Ram Racing’s likeable and loquacious Irishman, Matt Griffin, will this year be presented with elements to his racing season that are both familiar and unfamiliar. But, for the reigning European Le Mans Series LMGTE Driver champion, there are only positives and no negatives.
Griffin, who hails from Cork in Ireland but who lives within an hour of Ram Racing’s Silverstone base, will once again be reunited with the Ferrari 458 Italia in which he claimed three race victories and the 2013 championship title. The 31-year-old has developed a strong bond with the Italian marque, racing in many different GT series around the world and, since 2008, always in a Ferrari. He will also remain at the heart of Ram Racing as the team graduates from the ELMS to the FIA WEC, just as his Driver Co-Champion Johnny Mowlem will in the LMGTE Am category.
A well-known face in the WEC paddocks from his appearances in an AF Corse LMGTE Am Ferrari, Matt is extremely enthusiastic about the coming season. “Obviously I’m really looking forward to this year,” he says. “We had such a great 2013 in the ELMS and showed how professional the team was as well as getting the results to back that up. Ram Racing is a top level team and is now poised to step up to the WEC. It’s going to be very competitive but I’m 100% confident we will be where we need to be at the start of the season.”
So, how much does the ELMS prepare you for the WEC? “I think the WEC is a different animal to the ELMS and it’s difficult to compare them. The races and weekends are longer, the level of competition and the stakes are higher because it’s a World Championship. The ELMS is however a great starting point for teams, especially newer ones such as Ram was last year, and is organised by the same team so the way the weekend works is somewhat similar. That level of familiarity helps bridge the gap between the championships, as will this year’s longer ELMS races.”
So much, so familiar. Apart from appearing in the LMGTE Pro category amongst the factory entries from Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche, the newest element for Matt this year will be his team mate. Former British F3 and World Series by Renault Champion Alvaro Parente will be racing with Griffin in the No.52 Ferrari 458 and the duo promises to spring a surprise or two on the competition.
“It’s fantastic to know I’m going to have such a great team mate,” enthuses Matt. “To be able to drive with someone of Alvaro’s calibre is a big plus point in the super-competitive LMGTE Pro class. I only know him a little but he’s got a lot of experience from single-seaters which will serve him very well, as well as some mega performances in GT over the last couple of years. I reckon that what he brings to Ram, combined with my GT experience, will be a really strong mix and we will complement each other well. Now we just have to show everyone what we can do and not just talk about it!”
Fiona Miller
Photo: MATT GRIFFIN WILL BE COMPETING IN THE NO.52 RAM RACING FERRARI 458 ITALIA IN THE LMGTE PRO CATEGORY
