Mar
18
Gimmi Bruni: Update from Sebring
So here I am at Sebring, in the middle of Florida, for the first race of the 2010 American Le Mans Series, and my first blog for everyone at Motorstv.com. This means a lot to me because it’s one of most important races in the world, second only to Le Mans, along with Petit Le Mans. I’m very happy to start it here with a new team and with a ‘refreshed’ Ferrari F430 car for 2010. This event is always interesting and expectations are high about us and how we will perform as Risi Competizione and Ferrari have done well here in the past few years.
I’m very happy to be in the USA as I love the way American racing is put together. I will also be racing this year in the Le Mans Series in Europe so I will be in a good position to compare the way racing takes place in both continents. At the moment, I think the biggest difference is that here in the US it is more challenging, there are more good teams, and the racing will always be very, very tough. You will have to be precise and not make any mistakes in order to be successful; I am very sure we are in good shape, with our improved car which we worked on during the winter. It’s not so different from last year’s F430…better of course!
Sebring is fantastic. The 12-hour race happens at the same time as Spring Break, when all the students are on holiday, so there are lots of people – over 150,000 lots – and they are all here to have fun, watch good racing and party! The first time I was here was in 2008 with Risi and to be honest it was a shock. First of all, the Sebring track is unbelievable, something that European drivers don’t understand until they are right here at the track. It’s unbelievable because of the way the track is built, the surface is so bumpy and mostly made of concrete and not asphalt. It’s also because of the way the Americans go racing, and I really like the way the paddocks are open so you can see the cars being prepared instead of being closed into a garage. I also like the way that the fans can get close to you, and how so much is done for them. It’s funny how American people come here to watch and enjoy the race, and in Europe you don’t see so many fans and people who know lots of things about you. This is great for us as drivers as we never see it in Europe. Even when I was in F1 in 2004 people didn’t know as much about me as they know here; they are very enthusiastic, and they care about you, but they are polite too.
Wish us luck for the race and I’ll tell you how we got on very soon.