Latin aces look forward to Mexican endurance feast
At the 6 Hours of Mexico Presented by AT&T pre-event press conference yesterday, some of Central and Latin America's motorsport stars talked about the race ahead.
Jose-Maria Lopez – Toyota Gazoo Racing (LMP1)
“It is always a pleasure to come and race in Mexico and you can really feel the passion of the people watching the racing and we really enjoy it. We had a good weekend in Nurburgring but we would have liked to have more of a fight with Porsche for the win, so we have been working hard and hope to be quick here. I’m really looking forward to getting in the car.”
Bruno Senna – Vaillante Rebellion (LMP2)
“Being here in a Mexican team and winning was very special and we had a fantastic time all weekend and the fans were so strong in supporting us. It was the only time I’ve seen more people at the LMP2 podium than the LMP1 and GT podium. This was really nice.
“We have a strange weather forecast this year and we don’t know how hard it will rain and exactly when it will rain, so we will see a lot of interruptions. I don’t think slick tyres will be a limiting factor this weekend because we don't have a lot of dry running and in fact wet tyres could be the limiting factor.”
Nelson Piquet Jnr – Vaillante Rebellion (LMP2)
“It has been an up and down year but I have only done three races. The pace and strategy we have had has been good but we haven’t put a race together. At Silverstone we had some contact, at Spa and Le Mans we also had issues. In general the team is working very well. We had to step up the game this year as the competition is very, very hard out there. This year you have to be quick, you have to be consistent as it is such a competitive season.”
Roberto Gonzalez – CEFC Manor TRS Racing
“It is very rewarding coming to your country in a World Championship like this and it is always great because the Mexican fans really know their racing and understand and like to follow their drivers.
“I have been coming here since I was ten years old when we had Group C and Formula One here. You put a lot of sacrifices in to your career and you move away from home and you race all over the world but there is nothing like coming back here to race in front of your own fans."
James Calado – AF Corse
“You never know quite what is going to happen in LMGTE Pro as one manufacturer will win one weekend and another one the next. There are elements of luck and strategy. Everyone is running well and it goes to show how well the BoP has been set for this championship.
"This track is necessarily a great one for us but we will see what we can do. We were unfortunate in Le Mans where we lost a lot of points but we are there or thereabouts in the championship and obviously the aim is to get a good result this weekend.”
Miguel Molina – Spirit of Race
“For me there have been a lot of things to learn in this type of racing. Before I was coming from sprint races and now I change completely and I am enjoying it. It has been up and down and in the last race we were really competitive and we have some good momentum now.
“This is my first season in WEC and I am learning as lot, especially learning all the race tracks. It is important for me to take this experience this year and I am very much looking forward to racing here in Mexico.”