Davide Rigon says that his Le Mans dream “faded too soon” after a crash and technical issues hampered him and his team mates Pierre Kaffer, Olivia Beretta and James Calado at the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The event started in the worse possible way for the #71 AF Corse ran Ferrari, with Calado suffering a heavy crash at the Porsche Curves, with the Englishman suffering a Brain Haemorrhage, although he has now been released from hospital.
That, however, ruled him out for the weekend, with Kaffer replacing him after a mammoth effort by the AF Corse crew to rebuild the #71. The start of the race on Saturday saw the car start 47th , but an electrical issue three hours into the race forced the car into retirement.
“It has been a cold shower,” said Rigon. “I have to congratulate all the staff of AF Corse and Ferrari. The guys have done a miracle. They practically rebuilt the whole machine working nonstop at night, allowing us to get back on track for the warm-up. Unfortunately, the dream lasted only a few hours. A real shame. Our pace was really good. I was regaining different positions, and when it started to rain, we guessed the strategy. The premises were good, but races are races.”
“Now I just want to wish a big good luck for a speedy recovery to James and leave behind this disappointment quickly and think about the next challenge in Austin, with the goal of returning to Le Mans next year ready for redemption”.
