Gimmi Bruni, No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia: “We struggled a bit in qualifying but we found something in the data, re-set to zero and went back to what we knew best about the car. It worked! I’m very happy for the team to get a 1-2 and it’s good for the Manufacturers, Teams and Drivers’ Championships.
“I knew when I was at the front of the class that we had the edge over the Aston Martin but I had a little contact with an LMP2 and I lost the lead to Rees. After that I put my head down and said to myself, let’s go back to where we should be. I was 20 seconds behind Rigon but caught him and got back the lead and I think we won the race from that stint. Toni kept the lead and was very fast in his last stint so it all ended very well.”
Toni Vilander,No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia: “"The Astons have about 10 litres more (of fuel) so they can go longer on their stint. We made five complete stints and they did a stint and a half on the tyres too. Today in racing I do not believe in luck but, overall, things went in our direction. Even when we got the penalty I did not lose confidence or get nervous as I knew we could just keep going and do the job the best we can.
“At the end of the day this is the result we got and I am very happy. I’m happy also for the No.71 as they had a tough start to the season and Le Mans was a big disaster for them. It is very critical for our team to have two fast cars because we want to do well in the Manufacturers Championship. For us it is a very good day."
James Calado, No.71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia: “I was surprised, and it’s a cracking result. My accident at Le Mans was bigger than most people thought and it took a long time to get my confidence back. I did a test last week and felt more comfortable on every lap that went by in the race, felt able to push and was in control of the car. I am over the moon for Amato, the team and for Ferrari, and to get a 1-2 at a track that is not particularly suited to a Ferrari is absolutely fantastic. We’ve got to put this one to Jules [Bianchi] who is a Ferrari driver, and hope that he gets better.”
Davide Rigon, No.71 AF Corse Ferrari 458: “To be honest it was difficult from the start of the weekend but thank you to the team because we never stopped working to improve the car and they did a really good job. After qualifying we made some changes and in the race we started well. Unfortunately the No97 spun in front of me and was coming towards me; I decided to risk nothing and went off track so lost a lot of positions.
“I gained and gained through the race and maybe used my tyres too much but in the end it was a better strategy. From there on we were pushing 100%. We were worried the Aston Martin was on a different strategy to us so we just kept pushing all the way. For sure we want to dedicate this 1-2 victory not only to us as a team but also to Jules Bianchi who is important to us all at Ferrari. Let’s hope he gets well soon.”
Photo: FUJI INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (SHIZUOKA PREFECTURE, JAPAN), 6 HOURS OF FUJI, SUNDAY 12 OCTOBER 2014. While happy with their 1-2 finish in the LMGTE Pro category, the thoughts of the Ferrari drivers were with their friend and colleague Jules Bianchi.
