Anthony Davidson, driver of the Toyota TS040- Hybrid n°1, travels to Le Mans as reigning world champion. Here he shares his feelings about winning the drivers’ championship and the forthcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans (13 and 14 June).
Being with Toyota has already brought you success as you won the WEC drivers championship in 2014. Is that the best achievement of your career so far? "Absolutely! Without a doubt. I mean I’ve won the Formula Ford Festival [in 2000], the Formula 3 Europe [in 2001], I’ve raced in Formula One, I’ve won the 12 hours of Sebring and many important races such as the WEC 6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps and my home race, the 6 hours of Silverstone, but yes, to win the world championship is by far my biggest achievement in racing. I’m really proud to have done it."
Your next race is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. What does Le Mans mean to you? "It’s such an iconic race that I really want to win it. We’ll just see what happens this year. Of course it’s very important, lots of people get emotional about it, but if you look at it simplistically, it’s a lottery. To ask a machine to go 24 hours with no problems is pretty tough at the best of times. Now that all the cars have hybrid systems, they are even more fragile than in the past. Last year’s race was close and almost every car had a stoppage at some point. The car that had the fewest problems won the race. I think it will be the same this year. The aim is to finish without any problems and I’m sure that if we manage that, at the least we’ll be on the podium."
Are you ready to win Le Mans this year? "I am always ready for a race (smiles). I know how to win Le Mans. The team, the car, we know how to win the race. But what we don’t know, is what’s going to happen in the race. You can’t control that. As a driver, you can’t control the time when the other drivers are in the car. Out of the 24 hours, two-thirds of the race are beyond your control. That’s why I say it’s a lottery. You have to have luck on your side to win."
Interview courtesy of David Bristol/ACO
