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<\/a><\/p>\nQ: You\u2019ve seen success at the 24 Hours of Spa, how does the 24 Hours of Le Mans compare in terms of preparation and physicality? <\/strong><\/p>\n AS: The preparation for Le Mans has certainly been very different to when we won the Spa 24 Hours in 2016. As the Spa race is in GT3s, it is effectively customer racing with a little support from the manufacturer. This is vastly different to Le Mans, which is a full manufacturer programme. BMW is investing huge resources into making it go as well as possible. We have had more time to practice procedures and work on the car\u2019s performance than we did at Spa. However, Spa was in the middle of a season and we had done seven or eight races with the car beforehand so we had a lot more race experience to draw from and that helped us fast-track lots of the learning on the weekend. With the M8 GTE at Le Mans, the team and BMW have only competed at one race in the FIA World Endurance Championship so it\u2019s a slightly different situation.<\/p>\n Q: You last raced at Le Mans in 2012, back then you drove an LMP2 car. What sort of differences do you expect in terms of the overall experience in the GTE class? <\/strong><\/p>\n AS: One of the main differences is that we will have both LMP1 and LMP2 class cars lapping faster than us, so I will have to be looking in my mirrors more to make sure I\u2019m overtaken safely at the same time as driving flat out. Testing was the first time that I\u2019ve driven a GT car around the track. But with a new car, whether you\u2019ve got a lot of circuit experience or not, it\u2019s all about nailing down the finer details. With the M8 we\u2019ve had quite a lot of that to do in testing. We did around 1,200km combined in the #82 BMW M8 GTE and the #81 sister car during the test day, putting in long runs to try and understand the car\u2019s performance and how to get more out of it. <\/p>\n Another key different this year is that I\u2019m driving for BMW and it is a factory effort, so the level of preparation and support personnel is on a different level to that of Status, as it was a small customer team with limited resources. <\/p>\n It is seven years since BMW last competed at Le Mans, do you feel any pressure to achieve results with the M8 GTE? The M8 GTE is an entirely new car, in its maiden year there are significant amounts of testing to be carried out. How difficult has it been to balance development of the car with preparations for 24 Hours of Le Mans? Q: You drove the BMW M6 GT3 last year, how does the M8 GTE compare?<\/strong><\/p>\n AS: Compared to the M6 GT3, the first big difference is the lack of ABS, then the systems in the car are quite a lot more advanced in the M8 GTE. We can adjust a whole host of settings whilst driving that we couldn\u2019t in the M6 so from that perspective it\u2019s quite exciting. I would say that the M8 is a better car over the range of different corner speeds. However, the M6\u2019s downforce was extremely good and in the highest speed corners the M8 is probably slightly off the M6.<\/p>\n From a handling perspective, the car feels good and has a lot of potential. It\u2019s a comfortable ride, which is important when competing in endurance events and taking double or sometimes triple stints. It\u2019s not a particularly stressful car to drive; it\u2019s a lot calmer to drive than the M6, which you need to coax into getting the most out of it in every corner. <\/p>\n Q: You last raced at Le Mans in 2012, how did it feel to return to the track for testing and how different was it to your last time competing there?<\/strong> It is quite a different experience to when I was last at the track. Back in 2012 I was in an LMP2 car, a Judd-powered Lola B12\/80 with Status GP, but unfortunately we had to retire from the race. Testing was the first time that I\u2019ve driven a GT car around the track. But with a new car, whether you\u2019ve got a lot of circuit experience or not, it\u2019s all about nailing down the finer details. With the M8 we\u2019ve had quite a lot of that to do in testing. We did around 1,200km combined in the #82 BMW M8 GTE and the #81 sister car during the test day, putting in long runs to try and understand the car\u2019s performance and how to get more out of it. <\/p>\n
\nThere is always pressure to perform, but that comes from inside me every time I get into a race car. There\u2019s no pressure coming from BMW; they trust us to do the best job possible and hopefully that brings the result. Everyone in the team is there because they love the competition and want to win so it\u2019s a natural pressure from ourselves that makes us want to get the results.<\/p>\n
\nAs I am racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as well as doing the N\u00fcrburgring 24 Hours programme and some Blancpain races, I haven\u2019t had much time to be part of testing. I have completed a few tests and it\u2019s been interesting to see its evolution. We race the M8 GTE in IMSA so we continue to improve it at these races so there\u2019s quite a nice steady evolution to the car. <\/p>\n
\nAS: It\u2019s been six years since I raced at Le Mans and I\u2019m really looking forward to getting back out on the track in a race situation. Testing has helped me reacclimatise to the circuit and get a good feel for how the BMW M8 GTE performs there. Going through the Porsche Curves again is a fantastic feeling!<\/p>\n
\nOne of the main differences is that I will have both LMP1 and LMP2 class cars lapping faster than us, so I will have to be looking in my mirrors more to make sure I\u2019m overtaken safely at the same time as driving flat out. Another key difference is that this year I am driving for BMW and it is a factory effort, so the level of preparation and support personnel is on a different level to that of Status, as it was a small customer team with limited resources. <\/p>\n