“We are not favorites, but…”: Montpellier Franck Perera at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Lamborghini

Franck Perera will share the wheel of the No. 60 Huracan with Italians Claudio Schiavoni and Matteo Cressoni. IRON LYNX

The Montpellier native, a member of the Toyota F1 junior team in his younger years, has been an official driver of the Italian brand since 2018. At 40, he will race at Le Mans for the first time, on the 15th and June 16, aboard a Huracan LMGT3 which is an outsider in an extremely tough field.

How are you preparing for this particular week of the 24 Hours ?

There, I have just completed a test session in Spa-Francorchamps, in Belgium, and I am back home, in Lunas (Hérault), for the physical preparation of the& ;nbsp;Mans and a month of June which will be very intense. I will do the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 15 and 16, then the six hours of Watkins Glen, in the United States the following weekend, and the 24 Hours of Spa on June 29 and 30.

At 40, Franck Perera experienced F1, as a test driver, before pursuing a career in endurance.

Despite more than twenty years of professionalism, this will be your first time at Le Mans…

I have already driven on the small circuit (Editor's note, the Bugatti, partly borrowed), with the GT Tour, when I resumed my career after an interruption, in 2013-2014 . But I was a single-seater for a long time and when we were involved in karting, F3, F2, we didn't think about endurance at the time. I almost came to Le Mans for the first time, with TDS Racing, the Montpellier team, in 2016, after my title in the European Le Mans series the previous year. It collapsed at the last moment. And then since 2018 and my signing with Lamborghini, in GT, I have been hired by the manufacturer sometimes in Europe, sometimes in the United States, twenty to twenty-five weekends per year, to which must be added the days of tests, 45 last year.

What changes is Lamborghini’s entry into the WEC world championship. Do you understand this race ?

A little bit, we always have a little apprehension when we discover something. Like all beginners at Le Mans, I had to do a simulator day in Paris, I also worked on the simulator at the Pro Race Café in Montpellier, with which I worked. have a partnership. But I drove in F1 (test driver at Toyota, Editor's note), in Indycar, I'm 40 years old and have a little experience anyway! I'm super motivated.

Montpellier Franck Perera is competing in his first season in the world endurance championship. IRON LYNX

Competition will be fierce, coexistence with hypercars, much faster, very delicate, no ?

There has never been such competition in GT, all the big manufacturers are there. You will have to be intelligent, strategic to win, and as calm as possible to anticipate what the hypercar drivers will do, while not wasting any time. That's a lot of parameters to manage to stay competitive, but that's what I like and what makes these endurance races interesting.

Yes 💥💥💥 P3 🏆 at 6h of Spa @fiawec_official What a race 🔥 So close to win 😬 But so proud of everyone 🙏🏼 Thanks first my mates, all team crew @IronLynx_ & @LamborghiniSC for the hard work 👍🏼 Its Amazing result before the big one at Le Mans in few weeks 🇨🇵 Thanks Spa fans 🇧🇪🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/lgFnD2veav

— Franck Perera (@franck_perera) May 12, 2024

What can your crew expect aboard the Huracan LMGT3 n°60 from Iron Lynx ?

Ferrari, Cadillac, BMW, Corvette, Porsche have been there for some time, they have more perspective than us. But Lamborghini does a great job. At Spa, mid-April, third race of the season, we were in the lead with one lap to go, with a fifteen second lead (Editor's note, last part, the car finished third). We are not favorites on paper, but… hellip; I hope the weather will be a little changeable!

The LMGT3s will be making their 24 Hours of Le Mans début in 17 days' time.  A warm welcome to the new WEC class!

Powered by @goodyear#LeMans24 #WEC pic.twitter.com/Bur3Yvuv71

— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) May 29, 2024

Lamborghini will race on both counts. Could you have featured in one of its new hypercars?

I was part of the selection. It was a goal, a desire, which did not materialize this time, but it is still present.

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