Pla: “Riding in the USA is really what I love”

Here you are at Mazda for the North American Endurance Cup. Difficult to start 2019 better?

For sure. I had other opportunities that didn't pan out and had to change my plans at the last minute. I got here thanks to Multimatic (his employer WEC, which manages the design of the RT24-P and Ford GT. Editor’s note), very involved in this program alongside Mazda.

Isn't Multimatic gaining more and more weight in this project?

During 2017, they took full control of this self-designed project by Riley. They have made colossal progress and honestly, when I discovered it at the beginning of December (in Daytona. Editor's note), I was very pleasantly surprised. From the start, I had a lot of fun. It has great potential, we now need to be reliable.

Much criticism has been expressed about the Riley chassis and the 4 turbo AER 2.0-cylinder. You who drove the Oreca and the Ligier, what did you think of it?

They were allowed to use the joker (granted to Riley-Multimatic, Ligier and Dallara to get closer to Oreca. Editor's note) at the end of 2017 and the overhaul of the car was entrusted to Multimatic. They really made it progress. Once again, both in terms of mechanical grip and aerodynamics, I was amazed. In recent months, they have worked on engine reliability. Because if it was not a problem in the so-called Sprint races, it was in the Endurance events, mainly at Daytona, a very demanding circuit for the engine with these long periods of full load on the banking. That was the weak point. But at the operational level, it doesn't change much.

How do Multimatic and Joest divide up tasks?

The two entities work together for Mazda. But I have many Multimatic engineers on my car (George Howard-Chappell, who manages Multimatic's track operations, was also present. Editor’s note).

Michelin replaced Continental as the tire manufacturer ofIMSA. Is the change significant?

The milestone reached is enormous. We're going to see some extremely fast times. If there are not too many neutralizations, the averages promise to be very high. This contributes to the fact that the car is extremely pleasant to drive. It's really fun to drive with tires and a car like that.

We feel you are in great shape…

Riding in the United States is really what I love. For the moment, I'm happy with long races, but if the opportunity to ride there full time arises, I will definitely take it. The level of IMSA has continued to rise for four years. It’s a championship that has nothing to envy of others. The Americans know car racing and, what's more, they have a sense of spectacle. Actors and spectators alike find themselves there. I have already won Petit Le Mans and I want to put the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring on my CV. In 2016, Daytona (on the Ligier JS P2-Honda of Michael Shank Racing. Editor's note) escaped us following an engine failure at 2 a.m. while we were leading calmly, but this is the harsh law of motor sports. As for Sebring, I never qualified beyond the front row (in six starts. Editor’s note). It's a circuit, like many others in the United States, that I particularly like.

If everyone knows Harry Tincknell, your other teammate, Jonathan Bomarito, is lesser known. How did the first contact go?

Harry and I have known each other since 2014 (they were teammates at Nissan in LM P1 and have been at Ford since 2016. Editor’s note) and we’ve wanted to ride together for a long time. We have the same driving style and that helps with the settings. Jonathan is not very media-oriented but he is a great guy who also goes very fast. Our crew is as homogeneous as it is fast, and if the mechanics hold, we will have a card to play.

Mazda dominated Roar qualifying. What lessons do you learn from this?

It's difficult to draw conclusions. I think everyone advances masked, but that's unfortunately part of the game in a category governed by the BoP (Performance Scale. Editor’s note). However, the instances are supposed to have all the necessary data not to be fooled. But I don't worry about what I can't control. I just hope it's fair.

This program runs alongside your WEC commitment with Ford. What is your assessment of the first five races of the 2018-2019 season?

We started very well (a victory at Spa. Editor's note), unfortunately at Le Mans, one of my teammates (Billy Johnson. Editor's note) was involved in a collision which cost us two laps. We wouldn't have won, Porsche was too fast, but we had the pace to fight for the podium. Unfortunately, the following races did not please us either, with circumstances difficult to accept, but we are not going to rewrite history. We are still 2nd overall but the gap with the #92 Porsche (Michael Christensen-Kévin Estre. Editor’s note) is consistent (43 points. Editor’s note). There are three races left to go and a lot of points to be taken (98. Editor’s note). The performance is there, so we will approach them with a lot of confidence. As long as it is mathematically playable, we will believe in it.

Your Ford, number 66, seems to have taken precedence over number 67…

We changed engineers and things are going really well. Maybe that's the impression it gives, but I don't like to see it that way. In 2017, Stefan (Mücke. Editor's note) and I have had our share of problems and some must certainly have thought otherwise.

Will Billy Johnson join you again at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

It's not yet decided.

In addition, you disputed theELMS with a new team, Racing Engineering. Did this satisfy you?

We won straight away at Paul-Ricard after only having completed half a day of testing at Portimao (Portugal. Editor’s note). We should also have won Red Bull Ring, but on bumpy circuits we had more difficulty. But finishing second in the championship for a first year in the discipline is great. We just lacked driving performance compared to G-Drive, who also knew the car. I had a lot of fun riding with Norman and Paul (Nato and Petit. Editor’s note). I hope we can do it again this year and fight for the title, but for that we will have to do more testing.

Does this mean that you are leaving for a second campaign?

Nothing is certain, we are in discussions.

Ford, Mazda… Your rating is still high today. Does the future premier category of the WEC make you dream?

It's all about opportunity. I am well placed to know this with the episode Peugeot (whose colors he should have defended in 2012. Editor's note), but that's life and you shouldn't regret anything. I then had the chance to defend the interests of very good teams and to experience great adventures. I have never hidden the pleasure I take in IMSA. Today, there are more opportunities in the United States to practice the profession of pilot as we conceived it when we were kids. But I am open to everything, in GT as in Proto.