engineer on the pit wall. Then I run back to hospitality, have a big bowl of pasta or whatever calories I can get down to replenish my energy and drink a lot of water - no energy drinks. I then shower, get the ear plugs ready and go to sleep. I wake up an hour before I need to think about getting ready for driving again and do the whole process all over again.
The effort makes it all worthwhile though, and last year’s second place with TOYOTA Racing was my first Le Mans podium. But it wasn’t the first time I’ve ever actually stood on the podium there - I won the Michelin Green X Challenge for fuel efficiency a few years ago when I finished fourth.
While it was really nice to stand up there as a well-earned second place, the day was heavily dampened by Aston Martin driver Allan Simonsen’s accident and you could really feel the presence of the fans and the subdued emotion of the whole proceedings. It was the most powerful podium I’ve stood on and experienced.
I feel that during last year’s race, as drivers and as a team we did absolutely everything the right way. It was exactly how you want to run your race at Le Mans: no mistakes, pushing hard on every lap yet being cautious at the right time, while overall the race was handled very well technically by the team. That was exactly what you need to do to win Le Mans and will be our blueprint for this year.”
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