In a bittersweet 6h of Imola for the Ferraris, joy once again comes from the 499P of AF Corse, which achieved its first victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship among the Hypercars entered in the private team category.
In Qatar the #83 trio of Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye managed to reach the podium, resulting in the best of the Maranello cars, after various problems that had pushed the official #50 and #51 cars back.
In Emilia Romagna even the 'yellow' managed by the Piacenza team was not immune to problems, involved together with the Reds in the wrong choice of not stopping immediately when the rain came, dropping down the order after Kubica's excellent start from the front row , won by Shwartzman in Qualifying.
To this must be added a Drive Through for an infringement detected by the stewards during the Full Course Yellow procedure, then the final stages held on a track that was drying out saw Ye pass eighth overall under the checkered flag, celebrating the record among the independents and moving just one point away from the top of the standings, still occupied by Jota's Porsche #12, which finished on the category podium.
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye
Photo by: Paolo Belletti
“It was magnificent to shoot in the front row here in Imola in front of a fantastic audience. After an excellent start, unfortunately we lost some positions in the overall ranking, but by maintaining first position for the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams we were able to celebrate a good victory”, states the Technical Director, Giuseppe Petrotta.
On the driver front, Kubica admits that not everything went right: “It certainly wasn't the Sunday we wanted. We made some mistakes that didn't make our life easier. The weather and the Safety Car shuffled the cards a bit, but in crucial moments we weren't able to take advantage of it.”
“We know that endurance isn't just about performance and although we are very happy with the victory in the private sector, we are still aware that we have to work hard and improve in view of the next race if we want to continue fighting for the overall podium.”
HY CUP podium: Race winner #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye, #38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963: Jenson Button, Philip Hanson, Oliver Rasmussen, #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963: Will Stevens, Callum Ilott, Norman Born
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
Shwartzman adds: “It's not the result we expected and honestly I'm quite disappointed because after an excellent start we ran into some problems during the race. First there was a Drive Through due to an error in the FCY phase, then we made a wrong strategic decision.”
“In the end we finished eighth overall, but in my opinion we could have brought home a much better result. We certainly learned an important lesson from which to start again to continue improving.”
Ye concludes: “The weekend was two-sided. We are very happy for our first victory in the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams, but there is also great regret for not having obtained a significant result in the overall classification that we thought we would have achieved. our reach.”
“From this point of view, we need to analyze what didn't go well and what we can improve to aim for even more important positions. The team did a great job and I thank all the fans who came to support us on the track. We will try to come back more strong at Spa-Francorchamps!”
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