Alessandro Pier Guidi: “Lucky in the last lap in qualifying”

A few seconds before the end of the qualifications of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2020 yesterday, the “surprise” in GTE Pro would have been to see the elimination with a view to the Hyperpole of the Ferrari 488 GTE n°51 – AF Corse of the 2019 winners Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Daniel Serra.

But a final, ultimately conclusive lap allowed Alessandro Pier Guidi to place the defending champion car back in the top 6, allowing the two AF Corse cars to feature in the decisive session for pole position this Friday morning.

A final attempt on which the Italian admits to having been a little lucky. “There was so much traffic on the track and I didn't have any clear laps until the last one, the 2017 world champion told us.

The problem is that there was always a proto in the wrong place. Sometimes you're lucky, sometimes you're not. Everyone was very aggressive because everyone was trying to set their time, and I lost mine every time.

Honestly, on my last ride, I was lucky because I had a huge vacuum because of the traffic, but in the right place, and I was able to use it well. Fortunately, because my tires on their fifth lap were not at their best. »

Being able to count on a Ferrari 488 GTE unchanged from 2019, the Transalpin and his teammates James Calado and Daniel Serra, can count on a base that proved its worth last year, but the task will necessarily be complicated to repeat a second success in a row, a feat that no one has achieved in the category since 2008-2009 (at the time of GT2) and the Risi Competizione.

« We are satisfied with the performance of the car, and we also look at the weather which does not seem very encouraging, notes Pier Guidi. Last year we won with this car and it makes sense to use the 2019 base as a reference.

The BoP is different because Aston Martin has more power, and they look very strong. We saw during the championship that the Vantages are much more efficient than last year, they have progressed with the tires. »

Aston Martins who dominated qualifying yesterday and who will be favorites for pole in the category during the Hyperpole from 11:30 a.m.