Yifei Ye: “Benefit from Nicolas Lapierre’s experience”

Yifei, you announced to us during our last interview, you will still be racing in LM P2 this season with COOL Racing alongside Nicolas lapierre and Niklas Krutten. What are your feelings about this new adventure?

It’s cool to have signed with COOL Racing! (Laughs) After winning the Asian Le Mans Series (with G-Drive) and the European Le Mans Series (with Team WRT) last year in LM P2, I think I know the car very well. I learned a lot fromEndurance, because I was a beginner in this discipline. With Nico, a very successful driver, and Niklas, a young driver, we have a very good package and I can help the team develop. The team showed many good performances in ELMS at the end of last season. Like every year, the field will be very tough and it will not be easy to win. However, we have what it takes to join the fight. We still have a lot of work to do, but I can't wait to start the season.

With the ambition of defending the Drivers' title acquired last year?

Totalement. Ce n’est pas encore acquis, mais j’aimerais aussi revenir aux 24 Heures du Mans pour finir ce que j’ai débuté l’an dernier (Yifei Ye avait été contraint à l’abandon dans le dernier tour alors qu’il était en tête avec WRT. Ndlr). J’ai un très beau programme cette année puisque je fais aussi le GT avec Porsche et j’espère trouver un baquet LMDh officiel en 2023. 

Will you find yourself alongside Nicolas Lapierre, already a Hypercar driver with Alpine, can you help with this?

Even outside of Hypercar, he has already done several seasons in LM P2 (four times winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in this category. Editor's note) and I will benefit from his experience. He is also a very nice person, he is the one who leads the team and there is a family atmosphere. All this is also very important to be well trained. 

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