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Le Mans / ALMS
LE MANS: 5 Questions With Ricardo Gonzalez
Reigning American Le Mans Series LMPC co-champion discusses move to FIA World Endurance Championship and his goals for 2012...
Ricardo Gonzalez has signed a two-year contract with Greaves Motorsport for the FIA World Endurance Championship. (Photo: Rick Dole/CORE autosport)
After a breakout American Le Mans Series season with CORE autosport and co-driver Gunnar Jeannette, which saw the duo score two victories and share the LMPC drivers’ championship, Ricardo Gonzalez makes the step up to the world’s stage, having signed with Greaves Motorsport for its LMP2 effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
READ: Greaves Confirms WEC Lineup
Gonzalez will partner with fellow ALMS drivers Elton Julian and Christian Zugel in the British team’s new Zytek-Nissan, a potent package in the revitalized cost-capped category that saw Greaves capture the European Le Mans Series championship and take top class honors at Le Mans last year.
SPEED.com caught up with Gonzalez to get his thoughts on the move to LMP2 and his goals for the upcoming season, which kicks off at the 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.
DAGYS: After winning the ALMS LMPC championship, what were the motivating factors behind making a step up to LMP2, and WEC at that?
GONZALEZ: I think the normal step, in order to keep growing, is LMP2. I was looking forward to driving a car with more downforce and with a little bit more technology, which is LMP2.
We were looking for the championship in 2011 but also opportunities to jump into P2 in the future. In the U.S., P2 may have not gotten off to a good start, but it's looking quite nice for this year. But there were not that many opportunities when we originally started looking.
I always wanted to go to Le Mans and I kept an eye in Europe for possibilities. It was a very positive surprise to get this deal with Greaves for not only Le Mans but the whole championship.
DAGYS: Does Greaves’ past success in the ELMS and at Le Mans give you extra confidence heading into the season?
GONZALEZ: If you take a look at the championship, the shorter races are six hours, and they're still very long races. So you definitely need a package that can support that distance and be there at the end. I think Greaves has shown that, by winning the [ELMS] championship and the 24 Hours [of Le Mans]. I'm definitely very, very happy to be involved in this deal.
DAGYS: You’ve battled against Christian and Elton in the ALMS and now you’re teammates. How do you think the three of you will work together?
GONZALEZ: Even though we've been racing against each other for the past two years, we've become good friends. Elton being from Equator and speaking Spanish, and Christian is just a great guy, too. We're good friends already away from the track, so I'm very happy about that.
As drivers, I think we're all very strong and the combination will be very good for the championship and hopefully getting some wins as well.
DAGYS: How much importance will your debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans be?
GONZALEZ: We'll have to keep the eye on the championship, like we did last year. But definitely Le Mans is going to be the [big] event. I was there in 2010 as a spectator.
Ever since I came back to racing, and I started in the American Le Mans Series, Le Mans was one of my dreams. I kept an eye on it but knew things took time. So I knew that I had to make a name for myself in America in order to start opening opportunities to go to Le Mans. I'm very happy that after two seasons, I'm there, and with a great team and great teammates and a real opportunity.
DAGYS: What would it mean if you claimed the LMP2 championship for Greaves?
GONZALEZ: That would be a dream come true. Definitely, being able to get the championship in WEC would mean a lot, not just for me but for Mexico also. I think I'm going to start having a lot of eyes on me and I’m going to try my best to put Mexico up there.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
READ: Greaves Confirms WEC Lineup
Gonzalez will partner with fellow ALMS drivers Elton Julian and Christian Zugel in the British team’s new Zytek-Nissan, a potent package in the revitalized cost-capped category that saw Greaves capture the European Le Mans Series championship and take top class honors at Le Mans last year.
SPEED.com caught up with Gonzalez to get his thoughts on the move to LMP2 and his goals for the upcoming season, which kicks off at the 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.
DAGYS: After winning the ALMS LMPC championship, what were the motivating factors behind making a step up to LMP2, and WEC at that?
GONZALEZ: I think the normal step, in order to keep growing, is LMP2. I was looking forward to driving a car with more downforce and with a little bit more technology, which is LMP2.
We were looking for the championship in 2011 but also opportunities to jump into P2 in the future. In the U.S., P2 may have not gotten off to a good start, but it's looking quite nice for this year. But there were not that many opportunities when we originally started looking.
I always wanted to go to Le Mans and I kept an eye in Europe for possibilities. It was a very positive surprise to get this deal with Greaves for not only Le Mans but the whole championship.
DAGYS: Does Greaves’ past success in the ELMS and at Le Mans give you extra confidence heading into the season?
GONZALEZ: If you take a look at the championship, the shorter races are six hours, and they're still very long races. So you definitely need a package that can support that distance and be there at the end. I think Greaves has shown that, by winning the [ELMS] championship and the 24 Hours [of Le Mans]. I'm definitely very, very happy to be involved in this deal.
DAGYS: You’ve battled against Christian and Elton in the ALMS and now you’re teammates. How do you think the three of you will work together?
GONZALEZ: Even though we've been racing against each other for the past two years, we've become good friends. Elton being from Equator and speaking Spanish, and Christian is just a great guy, too. We're good friends already away from the track, so I'm very happy about that.
As drivers, I think we're all very strong and the combination will be very good for the championship and hopefully getting some wins as well.
DAGYS: How much importance will your debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans be?
GONZALEZ: We'll have to keep the eye on the championship, like we did last year. But definitely Le Mans is going to be the [big] event. I was there in 2010 as a spectator.
Ever since I came back to racing, and I started in the American Le Mans Series, Le Mans was one of my dreams. I kept an eye on it but knew things took time. So I knew that I had to make a name for myself in America in order to start opening opportunities to go to Le Mans. I'm very happy that after two seasons, I'm there, and with a great team and great teammates and a real opportunity.
DAGYS: What would it mean if you claimed the LMP2 championship for Greaves?
GONZALEZ: That would be a dream come true. Definitely, being able to get the championship in WEC would mean a lot, not just for me but for Mexico also. I think I'm going to start having a lot of eyes on me and I’m going to try my best to put Mexico up there.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
Monterey
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