A second win of the season for François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and the official Ferrari Competizioni GT driver Nicklas Nielsen came courtesy of a masterful performance by all the three drivers. A perfect outing saw the trio put in some very effective stints even in the most challenging conditions. Perrodo drove the 488 GTE no. 83 in the early stages, when a real cloudburst battered the track. He then left the car to Collard who, in turn, at times drove with slicks on a wet track. Then finally came Nicklas Nielsen’s incredible triple stint.
François Perrodo: “I am delighted with my performance today, in particular, because after qualifying we thought we weren’t that competitive given the Porsches’ leap forward. Since victory seemed out of reach, we aimed to collect as many points as possible and really go for it at Le Mans. The race wasn’t as crazy as last year, but the typical Spa weather made it very spectacular. It was a difficult start, but I was the first of the non-Porsche drivers. Then I handed the wheel to Emmanuel who did a great job. Finally, Nicklas was incredible with a stunning triple stint. I’m over the moon”.
Emmanuel Collard: “The championship is long, so you have to be consistent and finish every race. This is what we’ve been trying to do since the start of the season. When we’ve had a chance to win, we’ve tried to, and when we couldn’t, we’ve tried to collect as many points as possible. This means that we can celebrate victory at Spa today”.
Nicklas Nielsen: “Today’s result is fantastic. This was certainly the best race of my life, with a triple stint of over three hours. We weren’t the favourites before we started the race, but the team did a fantastic job, and the strategy was perfect. I thank François and Emmanuel. I’m really excited after this win, and it’s fantastic to have achieved it after such a difficult race, I couldn’t be happier than I am right now”.