What the Drivers said after qualifying at COTA
Thoughts and views of the drivers after qualifying the for 6 Hours of COTA (starting 12 noon Saturday 16 September)
Nick Tandy – No1. Porsche 919 Hybrid, LMP1 Pole
“The good thing is we always give ourselves a bit of time margin in case something goes wrong. Luckily we built that in just in case there was a mistake and in the end I made one and took too much kerb on the entry to Turn 19 which threw me wide on the exit. So we had to go again and fortunately the Michelin tyres are giving good grip so we were able to put the tyre on from Neel’s first run and in the end we were able to do it.”
Neel Jani – No1. Porsche 919 Hybrid, LMP1 Pole
“We really didn’t think we would get into the 1m44s but it is nice to get the second pole position of the year after Spa. It is always nice on this track with high grip and low fuel, you really feel the downforce and the G-forces, so it is a big pleasure to drive with that level of grip.”
Davide Rigon – No.71 AF Corse Ferrari, LMGTE Pro Pole
“Yesterday we didn’t think we would have this level of performance because we spent all the practice looking at the race performance and finding a good solution on tyres. I did my best in qualifying and the team did a perfect job to prepare and it was a fantastic lap for me, so a big thanks to the engineers and all the staff on the No.71 AF Corse Ferrari.”
Nicolas Lapierre – No.36. Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine 470 Gibson, LMP2 Pole
“We have been fighting since we arrived here with little problems but we have improved during the week and finally we are here which is nice. We did it at Mexico but then struggled on race pace so now we really have to focus. We worked really hard in free practice for the race so we hope we are stronger than we were in Mexico and potentially fight for the win.”
Pedro Lamy – No.98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage, LMGTE Am Pole
“Paul (Dalla Lana) was great today and really made the difference. Congratulations to him because he was really fast compared to the others and the set-up was really good. I hope it can continue for the race.”
Photo: Paul Dalla Lana of Aston Martin Racing