“You need to grab him when you can, it’s like trying to get an audience with the Pope!”
That was the advice to the DSC Editor when trying to pin down Amato Ferrari, Team Owner of AF Corse mid season. And it was totally correct advice too with the brief on the record encounter finally coming at the final race of the WEC season at Bahrain after the team had brought home the Team, Manufacturer, and for Gimmi Bruni, Driver’s Championship in GTE Pro.
Snr. Ferrari in no way matches up to the sometimes slightly aloof image of the Ferrari brand, eminently approachable and always happy to answer questions about the myriad efforts his team are undertaking globally:
Congratulations Amato, once again the team have swept the board (in GTE Pro)
“A World Championship is a fantastic thing to have, particularly when you have had to fight so hard for this.
“It’s always very tough at this level, particularly as we feel that we have not had the best result from the Balance of Performance this season. We have always to push very hard to be in with a chance and that has seemed to penalise us for a car that is actually the most efficient.
The AF Corse team has become almost an ever present in Endurance racing worldwide. How do you ascribe the success of the team?
“We are very lucky to be associated so closely with this very important brand (Ferrari), that is famous, and revered not just in Europe but worldwide. That has helped us to attract attention, and to attract a lot of very good clients.
But surely it isn’t that simple. There are a number of major teams that run Ferrari GT cars, OK you have the factory blessing here, but there’s something more here isn’t there? The team has developed a very good reputation for reliability and customer care?
“Of course. They come to us with trust and we hope to repay that. They know that we are equipped to be able to support them at the track, wherever they might decide to race and that if they decide to add other programmes or races we can accommodate that. Perhaps some of the other teams can’t do this crazy job, don’t have those resources, or that approach. I go back though to the fact that it is the passion behind the Ferrari brand that has driven us forward.”
So how would you quantify the link between Ferrari and AF Corse?
“It grew up naturally, we started managing Maserati Trofeo in 2003 and after 3 years we started, buying a Ferrari 430 GT2, we had good results with the Pirelli tyres, they were a big part of that. We started to improve with client deals and won the Italian Championship and others too.
“As for the link – we are a very good client for Ferrari, we buy a lot of cars and we help them to sell a lot of cars, and a lot of parts.
“They give us some support in the WEC, particularly with the drivers, we work very well with them, and with Michelotto and every year we have improved the relationship.”
And what about the WEC next year?
“At the moment we don’t know on GTE Pro (though since this interview Ferrari have confirmed that the team will return with their support and with factory drivers for a 2 car effort).
“In GTE Am we are ready to help clients if they wish to race in WEC, it is difficult because this year the car is not as competitive as it really should be but I like this Championship, the tracks, the grid and the format, and of course Le Mans, but at the moment we have nothing confirmed.”
So then, beyond WEC what else can we expect from the team in 2014? There is an effort in GTD for TUSC?
“Yes, just as I have been working with Pecom, and with 8Star, there is a new deal now with another very important new partner and another deal where we are providing technical assistance for another partner, we have entered on their request (both entries now confirmed under the ‘Spirit of race’ banner for the 4 race NAEC), the cars are on their way to the USA. We will not though be there with a GTLM car now.
And in LMP2, we know now that the Pecom car will not race in WEC or TUSC but there are rumours of another LMP2 customer for you in WEC?
“Yes it’s correct that we are discussing with a possible client an entry for one, maybe two LMP2 cars (in WEC) but again we have nothing confirmed just yet (This is believed to be the Russian SMP Racing effort with a pair of Oreca Nissans).
So at the moment what do you expect is likely for the 2014 WEC for AF Corse.
“I hope we will be here with a strong team, I am working just now to come back with the same, two Pro, two Am and maybe two Prototypes too – We will see!”
And in other Championships, the team had a great start in the UK this year?
“I really like the British Championship a lot, we have already confirmed that we will be back in 2014 there with John Dhillon and Aaron Scott and we hope too to have one, or even two more cars there. (DSC believes that one of these cars may involve a current Far Eastern AF Corse customer from Ferrari Challenge Asia, a Series that the team has a strong presence in).
“In GT3 we will again manage the Team Ukraina effort, they will stop their programme in the Challenge which we won this year with them with Sergey Chukanov, but we will be back in the ELMS with two cars and to cars in Blancpain too, but not in the Pro class.”
GG
