Little did Libia Roldán and Pablo Montoya know that again on September twentieth in 1975 their new child, Juan Pablo Montoya, would turn out to be the hero of a rustic. A bit of boy whose ardour for racing introduced him to Formula 1 within the early 2000s. The time zone distinction was not an excuse for the Colombians to observe their most profitable driver within the pinnacle of motorsport. His title crammed headlines, he turned the picture of the most well-liked nationwide manufacturers, and his face would dangle in teenager’s rooms. He spent six years in F1, which made him in style all over the world, and he proved that there are nonetheless data to be damaged exterior of Formula One.
As he handed his mid-forties, the Colombian retains being a driver embarks in a brand new journey, the European Series Le Mans with the DragonSpeed USA group alongside his son, Sebastián Montoya. We sat down with the Bogota-born driver to debate this new chapter in his in depth profession.
Welcome to Barcelona, Juan Pablo. Could you please inform us what it’s like racing alongside your son in the identical group?
Actually, I don’t see Sebastian as my son right here however extra like my team-mate and we deal with him in the identical method, there aren’t any privileges. Last yr he did three races with us and this yr he’s doing the entire season. We race collectively, and it’s an excellent enjoyable.
What did you take pleasure in most about this competitors?
Undoubtedly, with the ability to share the races with my son is wonderful. I additionally just like the ambiance now we have on the group, it’s very stress-free and easy-going.
How do you put together for these lengthy races?
I prepare quite a bit within the gymnasium, however I’m additionally used to it, I’ve been doing this my entire life. For my son, these races are tremendous simple as he’s used to the F3 automobile, which is rather more bodily and quicker, so that is type of simpler for him.
Overall it’s an excellent enjoyable, nonetheless, it’s additionally a bit tough as a result of you might want to share the automobile with different three drivers, and all of us must be blissful and agree on sure issues for the good thing about the group.
As you talked about, right here you share the automobile with different three drivers, but in addition with greater than 40 vehicles on observe, how do you handle all that site visitors?
In these circumstances, it’s important to be sensible however on the similar time extra aggressive, in any other case it’s possible you’ll find yourself shedding plenty of time in site visitors. It’s the identical if you happen to crash into somebody, so it’s about discovering the proper steadiness between being sensible and aggressive, and generally it’s arduous to achieve that time.
And by way of technique, how does the group profit out of your experience?
I believe I add plenty of technical experience to the group as I’ve received plenty of expertise. I work quite a bit in the course of the weekend, however exterior the race weekends we don’t actually discuss a lot. Last yr within the US I was concerned quite a bit within the arrange of the automobile. Actually, I’m not obsessed or choosy a couple of explicit facet of the automobile. At the tip of the day the circuits and the tyres are totally different, and we at all times must adapt. We, as a group, intention to seek out consistency as a result of we do plenty of laps throughout these races, so we want settle for that generally we gained’t really feel totally comfy within the automobile.
You’ve taken half in an excellent number of motorsport competitions, are you able to inform us one thing you want and dislike about them?
Actually, it’s fairly arduous to inform. To be sincere, each class has its personal issues, and relying on the context you might even see it nearly as good or dangerous. Formula 1 is seen because the objective for each driver, and it needs to be like that, however take a look at me, I left F1 as a result of I received bored there. Therefore, I do assume it depends upon the context, nonetheless, I like Formula 1 these days, although. Cars are rather more totally different, the competitors has modified quite a bit and I believe it’s a lot better for the present. On the opposite hand, I’m unsure if I’d’ve loved this period greater than the one I skilled.
Barcelona welcomed the Colombian driver with open arms, and a whole bunch of followers waited for a signed autograph and an image with the Formula 1 legend. At the Catalonia Circuit, Montoya noticed, as soon as once more, that his title is much from being forgotten.
After a discreet first race, the American group awaits Le Castellet, the second spherical of a class that retains on difficult younger and skilled drivers.
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