Alessandro Latif contests the legendary Sebring 12 Hours in Florida on Saturday (15 March) – one of the oldest surviving motor races in North America.
Latif, who celebrates only his 18th birthday next month, drives an Audi R8 LMS sportscar entered by the American Flying Lizard Motorsports team.
The historic Sebring race already marks Latif’s second event in Florida and racing an Audi this year having finished an impressive fifth in the GTD class on his Daytona 24 Hours debut in January.
“This year is a huge learning curve for me in terms of making my debut at Daytona and Sebring,” confirmed Alessandro who has personal support from French luxury shoemaker Corthay.
“I spent two days testing at Sebring last month which went really well and I am very excited for the challenge that lies ahead in the race itself.
“From the driver’s feedback, the team has found a good set-up for the Audi which I believe will put us in a good position for the race.
“The track itself is challenging as it is so different to most circuits – especially those in Europe. The track is very bumpy and the surface itself changes from corner to corner which means you have to reset grip levels while you are going round a lap.
“I achieved a top-five result in the Rolex 24 at Daytona so my objective must be a top-three podium finish at Sebring.”
London-born Latif, who has Indian and Pakistani lineage from his father and an Italian mother, races an Audi R8 LMS sportscar for one of the German car manufacturer’s official “customer racing” teams.
Latif continued: “I first met Audi Sport personnel at Le Mans last June and was then thrilled to get the opportunity to drive an Audi A4 DTM in Spain last November at its young driver test in Monteblanco.
“Audi Sport undertakes a talent scouting event allowing invited young drivers to take a peek behind the scenes of the DTM for which I was overwhelmed to get asked.
“My ultimate goal is to become a ‘factory’ Audi driver. I must now gain experience in the higher echelons of endurance racing and in doing so, hopefully strengthen my link with Audi for the future.”
Despite very limited mileage in the Audi R8 LMS sportscar and working with the American Flying Lizard team for the first time, Latif nevertheless achieved a top-five finish along with co-drivers Filipe Albuquerque (P), Seth Neiman (USA) and Dion von Moltke (USA) at Daytona.
“Flying Lizard’s reputation for professionalism is second to none, the team are tremendous and while the Audi is the first GT car I had ever raced, the R8 is beautiful to drive and suits my driving style,” concluded Alessandro who will race with Neiman, von Moltke and Albuquerque again at Sebring.
Latif began his motorsports career in karting in 2008, quickly progressing to the international scene gaining multiple victories and podiums but unable to complete a championship due to his schooling commitments.
Having contested three races in the Renault Eurocup in 2012, Alessandro also won the 4 Heures du Paul Ricard and netted a fifth place in the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi.
Last year Latif raced in selected rounds of the VdeV Championship scoring three victories including the Mugello 6 Hours.
Official practice begins on Thursday with qualifying, for grid positions for the 60 plus car field is staged on Friday. The race is around the 3.74-mile Florida track that was originally a US air force base in World War II, is scheduled to start at 2.30pm* on Saturday.