Our drivers discuss the results of the third round, the 6 Hours of Istanbul Park
Matteo Tonello – Wildfire Racing #263 – P10 GTE-AM
I am happy on how the race turned out. From having issues even before the race started with one of our drivers needing to go for family emergency to the other having connection issues, to scoring points in our first finish of the season is something we have to be happy and proud about. Looking forward to Sebring as we will be looking to do better.
Kevin Galvin – Wilfire Racing TM
Mixed bag for us really in Wildfire. Both teams were plagued with technical issues which hampered both of our races. The #326 Hypercar never got to the starting line which was a huge source of disappointment for the team, who have been quietly picking up points in the opening two rounds. Meanwhile our #263 GTE car got over disconnects, hardware issues, and hospital visits, to earn our first points of the season. Better yet, one of our drivers found out that they’re due to be a daddy, so we’ll be reopening our recruitment process soon!
Giancarlo Rossi – Tomelli ERT – P1 GTE-AM
It was a really fun race, and to finish in the photofinish after 6 hours for the podium, it’s incredible. In practice you can never figure out the pace of your opponents, whether they have a full, half or empty tank… personally I was quite confident, I felt comfortable pushing a little more and was able to manage the tire while staying on good times. We were a little worried seeing many cars starting with the hard tyres, honestly, I still don’t understand the differences between practice and the race, because the driving sensation has often changed, but here I would say that it went well and we hold on to this excellent result, hoping that it is a starting point for the next races.
Mika Hakimi – Hydra Tech BSR – P1 LMHC
We believe we had a very strong package last weekend at Istanbul. Our setup was great, our drivers got the most out of it, and most importantly we finally extracted the maximum from our team! In Round 1 we had the pace to win the race but unfortunately we fell short, but we are very glad to finally make the most of a strong weekend in Round 3 and take our first win in EES! We are extremely proud of this win, and it felt very good for the team. For sure we want to keep going for more.
Mika Hakimi – Dozoff BSR TM – DNF LMGTE-AM
We think that maybe qualifying could have gone a little bit stronger, but nonetheless it looked like our race pace was going to make up for it. We had a major issue at the start where our driver seems to have spawned in the middle of nowhere, and of course while trying to get back on track, it gave us a major setback before the race had even started. But our pace was looking very strong and we could have possibly brought back a very strong result, but unfortunately we were tangled up in a crash that we could not avoid. It’s sad because we could have had a good result, but that’s just how racing goes sometimes. We are glad to have worked well as a team regardless and we are working hard to do well in the next round.