Q&A with Robin Frijns
In just over a month’s time, the FIA World Endurance Championship will embark on Season 9 with an impressive roster of names across all four categories.
One such name in the LMP2 category is Robin Frijns who will be competing with Belgian-flagged Team WRT. Frijns will make his debut in the WEC, adding a new string to his parallel careers in single-seaters (which includes a FR 3.5 Series title and race wins in GP2 and Formula E) and tin-tops, namely in GT3 and DTM.
Below is what the 29-year-old Dutchman had to tell FIAWEC.com in our exclusive Q&A.
1. Welcome to the WEC, Robin! What are you most looking forward to about the upcoming season?
“I always like the WEC races. Specially 6 hours of Spa and obviously Le Mans is standing out for me. Spa is 30 min away from where I grew up. It’s always have been one of those races I wanted to be part of. And finally I can say, I will be standing on the grid!
2. Is there a plan for any pre-season testing with Team WRT and can you tell us about your fitness regime?
“I do hope we can do some pre-season testing. Nowadays it’s a bit more complicated and difficult to go testing with the COVID restrictions but let’s hope we can go testing quickly to learn the car. As we are a new team in LMP2 we have a lot to learn. But with experience that Team WRT has, I’m sure we will be capable to fight in front. Speaking about fitness regime - I like to do core strength and train with weights.”
3. What do you think you will enjoy most about driving the ORECA 07 Gibson, how is the feeling and how does it compare to cars you have previously driven?
“I have a bit of experience in the ORECA 07 already as I did the Daytona 24 hours back in 2018 with JOTA. The way to drive those LMP2 cars is more natural to me as I came from single seaters. It’s completely different than GT car, which I drove in the past years together with Audi. But it feels like I will be back home in those LMP2 cars!”
4. There is an impressive line-up of drivers competing in this year’s LPM2 category – who do you think will be your biggest competitor?
“The whole field looks very competitive. Some of my driver friends from Formula E are also competing here. I’m sure it will be a lot of fun racing against them! However, now it’s hard to say who will be the team or the car to beat. For sure JOTA have always been competitive, so it’s definitely a team to look at.”
5. Are there any circuits in the WEC calendar that you particularly enjoy and especially looking forward to racing at?
“As I mentioned, Spa 6 hours is definitely a race I am looking forward to. It’s one of my favourite tracks as well as for many other drivers. And I have never driven at Le Mans, so that will be a new experience for me.”
