circuit so keeping away from trouble will be challenging. But that’s why we like to race in this competition. We love to challenge ourselves.
Tiago Monteiro – Origin Racing #101
What are you expectations ahead of Round 2?
For this round we will try to speed up our pace comparing to last year, it’s not easy to get the pace of the front guys, but as this is an Endurance race, at the end we expect to get a better result than first round. Imola it’s always a tricky track, so, we need a bit of luck too!! We love Imola, let’s see if Imola loves us!!
Francesco Geniale – ARMS Cyrba GT #41
After the second round there will probably be some movements from GT3 – AM to the PRO class. Which opponents do you think could be considered concrete rivals for the championship?
The leading group in GT3, AM and PRO, is very close aside from the Satellite, who are one step ahead of everyone else. I prefer to focus always on my performance, but if I had to tell a name of a possible surprise I would keep an eye on the MR Motorsport team, which features many fast drivers in its crew. They could easily challenge everyone. They have been unlucky in the first round, but they will bounce back in Round 2.
For the first time in EES history, there is a customised BOP, based on the teams’ and manufacturers’ performances. Do you already have an idea of the implications that the BOP will have throughout the championship or is it too early to make any predictions?
BOP will be a key element. The dynamic ballast could change the balance of the cars from round to round, making it difficult to keep track of the possible rivals for the upcoming races. For sure it is still too early to make a deep analysis, but starting from the middle of the championship we could see some surprise winners. For sure being consistent will be more important than winning some races here and there throughout the championship