GT1 – Castellacci: “Bring back our first podium”

Although very successful since the start of the season, both Ferrari 458 Italia d’AF Corse n’ont pas encore réussi à remporter la moindre course championnat en FIA GT1. Ce week-end, sur le Slovakia Ring, les hommes d’Amato Ferrari tenteront d’y remédier, afin que la firme au cheval cabré rejoigne Audi, Porsche, McLaren, BMW and Mercedes among the winning brands this year. A very achievable objective, especially since the 458s were at ease during the GT1 caravan's first visit to the Slovak circuit at the beginning of June. But if the Salaquarda-Vilander duo will have victory as their sole goal, the Castellacci-Ide pair will set more modest objectives, with the ambition of getting on the podium for the first time.

“This will be my third visit to the Slovakia Ring, as I had already driven there last year in the FIA ​​GT3 European Championship, underlines Francesco Castellacci, who shares the wheel with Enzo Ide. This track, mixing moderately fast curves, suits our Ferrari 458 well. It will be very important to preserve the tires until the very last lap of the race because the tarmac and the high temperatures will be restrictive for the rubbers, before in particular. The main challenge of this route is the chicane made with piles of tires introduced this year to prevent the cars from taking off on the bump. This is a crucial point where it is easy to make a mistake and hit the barrier. Our goal will be to bring home our first podium, as we missed it at Portimao after encountering a technical problem during our pit stop. Without this, it would indeed have been possible. »

Vengeful, the Italian and the Belgian will arrive with increased motivation. All hopes are high, since on June 9, their teammates Filip Salaquarda and Toni Vilander won the qualifying race for the first Slovak meeting. Proof that there, the 458 is a weapon entirely capable of winning.