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SPECIAL: Ricardo Zonta, Renaissance Man
Written by:
Cassio Cortes
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com
03/26/2008 - 05:00 AM
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Zonta will join the owner/driver ranks with his new Panasonic Racing squad in the Brazilian Stock Car series. (Erick Leite photo) » More Photos
While most drivers spend their seasons with something ranging from zero to two teammates, former Formula 1 regular Ricardo Zonta will have nothing short of 10 other drivers sharing his various garages in 2008.
At age 32, the Brazilian is embarking in an ambitious season: a full-time Grand-Am Rolex Series campaign as Nic Jonsson’s partner at Krohn Racing, another full-time commitment in the Brazilian Stock Car V8 series as owner/driver – and thus teammate and boss – of Ricardo Sperafico at the newly-formed Panasonic Racing team, and of course, a member of Peugeot’s three-car, nine-driver armada that will try to reclaim Le Mans glory for the French marque.
It’s a schedule that’s as busy as it is diverse, as Zonta will switch between the mid-engined prototypes to the front-engined Stock Car and will sample gasoline V8 power in a tubeframe chassis both in North and South America and V12 diesel grunt mounted in a carbon-fiber monocoque in Europe.
We caught up with the driver arguably most deserving of the moniker of racing’s renaissance man in 2008 at the Panasonic Racing launch in Sao Paulo.
Mount No.1: the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP with which Zonta will target Le Mans glory. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
Q: We know your schedule will be busy – tell us exactly how so.
“I’m signed for the full Grand-Am and Stock Car seasons, that’s 12 race weekends each. Then I’m also set for Le Mans with Peugeot, which involves a lot of testing before the race. And of course there’s all the managing things going on with my Stock Car team, so it does figure to be a really busy year.”
Q: How do you get around the challenge of driving such different cars?
“The Peugeot 908 Le Mans car is a very, very powerful machine, a twin-turbo diesel, and it feels very unique because it revs so low, always working between 2,000 and 4,000rpm. Also the aerodynamics of the 908 are very advanced; in testing at Paul Ricard I could carry as much as 165mph into the fast corners, this in a car that tops out at about 205mph, so the aero vs. drag balance is excellent. I’d say the 908’s rear-end is even more planted than a Formula 1 car’s. The Stock Car Peugeot 307 and the Grand-Am Lola are a bit more similar, cars where mechanical grip plays a bigger role and powered by V8s that have decent power and torque and rev higher.”
Q: How do you think the 908 will stack up against the Audi R10 at Le Mans this year?
“It is true that we seem to have an edge in terms of speed and they’re ahead of us when it comes to reliability – especially in relation to the chassis itself. Long-distance races inevitably involve attrition, and the R10 seems to take those hits better than our car, since the 908 is a lighter car.”
Mount No.2: the Krohn Racing Lola shared with Nic Jonsson. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
Q: With Peugeot having three cars at Le Mans this
“We will have three cars this year, versus two in 2007, so that opens up our options, especially when you consider how Audi used that car advantage [three versus two] last year. But obviously all our three cars will be targeting the win, and changes in strategy depend a lot on how the race develops over those 24 hours.”
Q: You spent several season in Formula 1 and your career background always focused on open-wheel. Now that you’ll race full-time in the U.S. for the first time, is a reunified IndyCar Series an appealing prospect?
“My biggest goal today is to enjoy the opportunities that appear in front of me, and I mean both the competitive and financial sides. I feel very glad that people in different racing series – different continents, even – believe in my capability behind the wheel of a race car. What I’m trying to say is that I’m not really in that mindset that you have when you’re younger, that you absolutely focus on a goal and do whatever it takes to achieve it, which I did in the case of Formula 1, for instance. I’m more going-with-the-flow now, enjoying the good opportunities when they come up.”
Q: So is the Stock Car team your priority now?
“In the long run, yes. It’s a fast-growing series, that’s boosted every year by big novelties, like the Million-Dollar Race this season [the winner of the Rio round in August will receive $1m from Stock Car title sponsor Nextel]. At this stage in my life I enjoy being centered somewhere, not having to travel as much, and having time to help with the family’s business.”
Mount No.3: the Peugeot 307 Stock Car machine. (Panasonic Racing image) » More Photos
Q: What about Grand-Am? What’s the mindset to take on it?
“We’ve tested on three different tracks, and I can say that probably the toughest one for us will be this weekend’s race at Homestead, because with the new Lola chassis we still struggle a bit on the oval sections, the car still needs to have some drag taken off of it. On the pure road courses the car feels really good though, so I’m really confident we can upset some people this year.”
Q: You’re launching this Panasonic Racing team here tonight, then testing the Stock Car on Wednesday and Thursday, then flying Thursday night to the Grand-Am race at Homestead. Are you tired yet?
“The real tough part was last year, after I bought the team; having to change the headquarters and making the best to hold on the best people in the staff was a big effort. Running a team is something I’m learning about every day, but I feel confident I’ve put the right people in the right places to deliver the best possible results while being relaxed whenever I put my helmet on.”
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