24 Hours of Daytona – Franck Perera opens up a new horizon

At the top of the GTD timesheet for the second session of the Roar Before the Rolex 24, official tests contested at the beginning of the month before the big meeting of the 24 Hours of Daytona (January 27-28), the name of Franck Perera appears with a time established in 1'47″175.

The third cumulative time of the three days of Florida driving achieved at the beginning of the month, and a performance achieved with the Lamborghini Huracán of the Grasser Racing Team. A change of direction in the career of the Montpellier, after a 2017 campaign disputed with Mercedes and HTP Motorsport.

“Lamborghini and GRT, like two or three others, returned to discussions during the fall for various very interesting programs and projects, Perera explains. It's true that I've left the door open since the end of the Blancpain season.

The directions that HTP wanted to take did not suit me in my opinion. However, we had a very good season and this allowed me to evaluate myself against drivers of the caliber of Maxi Buhk (his teammate in Sprint and Endurance Cup in 2017). There were discussions throughout the holidays and at the beginning of January I made my decision to move to Grasser Racing Team. »

Last year, Grasser Racing Team and the Huracán made a splash by winning the Drivers' and Teams' titles in the Blancpain GT Series and the Drivers' Endurance Cup titles. More generally, the GT developed by Giorgio Sanna's men shone throughout the year, and seems to be off to a similar pace in 2018, given the performances at the 24 Hours of Dubai.

A scarecrow of the GT3 scene that Franck Perera will be able to drive at the 24 Hours of Daytona at the end of the month after his first contact a few days ago.

“The first feeling is excellent, comments the Frenchman. I was going a bit blind, without knowing the team, the car, the track, the tires. I was starting from zero. I had to adapt, including my driving position, and it was quite unusual with the Continental tires and the very cool temperatures.

And finally, very quickly, I was in Mirko Bortolotti's times. (official Lamborghini driver). I felt a bit like I was driving a green Audi. This is a car I'm going to like because it looks a lot like the R8 LMS (Franck Perera played in 2016 with the Audi of Team ISR), with which I had very good feelings.

With the Mercedes too, but these are cars that suit me a little more, where you have to be clean, incisive, and with a car that reacts a little more. The Mercedes was a little more neutral. »

Des essais qui ont également rappelé des souvenirs à l’ancien pensionnaire du giron Toyota en F1, who had crossed the Atlantic to join theIndyCar after the end of his adventure with the Japanese brand in 2006.

It now remains to be seen what happens next in his 2018 programs with Lamborghini by Grasser Racing Team, but seeing the Frenchman lined up in the Blancpain GT Series would make some sense.