24 Hours of Daytona – Mathieu Jaminet: “It will be three against one! »

Now well established at Porsche Penske Motorsport, Mathieu Jaminet will begin his second season in the GTP category of theIMSA this weekend for the 24 Hours of Daytona.

« The preparation was very easy, replies the Frenchman. We have little glitches here and there which bother us a little depending on the sessions. We also saw in qualifying that we were worse than the sister car. There are a couple of things that we can't understand, that we can't quite put our finger on. The car is quite complex and very small things make the difference. It could have been better, but it could have been worse too. We're just still seeing if we can find a little more performance. »

Is this enough to explain the difference between this No. 6 of Mathieu Jaminet, Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Nick Tandy (7th on the grid) with the No. 7 of Felipe Nasr, Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell and Josef Newgarden which is Will she start from the second row (3rd)?

« We have two different engineering teams: we went one way, they went another, replies Jaminet. It is not necessarily by putting the same thing on both cars that it will work. We have a different approach. »

Jaminet not surprised by Cadillac's domination

Like all the other competitors in the field, the Habs are banking first on survival during these 24 Hours of Daytona. “If we don't have any technical problems until the morning and we don't make any mistakes, that's really when the race will start. You will have to be there four or five hours from the end to put on the gas and think about the end-of-race strategy. A lot of hours will already be behind us.« 

Porsche will be able to count on a full year of running-in this year. “Nothing replaces experience, there is no magic wand even when your name is Porsche and Penske, explains the Lorraine. With a season behind us, everyone has found their routines, their rhythm. We are much better prepared, much more fluid in the procedures. We also know our car much better. However, the others have progressed too. The question is whether we have progressed equally, or less. »

Among the other competitors mentioned are obviously Cadillac. The American manufacturer has impressed since the start of the Roar and has locked the front row in qualifying. “It’s no surprise, judges our interlocutor. They were already very strong last year and they erased a lot of problems. The car is light and we know that it is probably the best LMDh in terms of tire degradation. They have all the ingredients to be competitive and it's no surprise to see them dominate every test. This will be the car to beat whether it's for us, BMW or Acura. It will be three against one! »

See you at 19:40 p.m. (French time) this Saturday for the start of the 24 2024 Hours of Daytona.

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