Jean-Philippe Dayraut: “I expected more competition”

What assessment do you make of your season after this second title?
“It is noticeably better than last year. I felt more comfortable, I was even faster, while making fewer mistakes. I expected more competition. Our Skoda Fabia, apart from a few adjustments introduced after our tests at Alpe d?Huez at the beginning of January, was almost the same, facing new competitors. Alain (Cheers) held me in good stead until the holidays, but then gave up ground. The situation evolved in my favor, which made me even stronger in my head. I could afford a misstep, unlike my pursuers who knew that the slightest mistake would be fatal to them. »

Le Andros Trophy allows your style to fully express itself. Do you enjoy it more than in other competitions?
“I take pleasure when I win, because above all I love competition. There is no pleasure at the end of a race that you do not win. I appreciate teamwork, when we progress together, and success is at the end. »

When we see you driving on the ice, we say to ourselves that you would have made an excellent pilot. rally ?
“I did a little car, I drive in GT France, but I have never done rallying, because the opportunity never presented itself. But I have always been interested in this discipline, in fact I would dream of one day doing the Swedish rally on snow. But rallying is a separate category, it has nothing to do with what I do, you have to train a lot to trust your teammate. »

Not only are you a Skoda driver, but are you also going to organize races on behalf of Skoda this season?
“Yes: the Skoda Cup. It will support the FFSA Super Series and will take place within the Midget championship. A series that I created three years ago and which is working very well. This year we can count on around sixty entrants, which is a record in Europe. For the Skoda Cup, which will bring together cars with identical chassis and engines under Skoda Fabia bodies, we already have around twenty registered. »

How will your “summer” sports program be structured?
“I will participate in the French GT3 Championship with a Ferrari F430 fielded by AS Events. I don't yet know the name of my teammate but I think it's a shame to have to share his car. If I had wanted to play a team sport, I would have turned to football or rugby! »