Interviews

Planetlemans talks To João Barbosa

© Planetlemans - Marcel ten Caat

Portuguese driver João Barbosa is undeniably one of the quickest drivers in Endurance Racing. He has been with Martin Short’s Rollcentre team since the Dallara times and he has been fast on every car he has driven, being the regular qualifier for the British team. He shone on the Radical LMP2 last year and he’s had a great performance on the customer Pescarolo in the 2007 LMS series, although not favoured yet by Lady Luck. We caught up with João in the middle of his Le Mans preparation.

© Planetlemans - Gabriel Portos

PLM- João, how’s your evaluation of the Rollcentre Pescarolo’s performance up to now?

JB- Very good, we actually get new developments every race. Even when we feel we have not had enough time to get the best out of the Pescarolo-Dunlop combination yet, each race we take a step forward. Dunlop is working really hard developing new compounds and that makes us very optimistic for the near future.

PLM- And the experience with Pescarolo as a constructor?

JB- They are a great help, especially in the weeks from the HTTT testing until Monza we got very good advice and commitment. This has been fundamental for us to arrive at this point.

PLM- As I understood you will not be using their last aero package at Le Mans however.

JB- The problem is the spares, they could not make enough sets of the new aero package on time and we did not want to run the risk of running Le Mans without enough spares. It is a long race where anything can happen so we’d rather compromise a bit on the speed but be prepared for every alternative.

© Planetlemans - Gabriel Portos

PLM- So you feel optimistic about Le Mans?

JB- Optimistic and very much interested in see how the race actually turns out. We will do our best and we know we have reliability, Peugeot is definitely faster but still have not completed a 24 hour race, it will be tough for them as well..

PLM- Who will be the third driver?

JB- At this point I think Martin (Short), it is not 100% defined but that’s my feeling at the moment.

PLM- Do you prepare for the big race in a different way than normal?

JB- Well, I wish we could have tested more but we are a small team using our resources to the maximum. On the personal side I intensify my cardio fitness training but it is just a normal continuation of my regular physical preparation.

PLM- So Rollcentre is happy with the Dunlops…

JB- Very happy. Dunlop have shown commitment and hard work. In Valencia we had a significant evolution with a new compound so we are very well prepared for Le Mans on the tyre department.

PLM- In Valencia we saw that Stefan Mücke move that generated so many comments.

JB- I was kind of expecting something like that actually since he had been very aggressive battling Romain Dumas, even when it was not for position. I thought he was too aggressive and he pulled an unnecessary manoeuvre on me, particularly at that speed. I was quicker and I knew I could overtake him in one or two more laps so I was not happy about that, I think the organization should look at some kind of penalty in these cases for the future.
PLM- I know Martin talked to him after the race.

JB- Yes, we talked and also the organization spoke both with us and with the Charouz team so we will see how this goes for the future in terms of how these things are looked at.

PLM- I thought it was really risky at that speed, not like the clash you had with Burgueño at the Nürburgring last year. Maybe in DTM this is normal as Mücke said but this is 100km/h faster.

JB- Exactly. Also, the Burgueño clash was a race incident. Avoidable, but clearly not intentional. In this case it was clearly intentional and very dangerous, nobody wants that kind of accident to happen.

PLM- What did you think of the "Lap of the Gods" film ?

JB- A great perspective on such a special race and its preparation. I thought it was a great look behind the scenes that helps people understand better all that happens in such an effort. It really gives a clear idea of how the build up and the Le Mans race itself work.

PLM- It also shows Martin’s passion for racing, how do you manage that part?

JB- (laughs) Martin’s very special, he adores this sport and he lives every single race in a very intense way. He basically experiences racing his own way. I’ve been for a few years already with the team and I have managed to integrate perfectly in its dynamics. In fact all the team lives the races with intensity and they are very dedicated. I am very pleased to be part of them, it feels like a family. I also can understand Martin’s approach since a big percentage of his time and life are dedicated to the team.

PLM- Final question, your favourite track?

JB- Le Mans. Driving there is unique. I like many other places, also the Nürburgring but Le Mans stands out clearly.

In a few days we’ll be able to see the evolution of this Dunlop-shod Pescarolo where Rollcentre has put so much work for the next running of the Le Mans 24 Hours. João will for sure put some of his very quick laps already during test day and Martin Short and team will be already feeling the vibrations of La Sarthe one more time. Hopefully we will see them smile Sunday at the finish.

Obrigado João and best of luck for Rollcentre at Le Mans

gabriel@planetlemans.com