24h Le Mans
The second round of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) will take place in Italy at the Autodromo Enzo & Dino Ferrari at Imola where the Alpine A 450 will be among the favourites. After a fifth place finish equal to important points at Silverstone, the Signatech-Alpine team - directed by Philippe Sinault - and Nelson Panciatici must get results in order to defend the title they won last year!
Photo : Startrace Communication
With a podium finish last year, Nelson Panciatici wants to achieve a performance reflective of their potential. With that in mind, he has trained on the Ellip6 simulator and shared a great deal with his engineer on different setting options so as to have a well-balanced car starting from the first tests. The Imola circuit is known to be very physically demanding, so Panciatici has followed a specific physical fitness regime to put all the odds in his favour. In fact, in a championship carried out over five races, it is important to get good results as early as this weekend.
Despite a mixed first meet and tough competition, Panciatici is confident:
"Since last year we have known how to demonstrate our level of performance, whether it be in a lap or relays, and it's not our 5th place finish at Silverstone that will give us doubts. We want to solidify our potential with a good result, I know particularly well the demands of the Imola circuit, I feel ready. It is a very technical track with fairly complex turns and chicanes, but with my teammates - Paul Loup Chatin and Oliver Webb, we make a homogeneous and fast driver line-up, which should allow us to advance to the forefront and aim for at least a podium finish. Traffic will certainly be a key factor of the race and I know that it is possible we have no clear lap. The goal is to be efficient for qualifying and consistent in the race. We have to win some points in the championship and build our confidence before the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Olivier, our engineer, has begun the work for Le Mans and that will help us as early as this weekend. We got some points at Silverstone that could prove to be important at the end of the year, it's up to us now to be a part of the leading pack, I am impatient to be at Imola!"
Winner of the European Le Mans Series last year, Alpine must defend its title, the entire Signatech-Alpine team has the ambition to play a leading role and Nelson Panciatici would undoubtedly like to contribute!
For more information on Nelson Panciatici, please visit his website (English version by clicking on EN at top right corner of homepage).
Startrace Communication press release - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
