The 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours seems a long way off now. It was the beginning of the Audi-Peugeot head-to-head and the GT1 class still existed, with cars such as the Aston Martin DBR9 and the Corvette C6R. Petrov’s rookie race was in LM P2. He had already competed in the 1,000 km of Valence the previous month but it was his first time at the French 24-hour marathon. He also had a seat in the GP2 Series with Campos Grand Prix, which ended with one win and thirteenth place in the championship.

So what sticks in our Russian friend’s mind about his first time at Le Mans? I remember waking up at 5am, when the sun was coming up. It was in my eyes when I took the wheel, but it was a great atmosphere, it’s a great race. You have to be really concentrated for 24 hours.

Since then, Petrov has made a name for himself in single-seater racing. He clinched second place in the GP2 Series in 2009 then joined the Renault F1 team, which later became Lotus Renault GP and then moved to Caterham F1.

Not everyone can boast three seasons in Formula One. It’s a discipline that requires excellent driving technique, but the skill set for endurance is slightly different: In endurance, you don’t just think about yourself and your lap time. You need to think about the whole team, the other drivers. You cannot just push and attack the corners you have to think about all the people around you, who are all working with you towards that one target: to win the championship.

Do you have to switch to endurance mode and change your approach to driving to win a race like the 24 Hours of Le Mans? Yes, but a professional driver knows how to do that. It’s not a problem. That will be nothing new for me.

Nothing new, because Petrov has raced at Le Mans before. But he will be facing some fierce competition in LM P2 at the wheel of the Nissan-powered BR01 with which he is not particularly familiar. He has a lot on his plate, especially as he also has an advisory role for the younger drivers in the team.

But the Russian remains unperturbed: I don’t just have experience in Formula One, I have raced in GP2 as well and other series [DTM and F3000, ed.]. It’s still early days for this team and I think all of my past experience will be useful in helping the outfit develop and progress to the very highest level. SMP Racing is almost there. We just need to tweak a few things.

Geoffroy Barre  - Translated from French by Emma Paulay

Photo: Vitaly Petrov is bringing more than his F1 background to Le Mans and he aims to take SMP Racing to the top.