You’d never driven in LP P1 before. How do you feel about it now?
“It’s a fast car, so it’s really nice – a good car to drive! It has excellent aerodynamics and a lot of power. It’s different because it’s heavier than the single-seater cars I’d driven before but, still, it’s fairly comparable because it has so much downforce and so much power.”

You had a difficult start to the season (three withdrawals in as many races, Ed.), followed by a great race at the 6 Hours of Nürburgring...
“Yes, we struggled a bit at the start of the season, I have to say we met with some bad luck. The guys had worked so hard for the car and for the team, but we just had bad luck with some strange issues. At Nürburgring, we managed to put up a fight and beat Rebellion Racing and win in the Private LMP1 class. We were capable of maintaining a good pace throughout the race and we’ve come a long way thanks to the team’s hard work. This means we are optimistic for the rest of the season.”

You competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time this year. What did you take away from that experience?
“Ah Le Mans is incredible! We had issues during the first six hours but then we were able to race all through the night. I did my stints in the night and it’s just an experience that nobody can take away from you! When I did my stint from 3 AM to 6 AM in the morning, it was quite difficult because I started to feel a bit tired – it’s still the night and some drivers start to make mistakes, there was gravel on the track and the light was getting brighter. To do that for the first time is quite difficult. The track is so fast. In the day, you don’t realise that so much but when it’s getting dark, you realise how quick it is… Especially at the Porsche Curves in the night! And you have to watch out for the other LM P1s – they’re always pushing on you and then there are the GTs which are slower than you. All that makes it difficult but amazing. The whole week, all the spectators, it was just amazing.”

David Bristol / ACO
Translated from French by Clair Pickworth

Photo: LE MANS, CIRCUIT DE LA SARTHE, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, TUESDAY 9 JUNE 2015, AUTOGRAPH SESSION. Young Swiss driver Simon Trummer (centre) made his Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time this year with co-drivers Pierre Kaffer (left) and Tiago Monteiro (right).