After completing several laps in free practice on Wednesday afternoon ahead of this weekend’s Petit Le Mans, Emanuele Pirro shares his thoughts on Road Atlanta with LeMansLive, and looks ahead to the weekend’s race…

Emanuele Pirro

“Road Atlanta is a very fast circuit which is fairly dangerous in places. It’s difficult to overtake, and there will be 45 cars on the short, four-kilometre track. That’s a lot of cars, so keeping out of trouble through the traffic could well prove to be one of the keys to a successful weekend.

“Petit Le Mans is a huge challenge which takes its toll on the cars and drivers alike. There are so many potential pitfalls and simply reaching the finish is a real achievement. Even when you’ve got a big lead in the championship, you can take absolutely nothing for granted here. The ALMS titles in the LMP, GT and LMPC classes are all still up for grabs, and I think one of the pointers to a strong championship is when the outcome is decided at the final race.

“I think we can look forward to an exciting race between Peugeot and Audi, too. That promises to be very close because both teams will be out to prove a point: Peugeot will want to make amends for not winning Le Mans, while Audi will want to reverse the fact that it has perhaps been lacking race speed…

“As for us, our main objective for the moment is to find a comfortable set-up, especially for Paul [Drayson]. The Lola is quite an easy car to drive, and very fast, too. Its biggest problem for me is the lack of visibility you have from inside the closed cockpit. With all the traffic there is likely to be on Saturday, you really need eyes everywhere!

“At the beginning of September, I was at Monza for the Formula 1 Grand Prix. I got to follow the race from the Control Tower along with Emerson Fittipaldi. The purpose of my visit was to get a feel for everything that was going on because I will be a steward at Abu Dhabi, so Monza was good training.”

Emanuele will be back tomorrow with his thoughts after the first official practice sessions…

Audi, Emanuele Pirro, Petit Le Mans, Peugeot