The weekend just spent at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari International racetrack in Imola, where the second round of the FIA WEC took place, was heavily influenced by decidedly fluctuating weather.
An event that nevertheless brought together 73,600 fans who came to Imola to watch the race.
The goal for Daniel and his teammates Ian James and Alex Riberas was to have an excellent race pace and conquer the podium, also given the excellent result in the previous round in Qatar.
A goal definitely within The Hearth of Racing team’s reach, given the excellent pace achieved during the free practice session and the second place on the starting grid achieved by Ian James during qualifying.
At the start of the 6H of the race, Sunday 21st, Ian James – to avoid one of the hypercars involved in an accident at the second corner – was relegated from 2nd to 5th position. At the driver change, which occurred shortly after the 2 hours of the race, Daniel took to the track in 4th position.
A 4th position that the driver from the Marche managed to maintain until about the 3rd hour of the race when it started to rain. The conditions were really unstable and the track was completely wet only in the last sector.
Given the precarious conditions, the team – like other cars – decided to return to the pits to fit rain tyres. Shortly afterwards, however, the weather conditions changed again, the rain stopped falling and the track began to dry again.
The BMWs, taking considerable risks, decided to stay on the track with slicks and thanks to one less pit stop they managed to gain an excellent advantage which allowed them to conquer the first two positions on the podium.
Daniel and his teammates still managed to take 5th position, securing important points for the championship.
“It was a particularly busy weekend.” – Daniel said – “Choosing the best race strategy was not easy at all, the weather was very variable. However, I am satisfied with the final 5th position which brings important points for the championship. Furthermore, we have unloaded the additional 20 kg of ‘success balance’ after the podium in Qatar and we will be decidedly more competitive in the next round at SPA Francorchamps on 9-11 May. As always, I thank the entire The Hearth of Racing team for the excellent work done throughout the weekend.”
