Alexander Sims relishing LMGTE Pro fight with Ferrari and Porsche
Britain's Alexander Sims is getting ready for his third 24 Hours of Le Mans but maiden one with Corvette Racing.
The former BMW driver, who first made an appearance at Le Mans in 2012 in a Status run Lola LMP2 car, will make a third appearance this weekend in the No.64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R machine he will share with countryman Nick Tandy and Corvette stalwart Tommy Milner.
“Certainly preparations will be a little bit thin on the ground for me but the team themselves obviously did Spa and will have gained a decent amount of knowledge from that,” Sims told FIAWEC.com.
With #LeMans24 free practice and qualifying starting today, let's look back at our first three race wins with the #Corvette #C5R in 2001, 2002 and 2004 pic.twitter.com/ZrXGRyz6mH
— Corvette Racing (@CorvetteRacing) August 18, 2021
“Corvette Racing has got a huge amount of Le Mans experience, so they will be able to bring me up to speed on the test day quickly,” he said. “I’ve obviously done a decent amount of laps at Daytona and Sebring, so I will slot in rapidly.”
“I’m staying with Tommy (Milner) and Nick (Tandy) in the same section of accommodation above the hospitality and the paddock, so we'll be there for the whole week together and there will be lots of chit-chat and catching up.”
“Le Mans is just one of those special races and I think the race in LMGTE Pro will be exceptional this year.
“Porsche and Ferrari will be tough opponents but I believe we have the car and the personnel to really challenge for great results.”
Sims also made a point of saying that he is looking forward to seeing fans in the grandstands again, something he has personally missed over the last 18 months.
“Having done the Nürburgring 24 hours recently with no fans, I’ve experienced a big 24-hour race when there's zero atmosphere and it really lacks the excitement and the emotion,” said the 33-year-old.
“One of the main aspects that makes it sort of a special event is knowing you have fans cheering you on and having a good time while they are doing it. The carnival feel really makes a big difference.”
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