24 Hours of Daytona - Simon Pagenaud: “A race that I was keen to win”

It was on a bench and under the gentle Floridian heat, not far from the podium where he celebrated his triumph with his team, that Simon Pagenaud spoke about this first victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona. A waking dream which already calls for another: that of a coronation at Le Mans. With the Meyer Shank Racing Acura?

Published on 02/02/2022 à 13:00

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24 Hours of Daytona – Simon Pagenaud: “A race that I was keen to win”

Debriefing in the sun for Simon Pagenaud © IMSA

Simon, you are finally winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona. What does that do to you?

I've been chasing it for a lot of years. Originally, I was doingEndurance. When I started my career in this discipline, my goal was to become the best driver possible. This therefore required winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring… I finished second in all these races (2nd at Le Mans in 2011, 2nd at Daytona in 2021, 2nd at Sebring in 2011. Editor’s note), but I hadn’t won any yet! Despite my commitment to IndyCar, my goal has always been to participate in long races and try to win these events to expand my record. These are also races that interest me, because I like the battles, the traffic, all the natural factors and elements that change during 24 hours. For me, a double clock tour is a real race against time. Today, for example.