Deputising for the injured Nick Catsburg, who broke his collarbone in a mountain bike accident last weekend, will be Andrea Piccini. The experienced Italian takes part in his first Blancpain Endurance Series race since the 2012 TOTAL 24 HOURS OF SPA. He joins Henri Moser and Markus Palttala in the #4 Marc VDs Racing Team BMW Z4.
We caught up with the 34-year old in the paddock this afternoon to get his thoughts on his unexpected drive for the team this weekend.
Andrea, it is great to see you back in the Blancpain Endurance Series. You got the call very late, what was your reaction?
“First I asked what happened to Nick (Catsburg), if it was nothing too serious, after that I was obviously happy to be here at Marc VDS Racing Team. I worked already with the team at the Nürburgring in May and it worked very well, we were fighting almost the whole race and we were second at the end. It is good to be back with the team for Paul Ricard.”
You won the TOTAL 24 HOURS OF SPA last year, what are your targets for this weekend?
“Obviously to try and bring as many points as possible to the team, it is not my championship, I haven’t done the first races, so the main target with my experience is to try to bring them as many points as possible. It there is a chance to be on the podium, I would be more than happy but I saw that the Blancpain Endurance Series is very competitive, so let’s wait for the practice sessions, let’s see where we can be, and then do our best to be at the front. The team is very good, very well organised, normally the car is very competitive and the engine is good so we have high hopes for a good performance this weekend at Paul Ricard.”
Follow all the action from tomorrow’s Bronze Test, Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying sessions on www.twitter.com/Blancpain2013 using #MistralGT