Today saw three hours of racing, three titles for Ferrari, with a historic record for Pier Guidi, the first driver in the series to win the Endurance Cup two years in a row. After the last race of the 2021 GT World Challenge Europe season, we heard from the Pro, Pro-Am and Pro-Am team champions.
Antonello Coletta, Head of Ferrari Attività Sportive GT: “We are delighted with Alessandro Pier Guidi’s victory in the Endurance Cup for the second consecutive year. This year he could also share this joy with Nicklas Nielsen and Côme Ledogar. This title proves once again how competitive our 488 GT3 is in the most important series for this type of car. A special mention must go to Chris Froggatt, who took the Pro-Am class after winning the Overall and Sprint Cup titles last season. As with the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, we are particularly pleased to celebrate three titles in the Pro and Pro-Am classes. I would like to thank the drivers and crews who continue to support us and bring us success in this series”.
Alessandro Pier Guidi, Endurance Cup Overall champion: “It’s fantastic to win the title two years in a row, and I thank Ferrari for giving me this opportunity. Nobody has ever achieved this feat before, and I am happy to have managed it. This race was challenging, and my last stint was one of the toughest of my career. I was constantly being radioed by the pit wall. We gave it everything, and luckily it was enough to win us the title”.
Nicklas Nielsen, Endurance Cup Overall champion: “The weekend was challenging because right from free practice, it was obvious that we didn’t have the pace, and we didn’t know what to expect. We did our best in Quali. Then, in the race, in my stint, I tried to balance my pace and tyre wear. Being in the middle of the group, it was not easy to defend myself while simultaneously trying to gain positions. I think that looking at the whole championship we can be proud of what we did. I would like to thank Alessandro, Côme, the team and Ferrari for their work. To claim the title after winning the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is simply incredible”.
Côme Ledogar, Endurance Cup Overall champion: “I am sorry that this is the last race of a championship that I have really enjoyed with Alessandro and Nicklas, whom I would like to thank. The season’s theme wasn’t peak performance, which probably wasn’t in our favour, so much as managing the car and tyres. We stayed out of trouble in this race as well and, thanks to the team’s work managed to deliver the right prize for a great season”.
Chris Froggatt, Endurance Cup Overall champion: “The Endurance Cup title was the only one that eluded us last year, so it was our main goal this season, and we knew we had to win at Spa to achieve it. Even though things didn't go as we had planned in Belgium, we managed to take the championship lead and keep it in the following races”.
Jonathan Hui, Endurance Cup Pro-Am champion: “The title repays the effort of an entire team and three years of hard work, which also began in 2019 with the support of Eddie Cheever, without whom we wouldn't be celebrating today. I am very proud of what we have achieved, and the team did very well again today, despite the difficulties in identifying the car’s best set-up. In the race, we tried to manage the pace and focus on the championship, and I think we did that pretty well. It was a huge effort for me to travel from Hong Kong in these pandemic times because I had to do long periods of quarantine, and this repays my and my family’s sacrifices”.
Rino Mastronardi, Endurance Cup Pro-Am champion: “Of course, Chris and Jonathan did most of the work as I only joined them from the Nurburgring. I am obviously delighted because they won the title and achieved the team’s goal. I can’t hide the fact that I was under a bit of pressure because I joined the team while it was at the top of the standings, so I couldn’t make any mistakes. However, luckily we are here to celebrate a title, and hopefully, we can continue working together next year”.