WEC | Isotta Fraschini solid, but lacks training to grow

Second consecutive goal achieved by Isotta Fraschini in the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship at the end of a truly demanding 6h of Spa-Francorchamps for everyone.

It was the very first time that the Tipo 6 built by Michelotto Engineering appeared on the difficult and historic Ardennes track, with only Jean-Karl Vernay knowing the track inside out.

The LMH #11 taken over by Team Duqueine tried to stay out of trouble this time in order to be able to put together very useful kilometers to understand where and how to improve its performance, because if it is true that the hybrid prototype appears rather solid, it is also in the light of the sun that without the possibility of riding in private tests we find ourselves forced to use the events of the season as a testing ground for everyone.

Vernay is the captain from this point of view and with great patience he is taking every single member of the Italian-French team by the hand, also putting his experience at the service of his very young teammates Antonio Serravalle and Carl Bennett, at their first time on a ‘so sophisticated car and in a World Series.

“In Free Practice I started by doing a few laps to understand whether to use the soft or medium tyres, but the track was really dirty and in the end everyone chose the mediums”, explains the Frenchman to Motorsport.com.

“Not having had the opportunity to run here previously, we lost some time in fixing the car from this point of view.”

“Subsequently I left space for my teammates who didn’t know the track, so that they could start to familiarize themselves with the track. In fact, I put together 9 laps in total without ever simulating Qualifying and ended up fighting against the clock in the midst of all these very strong and much more prepared rivals is tough.”

‘JK San’ managed to lower his times as the session continued and despite not managing to move from 19th position in the category he was satisfied with the work done, considering the general picture of the situation.

“In the end we are very happy because the gap has closed and we went much better than in Imola, considering that we finished 2″ from 12th place, without ever doing fast lap tests. If I had had the chance to prepare better, certainly at least 7 tenths could have been removed.”

“In fact, I achieved the best time in Q1 on the last available lap, when the tires were worn out. That’s why I’m very satisfied, because I enjoyed doing a good lap.”

“What’s missing is the experience and development of the car, as well as time for myself to prepare better in every aspect. All the other teams in the Hypercar Class had already been here to test, we hadn’t and this makes everything more difficult “.

“In the race we know that our pace is better than the flying lap, we must not do anything stupid, even if it is not always easy, without losing precious time”.

#11 Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini Type6-C: Antonio Serravalle, Carl Wattana Bennett, Jean-Karl Vernay

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati ​​| AG Photo

The race saw Isotta Fraschini reach the checkered flag without experiencing any problems and with 3 laps behind the winner, in a race that had repeated twists and turns and where it was Bennett who covered the final stages, before giving the wheel in Vernay for the last stint.

“We are very happy to have completed this race too, it was a rather important leap forward for us and we are managing to improve more and more and we want to continue working like this in view of Le Mans,” he told Motorsport.com the 19 year old Thai/American, always very focused on trying to learn and grow despite a very tough adventure in which he is surrounded by many Champions.

“For me, as a driver, the objective is always to try to gain experience. It’s a truly exciting adventure, also because I’ve only been here in Spa once before with Formula 4 and with a car as fast as the Hypercar. it’s clearly different. I also found myself facing a very difficult race.”

“But I’m very happy to be here and I’m trying to improve a lot with great commitment and a lot of preparation, also because some tracks are completely new for me, like Imola was, for example.”

“Having such an expert partner like Jean-Karl is a huge help, he teaches us so many things and I’m very happy that he is helping the whole team grow, as well as myself, so I can only speak highly of it.”

“Particular personal goals? Honestly, the thing that interests me most is to improve, improve and improve again with each lap of the track, trying in each race to obtain a better result than the previous one.”

“I know that you have to take one step at a time and always bring the car to the finish line, so the goal is to always make the right decisions in every situation. At Le Mans I will face my first 24h and it will be beautiful.”

#11 Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini Type6-C: Antonio Serravalle, Carl Wattana Bennett, Jean-Karl Vernay

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati ​​| AG Photo

As we said at the beginning, what Isotta Fraschini lacks are the resources to train; the Tipo 6 also received a rather negative Balance of Performance at Spa, which underlines the goodness of Michelotto Engineering’s project taking into account the automotive giants it is competing against.

Vernay has all the experience that the other two guys with whom he shares the wheel lack, so the hope is that in collaboration with Team Duqueine new opportunities can emerge to carry out the development work on the car, carrying out tests between one event and another.

“Another improvement for our car, after Qatar and Imola. On a challenging and long track, the team took a further step forward together with its drivers”, highlights Claudio Berro, Isotta Fraschini’s Sporting Director.

“Michelotto Engineering did a huge amount of work developing and fine-tuning the electronic systems between races, and as we progressed during each session the car performed flawlessly.”

“In the last part of the race, when the battle for the top places was at its maximum expression, Jean-Karl demonstrated that the car’s race pace is not far from the top, especially in the second sector.”

“Clearly there are still steps to be taken in order to have the ambition of competing with the best group, but we hope that this will happen in the most important race of the year, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”