Olivier Pla: “The same dynamic as in 2019”

How did the Roar go for Mazda?

Pretty good. We did not experience any reliability issues and were at the top of the timesheet most of the time. For the "qualifiers", we were given the order to attack and that's what I set about.

It remains to be seen whether the others played the game as much as we did. It's always good for morale to leave with the best time, but that doesn't mean much, except that we are on the same dynamic as last year.

Has the car changed since last year?

Technically speaking, no, which is why we have nothing to hide. As for me, I'm simply going from #55 to #77. On the other hand, Michelin has brought a new range of tires.

In the end, we unofficially grant ourselves (this Roar is not considered an official session. Editor's note) the absolute track record by beating last year's pole by more than three tenths (the work of Jarvis on Mazda. Editor's note) . We saw from the morning that the conditions would probably be favorable with a cooler temperature and we expected the times to fall.

Do you think you have finally solved your reliability problems on long races?

Until now, this has always been our major problem. It's still too early to tell, but I know that Mazda, Multimatic and AER worked hard during the winter. But Daytona, with its long full loads on the banking, is not an easy circuit for the engines.

Is it an advantage to have the first booth location?

No not at all. Especially since it leaves you less time to prepare for the change of driver.