Paul Dalla Lana is the cornerstone in the Aston Martin Racing #98 line up in the FIA World Endurance Championship, being the Bronze driver alongside Platinum ranked driver Pedro Lamy and Silver ranked Mathias Lauda.
Racing24-7.net caught up with the Canadian earlier in the season, and the first point of our talks, was the bad luck that keeps hitting the team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, having retired from most of his 6 participations, and finished in sixth as the highest in only two races, where they reached the chequered flag.
You seem to have upset Le Mans somehow, after all these years.
“Yeah, it’s certainly frustrating. We have had cars to win there, we should have won there, so it’s one of those hills still to climb, and I try to put positive in it, that we have won everywhere else multiple times, so I know that we can do it. That’s the great thing about the Super Season, so we will get another crack at it. This year was especially frustrating, really freaky little thing on the car, and it had never happened before – and then boom, we were out. I don’t think it would have been an easy race. I think we should have had a good result there. Anyway, it’s racing as we say, and I’ve shown my part in it, I’ve made some mistake in it, and we have just had some bad luck. I think that our time is due for a good result, but it doesn’t bother us. We still look at the championship now, it’s a long year, so it’s very easy to come back. We just keep fighting, and we will get back on top. Le Mans is just a special place on my list of to-do’s, so I keep pushing to come back, and get a good result.”
Photo: JJ Media
The team was hoping for a better result at the 6 Hours of Silverstone in August, and prior to the race starting there were quite high hopes, which eventually turned into a fourth place finish.
“We have always enjoyed Silverstone. I don’t think we have the fastest car this year, maybe even the slowest car, but we like the circuit and it’s something for everyone. We just coming here this year. We think with tires on the new track surface, it’s gonna be tough, like it’s been here historical. We just have to see, how it goes over a stint.
“All of sudden we have got 9 other cars in Am, some really good line-ups, and some stronger cars than the Aston, so it’s a big fight, so I think it’s going to be a good race.”
And GTE Am isn’t always about the car, but about the average speed of the car.
“True, I think. And consistency. So far, we even have seen cars have good pace, like us at Le Mans, and if you do a mistake… So I think as a Am, I have more vulnerability to it, so I think if we have a clean race, and we just do the job, we will be there at the end. Pedro is in the car for the end, so everything can happen.”
Aston Martin Racing #98 currently sits fourth in the GTE Am standings, just two points behind third, while there is a 28 points large mountain to climb, to get into first.
The 6 Hours of Shanghai will be the next race for the Canadian/Portuguese/Austrian outfit to compete in – a race that they have stood on the top step of the podium at for 3 out of the 4 previous years – finishing second only in the “failure” that was 2015. The race will be run in the morning, European Time, on 18 November.
