- Bittersweet weekend for all three crews
- #63 achieves best result of P13 after full course yellow affects pit-stop
- #19 and #14 crews show strong race pace but hit bad luck in stints
Imola (Italy), April 3rd 2022
Emil Frey Racing opened its 2022 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe campaign with a top 15 finish in the first Endurance Cup race of the season at Imola. Two out of the three crews made it to the end of the three-hour race, with the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO of Mirko Bortolotti, Jack Aitken and Albert Costa Balboa coming home 13th.
There was misfortune for the #19 car of Giacomo Altoè, Léo Roussel and Arthur Rougier, which was forced into retirement in the final hour after a fuel supply problem. Stuart White, Tuomas Tujula and Konsta Lappalainen did, however, overcome a power steering problem in their #14 Huracán to claim a 28th place finish.
Practice and Qualifying
Following a private test for the Bronze rated drivers, the weekend began with a 90-minute free practice session on Saturday morning, giving all three crews time to get up to speed in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO. Unfortunately, the session was punctuated by a number of stoppages throughout (primarily due to a bollard being knocked at the Variante Alta chicane). This meant that each car had to restart the heat cycle in the tyres to build sufficient operating temperatures in the Pirelli compound.
The afternoon pre-qualifying session ran much smoother, with all three Emil Frey Racing Huracáns completing long-run race simulations over the course of the second 90-minute session. In the #63 car, Jack Aitken posted some impressive times early in the session, running as high as second overall before dropping down to 10th as other cars prioritised qualifying simulations. Aitken also pushed the limits of the Huracán GT3 EVO, half-spinning on the exit of the Variante Alta and briefly ending up on the grass.
The red flags continued in each of the three 15-minute qualifying segments, with Aitken’s final attempt in Q2 disrupted with less than two minutes left on the clock. The #63 qualified 13th on the grid, just four-tenths behind the pole time, while the #19 was 25th. The #14 was also unlucky with a track limits violation and ended up 28th.
Race
At the start, all three EFR cars made good progress as the field made its way around the opening lap, with Aitken moving up two positions to run 11th early on in the #63. Altoè also made two overtakes on the first lap, with Lappalainen doing likewise. Indeed, Lappalainen was one of the star performers during the opening stint, making up five positions from his starting spot.
This was a race which was always going to feature at least one full course yellow, and the first came as early as the second lap following contact between the Iron Dames Ferrari and a JP Motorsport McLaren. Despite the positive start to the race, Aitken began to struggle with the handling of his Huracán, complaining of a lack of grip in the rear tyres. He handed over to Costa Balboa at the first round of pit-stops towards the end of the first hour. Altoè swapped with Léo Roussel, who took charge of the #19 while Lappalainen brought the #14 in to change with Tujula.
Unfortunately, the crowded Imola pit-lane proved costly for the #14 which stopped with too much distance to the fuel-rig, forcing the mechanics to push the car forward in order to be fuelled. Another FCY occurred in the second stint, this time producing more severe consequences for the #63, which had to stay out on track for an additional lap so that it could meet its fuel target at the end of the race. As Costa Balboa made way for Bortolotti, the #63 dropped down to 20th position. However, Bortolotti delivered a typical charge in the final hour to recover to 13th at the finish.
The final hour was not a happy one for the #19, which suffered a fuel pump issue, leaving Rougier crawling at slow speed. The Frenchman attempted a reset several times but was forced to retire the car on track. For the #14, a power steering issue caused difficulties for all three drivers throughout the race, with Imola debutant White admirably bringing the car to the finish in 28th position.
Team Quotes
Jürg Flach, Technical Director
“All in all, I think the pace was not bad, we were a bit unlucky also with the safety car periods which meant that we could not stop earlier, with the fuel load we had. It’s always a gamble because it was one safety car which followed another. Our drivers were saving fuel, but you never know when the next safety car will come, so our figures were reading minus, so it was a shame. But still, we look ahead to the next races and focus on improving the car and trying out new things.”
Driver quote Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO #63
Jack Aitken (UK)
“We were very unlucky with the safety car coming out when it did, that really cost us a lot of time and positions, we should have been in the top 10 today. It’s not a disaster, but we still have some work to do [before Paul Ricard]. I made some positions at the start, and it was quite opportunistic, and after that it was a case of trying to hold position. I was struggling a bit with the rear tyres. For Mirko’s stint, we had similar pace to the guys in front and definitely we could have finished in the second half of the top 10 because we lost about eight or nine positions in the stop.”
Driver quote Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO #19
Arthur Rougier (FRA)
“By the time I got into the car, the race was already looking pretty difficult for us. When I left the pit-lane, I had the 50kph limiter on and when I released the limiter, I got a fuel pump alarm in the car, and it would only drive at 40kph. We tried to do a reset, maybe four or five times, because sometimes it doesn’t work the first time. But by the time I did the fifth reset, I was already two laps down, so we retired the car. It’s a shame to end it like this because I think the pace was really there all weekend. We struggled a bit generally for straight-line speed, but I believe a top 10 finish could have been possible today.”
Driver quote Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO #14
Tuomas Tujula (FIN)
“The starting position for us was already quite tricky for us after we got, in my opinion, unfairly judged on the track limits in qualifying. Konsta did a good job at the start of the race and made up quite a few positions on a track that is difficult to overtake on. We then had some issues on the pit-stop and lost a little bit there. Then, we had the power steering problem, which made the car incredibly difficult to drive in the fast corners especially. Konsta already had the problem in the second half of his stint, and I had it the whole of mine, so that wasn’t ideal of course. But we can take the positives that the pace was really strong at times and the car felt more driveable.”