Raffaele Marciello failed to encore in Spa-Francorchamps, where a year ago he celebrated victory in the 24h with the Mercedes of the Akkodis-ASP Team.
This time the GT World Challenge Europe-Intercontinental GT Challenge event ended with a second place for him, Jules Gounon and TImur Boguslavskiy, behind the excellent BMW of Rowe Racing.
Yet ‘Lello’ did incredible stints as usual to bring the AMG #88 back to the positions that mattered, starting from the mid-group after an unfortunate Qualifying due to the rain, assisted by the always very fast Gounon and a Boguslavskiy who, albeit for a long less in the car, he made his small contribution.
Clearly a place of honor can always leave some regrets, but Marciello prefers to enjoy the positive sides, aware that in the Ardennes this was the maximum level he could reach with the potential available.
#88 Akkodis ASP Team Mercedes-AMG GT3: Raffaele Marciello, Timur Boguslavskiy, Jules Gounon
Photo by: SRO
“It’s not easy to win two 24h in a row. Last year we did it for the first time, while for this one we gave everything we could. We knew we didn’t have great speed, plus we had to avoid track limits” .
“It wasn’t easy, but all in all I’d say we can be happy with what we did, knowing it was the best,” commented Marciello, who then stopped to talk to the journalists present, including Motorsport.com, to better explain the weekend.
Do you still regret not being able to do an encore?
“It has never happened that a manufacturer has won for two consecutive years at Spa, so it could be that we were a bit penalized compared to the others. Maybe even too much because then you just need to look at where the other Mercedes finished, in fact only ours it went quite well. But it’s still a good result.”
Qualifying didn’t go very well, did you have to think about a comeback strategy from the center of the group?
“It was a big mess in Qualifying for various reasons, but in the end in a 24h it doesn’t matter much to start first to win the race. We knew it was difficult because the Porsches were faster than us, but it’s still part of the sport.”
How did you feel on the wet at the start?
“I really like the mixed conditions, it’s a pity that there was an accident at the start and therefore we were well behind the Safety Car, otherwise I could have recovered more quickly. In the first hour, however, I managed to make a lot of overtaking overtaking strong cars. went well”.
In the final you reached the limit of the stint, did you calculate it or was there some risk?
“I would say no, we were within our stint window, so the situation was calm. During the rest of the race I admit I didn’t worry much about strategy, in the end I just think about driving and that’s it.”
#88 Akkodis ASP Team Mercedes-AMG GT3: Raffaele Marciello, Timur Boguslavskiy, Jules Gounon
Photo by: AG Photo
How did you find the new splitting rule in the Safety Car?
“Honestly, it didn’t give me any problems, also because we PROs didn’t change anything because it was up to the Bronzes to do it. Had it been like in IMSA, then the race could have taken another turn. But you always have lapped drivers in front, so you have to be prepared regardless and face them”.
In the end, did you think you could take the BMW?
“Frankly the only way to beat her was for her to have a problem. In the end they were managing, while we were at full speed. They were faster, so there wasn’t much they could do.”
Compared to last year’s crew you were weaker, on paper, do you think it influenced?
“It may be true, but in any case Timur did the maximum according to his level. He didn’t make any mistakes or hit track limits, he didn’t damage the car, even if he lost some positions I think he went well. D’ on the other hand, the rules allow him to drive much less than us, so it doesn’t affect too much.”
#Marciello #2nd #place #fine