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American LeMans
ALMS: Emanuele Pirro Sebring Race Blog
Emanuele Pirro files his final exclusive blog entry of the week for SPEEDtv.com, in what turned out to be an up and down race for his Drayson Racing team.
SPEED Staff  |  Posted March 21, 2010   Sebring, FL
Emanuele Pirro made a storming start, getting around the No. 08 Peugeot of Sebastien Bourdais to move into second. (John Dagys)
It’s been an eventful race, as a 12-hour race should be. We’re going home with some very positive things and also a job list of things to do and improve on. We learned that the car has proven to be very quick and we were able to put down some competitive times. It was actually beyond my expectations.

Yesterday in qualifying, I knew they we didn’t use the full potential of the car, but I couldn’t really have imagined to be following and even overtaking one of the Peugeots in the race! Believe it or not, I was still taking it easy. I found myself with a very good pace and as a racer, you want to use the potential you have.

When I was chasing the Peugeot, there were a few occasions where I could have passed him. He was stronger in fast corners, stronger in braking and if it was a two-hour and 45-minute race, I would have passed him in no-time. But I just wanted to sit there and running second was already good enough. For me, it was already an honor to run at that level for our package.

I also didn’t want to put pressure on them because if they started to block me, it would have been a bad situation for us. So I didn’t want to look as a threat, but of course when there was an opportunity, I used my racing instinct to make a good pass and I moved into second.
Pirro had high marks for the Drayson Racing team, which completed its first 12-hour race in prototypes on Saturday. (John Dagys)

Later on we experienced some problems with the alternator, which we were forced to change. Then, we also had a water leak somewhere in the system, which made us stop and add water and conserve a lot. It didn’t stop there, as on my next stint, a Peugeot hit me from behind going into the hairpin. It dived in with its wheels locked up and hit me and we both went off. After that, the car didn’t drive very well.

Apart from that, it was a really nice race. The 1-2 finish for Peugeot was pretty obvious, but it’s still a good result to achieve because the race is full of traps, so they must be pretty happy. I think Aston Martin Racing did a good job, too. We felt happy because we had a better pace than them. At the start, I passed them and pretty much left them behind. But as we learned, speed was not everything in this race. Consistency is very, very important and they kept a steady pace with no problems. They deserved to finish third because of that.

Given the circumstances, we’re a new team with different people coming together, driving a car with no 2010 testing up until last week. Having said all of that, I think we can be pretty happy with what we have achieved. Finishing the race is a great result. So if we can fix the small issues we had, I think we proved that we can be a serious contender for the rest of the season.

From a personal point of view, the great thing is that I rediscovered all of the speed, the race craft and everything else I left in Laguna Seca two years ago. I can be very satisfied, especially after talking with my old Audi teammates Lucas Luhr and Tom Kristensen. Lucas was impressed with my driving after the race and that made me feel really good. We’re good friends and we’re both now not driving an Audi.
A late-race collision by Pirro and the race-winning No. 07 Peugeot brought further delays to the British squad. (John Dagys)

The good thing in Audi is that we have developed a very good friendship. We’ve been together for a long time. Lucas was one of newer drivers, but Frank, Allan, Dindo, Tom.. All of us will always be friends. So if something happens to one of us, the other ones will be happy too. Tom was also very pleased and came to say well done, too.

This car can really win races in the American Le Mans Series and I definitely look forward to my three other races with the team at Laguna Seca, Le Mans and Petit Le Mans this year. With a package like we have, you can expect to do well everywhere. But as I said, to win races, you not only have to be good for one lap, but over every stint. So we have to work and raise our standards a little bit. But we’re always up for the challenge!

Thank you again so much for reading my blogs this week. I enjoyed doing them and hope to have the opportunity again in the future to share them with you during a race week. Ciao!

~Emanuele

In 2010, Emanuele Pirro joins Drayson Racing for his return to Le Mans Prototype One (LMP1) competition. He will co-drive the Drayson Racing Lola B10/60-Judd V10 with Paul Drayson (London/Gloucestershire, UK) and Jonny Cocker (Guisborough, UK) at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Six Hours of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Petit Le Mans. The popular Italian continues as an Audi Brand Ambassador and will campaign in select racing events for Audi as well.  

The native of Rome is a five-time, overall winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (’00-’02,’06,’07) has won the 12 Hours of Sebring twice (’00,’07), the Petit Le Mans three times (’01,’05,’08) and has also collected endurance race victories at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring (‘89) and the 24 Hours of Daytona (‘81) to complement his 18 ALMS overall victories. A former Formula 1 test and race driver, Pirro has seven automobile championships to his credit including ALMS LMP1 honors in 2001 and 2005. He has an unprecedented nine consecutive Le Mans podiums (2000-2008) and was part of the driver squad in a diesel-powered entry’s first victory ever at Le Mans.  

Emanuele Pirro is a man of many interests and passions. Dedicated to his craft, he has a committed training regime which includes a large workout facility in his home. He has a love for building scale replica cars and airplanes, collects frog figurines from around the world, enjoys spending time outdoors with his family and brings together his love of scuba and photography creating exquisite underwater images. He owns a software company for setup simulation of competition go karts and is in the hotel business, owning 3 Le Mans which has four hotels. He also owns a sports clothing company called Adrenalina and flies his own plane, a Mooney M20. He is member of the “Nazionale Piloti” and the “Star Team for Children” of Prince Albert of Monaco soccer team. Pirro lives in his native Rome with his wife, Marlene and two children.

For more information, please visit www.pirro.com and www.draysonracing.com.


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