A sick but delighted Thomas Biagi looked back with us on a fantastic weekend. For his first start with a LMP2, the Italian driver left Barcelona with a victory. He indeed led Team Racing Box Lola B08/80 to the victory with his friend Matteo Bobbi and Andrea Piccini. As soon as the race was over, the rookie drove to the Paul Ricard HTTT for the official FIA-GT Test Days to drive Team Selleslagh Racing Corvette C6.R.

The Circuit de Catalunya suits obviously Tommy very well, as he confirmed: “The weekend hasn’t started very well because I had sinusitis. But when you drive, you forget it. I had good memories from Barcelona. Life is sometimes weird. En 2003, I posted my first victory in FIA-GT at Barcelona, and it was with Matteo (Bobbi) already. I felt as if I was dreaming again. It was our first race in LMP2 and we won.” He has driven in F1, A1 GP, GP2 and GT and now he takes up a new challenge. “It has started as well as it could. I feel very well in the Lola and the car is fast in corners, like a F1 car. But it has of course less power in the straights than a F1 car.”

“The battle has been tough”, Thomas continues. “There are a lot of cars in the class and several two-car teams. We mainly aimed to make no mistake. The package has been good and Michelin tires have been perfect as always. All the drivers have been very professional and Team ASM Ginetta-Zytek gave us a hard time. I fitted into Team Racing Box pretty quickly. There is a good atmosphere and the whole team is professional, just like Vitaphone Racing team.”

During the race, “I had to weave my way through the traffic, but I like it; this why it is a little harder for me in GT2. I like better to look forward than to keep an eye in the mirror continually to check if anybody’s coming. The car still requires a lot of physical effort.”

As to the discovery of Team SRT Corvette C6.R during the official FIA-GT Test Days, “the C6.R is totally different from the Maserati MC12, but I like pretty much the torque and the power. The inside is well designed, especially the dashboard. I feel very well in the car and I will do my best to achieve the best season as possible with Bert (Longin). I am delighted to run another season in the championship.”

The coming-up weeks should be hectic for Tommy, with the last round of the Speedcar Series in Bahrain at the same time as F1. A week later, he is in Silverstone for the kick-off of the FIA-GT championship before driving to Spa (1000 Km), then to Adria after being briefly home.

Laurent Mercier and Cécile Bonardel