WEC | Kubica challenges Imola with the 499P: “Little time to prepare”

After the positive fourth place overall in the opening race of the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship, Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye are ready for the second challenge of the year on the Ferrari 499P number 83 of AF Corse: the 6 Hours of Imola, the race home to Ferrari and the team.

In the Italian round of the world championship, we want to confirm and strengthen the values ​​seen in Qatar where the crew, on their debut, managed to finish at the foot of the overall podium. A result that also earned them second place in the FIA ​​World Cup for Hypercar Teams, the ranking reserved for private teams competing with Hypercar cars.

The Imola weekend will officially begin on Thursday 18 April, with the official presentation of the event in the center of Imola starting from 5pm, where all the drivers will be present and will be available for autographs and selfies with the fans.

Robert Kubica: “We are ready for the second round of the FIA ​​WEC in Imola, a track that I have visited on rare occasions during my career, despite my long spent in Italy. It is certainly a difficult, old school circuit, so the difficulty of the challenge will be even greater than in Qatar, where we had the Prologue and much more time to prepare.”

“In Imola, however, we will return to the traditional format, with three free practice sessions, qualifying – and possibly Hyperpole – and the 6-hour race. Since the distance of the race will be shorter, it will be even more important to maintain a good position from the start I can't wait to race with the Ferrari 499P in Italy, I'm sure the atmosphere created by the fans will be special.”

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Robert Shwartzman: “My goal for Imola is to improve on what we did in Qatar. I think it should be a common goal for me and the whole team, in order to put everything together to aim for a good result.”

“I am sure that many fans will come to support us in our home race, which will be on a circuit that I particularly like. I have already had the opportunity to race there in Formula 4 and I know how special it is. In general it will be very nice to race there with a Hypercar, I can't wait”.

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Yifei Ye: “After a good start to the season in Qatar, I can't wait to get back on track in Imola, where the competition will be extremely fierce. As a team we still need to gain experience, but after the first round of the season we are confident, getting a podium in Italy would be an excellent goal for us in front of our fans.”

“It will also be my first race in Italy as an official Ferrari driver, it will be a very exciting weekend. I recently practiced with the Italian to be ready to interact with the fans. We certainly have many things to prepare to be ready for the race and I believe that with the emotional drive of the fans we are ready to do well and aim for a good result in front of the home crowd.”

“Imola is a very technical track, as I saw racing there in the lower categories. It is very narrow and bumpy and you have to jump over the curbs to be fast. It is therefore essential to find the right set-up to maximize performance.”

“Overtaking will be quite difficult and risk management will be a fundamental part of the race: for this reason the qualifying sessions will be very important to get a good starting position on the grid.”