Since 2009 the track has been modified in some sections
With the Curitiba race weekend starting in just 9 days the time has come to speak with drivers in order to discover how they prepared for the first overseas race in Auto GP history: the Autodromo Internacional de Curitiba is an unknown quantity for all drivers apart from home hero Victor Guerin, who was happy to share his thoughts on the track with us.
“Well I know the track because I raced there with F3 in 2009. It wasn’t a good weekend because I had a crash, but at least I managed to complete Free Practice and Qualifying, so I have a good idea of the circuit layout. That’s why I didn’t do any simulator to prepare myself, I’m sure that as soon as I get there the memories will flow and finding the pace will be easy”.
Anyway, since 2009 the track has been modified in some sections, so Victor is aware that he will find some surprises…
“Yes, I’ve told that new tarmac has been laid down and that the kerbs are much higher than they used to be, so trying to cut the lines here and there will require a lot of attention. I wanted to book a test in an F3 car in the weeks before the event, but due to my commitments in GP2 finding a suitable date wasn’t possible, so I will have to adapt to the new bits one lap after the other, just like the others”.
Victor doesn’t want to share too many advices with his rivals, but he feels that two spots are crucial for the laptime.
“The first spot is the braking zone for the ‘Pinheirinho hairpin’. You have to go on the brakes and turn towards the apex at the same time, so it can be tricky; going wide is easy and you lose a lot when it happens. Another important bit of the track is the chicane after the long straight: you have to use all the track to really nail it, but the wall is very close on the outside and you don’t want to touch the grass there, especially if it’s raining. It was a thrilling spot with an F3 car, so I can imagine it will be stuff for goosebumps with Auto GP”.
source: Auto GP, autogp.org