This page contains archived information and may not display perfectly

What the Drivers Say...

04.05.16
WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
WEC, WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

Today is the last day before the track action begins for the FIA World Endurance Championship race in Belgium.  Part of the preparations is the traditional driver track walk and we caught up with five of the drivers after their long walk around the 7km Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Dominik Kraihamer – no13 Rebellion Racing Rebellion R-One-AER – LMP1 Privateer

“Being here is Spa is quite nice because last year we missed the race.  It’s good to be back with the beautiful weather and really looking forward to going down to Eau Rouge, it is a special corner.  The team are working hard and with a third place overall at Silverstone, which was a bit lucky, we are very motivated.  The competition from the Bykolles is very good.  It’s great that this car is more competitive.  For sure it would be nice to have even more cars in the calss, but that’s the way it is.  We will do the best on our car but we hope they will catch up more towards Le Mans.”

Nicolas Lapierre – no36 Signatech Alpine Alpine A460-Nissan – LMP2

“After the snow in Silverstone it is really nice to have sunshine in Spa.  We’ve just finished the track walk and it’s beautiful.  It is one of the favourite tracks for all the drivers but when you do the track walk you realise how nice it is.  It’s always a bit special to come here. 

“It’s the last race before Le Mans, the last training, and this circuit has the long straights so it is more similar to Le Mans than Silverstone, so it is a very important race to build the confidence of the team and drivers, so you need a good result here to be well prepared for Le Mans.”

Nicolas Minassian – no27 SMP Racing BR01-Nissan – LMP2

“Spa is probably the best event of the year.  It is always exciting here.  All of the new tracks are getting too safe and there is less of a challenge. Spa is challenging and I love the challenge.

“Silverstone was really good at all so we are hoping for a better weekend. It can get better.  The team are working hard which hopefully will pay off here this weekend.”

Davide Rigon – no71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE – LMGTE Pro

“The whole team worked very well at Silverstone, we prepared everything and everything worked perfectly even with the weather conditions.  Here at Spa it is not so obvious that we are quick so we prepare everything well and we will see.  We will approach this weekend the same as every other weekend and we will push as much as possible.  We need to score points and we need to concentrate on the job.

“I think Spa is my favourite track.  I really like it, it is very difficult; you need to concentrate very hard and six hours is very long.  It will be tough but it will be the same for everybody.”

Adam Carroll – no88 Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR – LMGTE AM

“Spa on a day like this with the sun shining is about as good as it gets.  You drive in here and see Eau Rouge on a sunny day it brings a smile to your face.  You forget how big this place is, it is a brilliant track and one of the best, if not the best, in the world.  I’m really looking forward to driving it in the Porsche.

“The expectations for the race, as always, are very high indeed.  Silverstone didn’t quite go as we had hoped but that’s motor racing.  But it is the same for everybody and we will give it everything we’ve got.  The class is small but there are a lot of experienced teams and top drivers.  It’s going to be tough but we are looking forward to the challenge.”