The winner of the FIA WEC LMGTE Am championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the same category, Viktor Shaitar, explained to the preparation for the endurance race at Moscow Raceway, which he will lead together within the SMP Racing crew. with the old Formula 1″ Sergei Sirotkin .
Shaitar expressed his hope that the Endurance Series Championships would be held regularly in Russia, and also explained why it was not important for him to overtake another SMP Racing crew in the upcoming competitions – Mikhail Alyoshin and Vitali Petrov .
Russian motorsport development program SMP Racing will field two crews in BR03 prototypes, which will take place on July 24 as part of the Russian Endurance Challenge race series.
— Tell us about the BR03 prototype and the upcoming race at Moscow Raceway.
– BR03 is a kind of Russian analogue of LMP3. The idea of the project is to create a Russian series of endurance races here. This year it takes place in the form of test races, in test mode, for the time being they have decided to stop at the REC – Russian Endurance Challenge, within which four races will take place.
– Do we know how many cars will participate in the next race?
‘While it’s hard to say. But in one race, of course, cars of different classes will participate and the lags will be different. I think in total there will be around 20 cars, and maybe more. The race is in five weeks. In about two weeks, it will be clearer who will leave. But it is clear that riders have an interest in these competitions.
— You run with Sergey Sirotkin. Satisfied with your interaction in the crew?
We have had the experience of joint execution. I raced with Sergey in 2017 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2. There were no problems with the crew. We never had any problems within the team. We have all known each other for a long time. And I don’t think there will be any difficulty finding compromises in the settings of the machine. I don’t see any problem – I think everything will be fine.
– Now we are excommunicated from international competitions. How would you rate your physical condition? When was the last time you ran for hours?
— In January, at the 24 Hours of Dubai. Everything was fine. Therefore, I don’t see any problems, especially in four-hour races. Apparently we’ll drive it in half an hour – two hours each. In Dubai, I drove for six hours and I was not tired at all. So for me, in that regard, the upcoming race will be a cakewalk. Here the main task is to test the car in combat conditions, check the reliability and, depending on the result, conduct an analysis: what needs to be repaired, what needs to be worked on. That is, the main task is to identify minor car sores in this test run. Nothing without it.
– And yet, probably, it will be fundamentally important for you to beat Petrov and Alyoshin, who will go to the same BR03 crew?
– How to say? Of course, we will all look at each other. It’s a perfectly normal rivalry. But I don’t think at this stage anyone will be very upset if someone is ahead of someone in our squad.
– Is there any hope that we will have an endurance racing series for good and for a long time?
“I would really like it and I think it’s the place to be. Therefore, all of us – me, Sergey Sirotkin, Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin – will try, given our experience, to put everything in work to implement this project.We will try to develop Russian motorsport.
After the race at Moscow Raceway, the Russian Endurance Challenge will feature three more rounds in the same format. On August 7, a stage will be held on the Igora Drive circuit near St. Petersburg, on September 24 – in Kazan and on October 23 – on the Sochi track, where Formula 1 races were previously held.
Source : MatchTV
