Simon Trummer after a successful FIA WEC prologue in Monza

Thun, 03/04/2017

Last weekend the so-called prologue to the FIA World Endurance Championship took place, but not in Paul Ricard as it usually does; instead it took place in Monza for the first time. Simon Trummer who made a strong impression in the”Autodromo Nazionale” with his new team CEFC Manor TRS Racing is here with us…

Question: Thousands of enthusiastic fans in the Royal Park: The final test phase in Monza was obviously a complete success…

Simon Trummer: “Certainly, we experienced this the most in the autograph sessions. The Italians are real motor sports fans and also love the endurance racing. Apart from that, the layout of the high speed course at Monza is perfectly suited for preparing the vehicles for the highlight of the season in Le Mans. Nethertheless, we managed to reach top speeds of almost 315 km/h.”

Question: You are going to be in the LMP2 class on the start line for the first time which may get a few raised eyebrows…

Simon Trummer: “We now drive consistently in our class with a 4.2 litre V8 cylinder by Gibson with 620HP and this boost in power is very noticeable on the stopwatch. Just think that we only lose around 5 seconds on the hybrid rockets of Porsche and Toyota. The LMP2 is remarkably fast. Besides, the cars remind me a lot of the GP2 in terms of driving experience. Perhaps it is therefore no coincidence that former GP2 racers could be found at the front of the pack.”

Question: On Sunday morning you were the fastest in the intermediates up until your pit stop. Overall CEFC Manor TRS Racing seems to be very well positioned…

Simon Trummer: “I also get this impression. The team haven’t signed up Jean-Eric Vergne and Vitaly Petrov, two former F1 drivers, for nothing. But also Roberto Gonzalez, Jonathan Hirschi and Tor Graves are experienced drivers with whom we can work well together. In a very tough competition that will push us all to our limits, the atmosphere in the team can be an important factor for success.”

Question: As well as the great duel between Toyota and Porsche for the overall victory, could the strengthened LMP2 shake things up a bit in the FIA WEC in the coming season…

Simon Trummer: “It is a bit of a crazy notion that we will then see 25 cars at the same level of speed in Le Mans and only the drivers or the team performance decide who wins and who loses. There are 75 drivers alone, Grand Prix stars and top drivers from international race series are among them. We will find out our starting point next week in Silverstone when the chequered flag falls. I can hardly wait until it finally gets going. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank all the partners, sponsors and fans who will share the experience with us.”

Thank you for the interview!