Vaxiviere on his return to Sao Paulo: “We will give it our maximum!”
The FIA WEC last raced at Interlagos in 2014, where the Brazilian circuit hosted the season finale.
There are several drivers on the 2024 entry list who raced in the event 10 years ago, including Alpine Endurance Team’s Matthieu Vaxiviere.
The French driver was in his first WEC season and was racing the no75 Prospeed Competition Porsche in LMGTE Am alongside Francois Perrodo and Emmanuel Collard, finishing the race 5th in class. This year he will race in the Hypercar category alongside Nico Lapierre and Mick Schumacher in the No. 36 Alpine A424.
Q: What are your memories of the 2014 6 Hours of São Paulo?
MV: “As I remember, it was a fantastic event. I really appreciated the atmosphere there. It was my first time in Brazil. In fact, it is my only time there at this moment. I also discovered the track in a GTE and for a GT car it was fantastic. So, I'm really looking forward to discovering Interlagos with an even faster car. However, as it was in 10 years ago, I don't remember all of the details, but I remember it being a fantastic event.”
Q: Interlagos is one of those mythical tracks isn't like Imola, like Le Mans, it's got that mystique about it hasn’t it?
MV: “Yes, Interlagos is super famous. It's a track that everyone knows really well because it's on all the computer games about Formula One. It’s a track like Spa you feel that you have driven every year.”
Q: You were in a GTE last time and a Hypercar this time. After Le Mans you must be hoping to have a much better event?
MV: “Yes, Le Mans was disappointing, but we are focused again and positive and looking forward to this six-hour race in Sao Paulo. We will give our maximum to show we are back, to show that we do not have our heads down and now we need to look at the future. So first, the future is in Sao Paulo.”
Q: With a best result of 11th in Qatar so far, what are your thoughts as we head into the second half of the season?
MV: “To finish races for sure, for both cars, with both in the points will be the target. We’re to learn as much as possible to prepare for next year and Le Mans as well again.”
Click HERE to read the official Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo preview.
