Ayari and JMB Racing take on the Open GT

Despite a very recent formalization of their participation in the Open GT, the driver from Aix-les-Bains and his teammate Nicolas Misslin have nevertheless started twenty days ago an intensive driving program intended to get to know the F430 GT2 with which they will start the championship this weekend in Imola. But from the following round, at Magny-Cours (May 14-15), the duo will have an F458 at their disposal. “ Starting with the F430 GT2 was wiser because the F458 has just been produced and is being prepared. In addition, the team knows the 430 perfectly, explains Soheil. We have already tested twice at Le Castellet and once in Barcelona. I'm starting to like the car and Nicolas, used to Ferrari race (he won the Ferrari 430 Challenge in 2009. Editor’s note), quickly showed himself at ease in Barcelona, ​​a circuit he did not know."

Accustomed to the French GT championship games in recent seasons (champion in 2006 and 2007 on Saleen S7-R), the Savoyard will discover a series offering a rich field of around thirty cars, and races including an extended pit stop as the only handicap for the winners of previous races. “ The fact that there is no weight handicap in our cars particularly pleases me, because it goes in the direction of the competitiveness and safety of the cars., continues Soheil. The winners of previous races still have a chance of victory. So when the JMB Racing team offered me a program covering the entire season, especially on a Ferrari, the challenge obviously appealed to me. ».

Finally, on the engineering side, Soheil is not heading into the unknown since Claude Galopin, his engineer from his time at Pescarolo Sport, will bring his experience in the field to the JMB Racing technical team.Endurance. " As this is a start in Open GT this weekend, I dare not give a prediction but I hope that we will be quickly in the game », concludes Soheil Ayari.