The 4 Hours of Monza, fourth round of the 2020 European Le Mans Series was action packed, here are some post-race drivers’ reactions.
Job Van Uitert – n°32 United Autosports Oreca 07: “In general I’m really happy for United as a team for their first 1-2 in LMP2. It’s a really good result. I’m happy with the part I played, it was nearly the maximum and it was tough to fight with Filipe (Albuquerque) as we were in the cars at the same time. But overall it’s a really good result for the team and of course I’m happy for the #22 car that they clinched the title but on the other hand you’re always a bit sad that you didn’t do it yourself. But our time will come. It’s been really good for them this year.”
Nicolas Lapierre – n°37 Cool Racing Oreca 07: “Fourth place is a great result after a race that was not easy, especially at the beginning. We made the choice to start on intermediates which was maybe not the fastest way, we lost a bit of time playing it safe, but we climbed back up the order. We made no mistakes, so we’re satisfied with the result and our performance.”
Nicolas Jamin – n°31 Panis Racing Oreca 07: “I made a good start and did a very good first lap, from P9 to P2. Then a safety car came out, but just before that, Jonathan Hirschi (in the Duqueine car) tried to surprise me by putting a big brake on just before accelerating, and it was impossible for me to avoid it. As a result, there was contact between the two cars. I pushed hard when the safety car released the race, and I took the lead, but we had to stop to repair. Julien, Will and I ran a perfect race on our way back to the front. The strategy decided by the engineers was excellent too, and the mechanics were really fast during the tyres’ changes, so finally we finished the race in 5th position. It’s not a bad move championship-wise because we are third ex-aequo with Graff.
Martin Hippe – n°13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P320: “A very difficult race, specially the start. But the decision taken by our engineer Jörg (Kranzfelder) to go for slick tyres on a damp track, was perfect though very tricky in the first couple of corners. But as the car was really good today, it gave us the pace to build up a gap and fight for the lead early in the race. Next race at Portimão will be a tough one. We are in a very competitive class with very competitive drivers, but there, again, we will go for the win.”
CLICK HERE for all the winners’ reactions
The final race of the 2020 European Le Mans Series will take place on November 1st in Portimão, Portugal. The LMP3 and LMGTE titles are still at stakes so the race promises to be exciting until the end!
