The light red Ferrari outfit from the AF Corse team suits his complexion well. Especially since he makes good use of it. Back in the seat of a racing beast hit by the prancing horse this season – an F296 GT3 -, Vincent Abril continues the weekends on the track at full speed. And faster and faster as demonstrated by his recent successes at Monza, on the majuscule stage of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance, and in Barcelona, on the front of the International GT Open… where the 29-year-old Monegasque years old, already vice-champion in 2020 – on Ferrari! -, will have a new opportunity to enter the prize list next week.
Vincent, while you still have one race to go on both sides, can we say that your objective has already been achieved?
Yes! Since my participation in the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans aboard a Ferrari 488 from the AF Corse team, I hoped to do another part of the journey with this team as soon as possible. The door opened at the beginning of 2024 for two great programs: Pro (GT World Challenge Europe Endurance, ndlr) et Pro-Am (International GT Open). Enough to return to the forefront, my number 1 objective. Today, the statistics speak for themselves. Especially in the qualifying exercise where I feel very comfortable. I made good use of the new tires from the first lap, while managing the traffic as best I could. With the staff and the engineers, we managed to find the settings that suited me. It goes quickly right away, no need to adapt.
On the International GT Open side, what ambition did you start with?
Me, you know, whatever the championship, I always hope to win the title! There, at the start, there are still some uncertainties. This is the first season of the F296 GT3. I don’t know my teammate (the young Italian Nicola Marinangelli). Some opposing teams are better prepared, clearly. Moreover, we are having a checkered start to the season. A stroke of brilliance here and there, certainly, but recurring performance problems… and above all three blank results, including one at the double race at Spa. In Belgium, on the evening of May 26, it’s hard to imagine that we will be able to play for the title five months later.
Can we say that the summer stage at the Paul-Ricard circuit constitutes the turning point of the season?
Absolutely! After the 4th place obtained the day before on a dry track, the victory acquired during this difficult race 2 puts us back in the match. Nicola starts very far, from 20th row. Under the deluge, he did almost his entire stint in slow motion behind the safety car. Once the pack is released, we decide to make the pit stop immediately, as soon as the pit stop window opens. Then, I start with three or four qualifying rounds. Enough to go back up the slope at full speed. Our “undercut” is paying off. In the final loop, while it started to rain very heavily again, I managed to surprise the leaders’ Audi R8 braking at the northern chicane of the Mistral. It’s hot but it’s OK! This success on the wire instills a positive dynamic. Then, we chain together the good scores. From the Hungaroring (the Hungarian round preceding that of Castellet at the start of summer) no one scored more points than us
You did it again in Barcelona the other day. What was the key to success in Catalonia?
Qualifying went like a dream: pole position and circuit record in GT3! My main rivals, Christopher Haase and Jordan Pepper, two big names, are relegated to 4 and 7 tenths respectively. A chasm! Then, I keep the advantage at the start, I escape and I give the box to Nicola with 3 seconds in advance. He finishes the job perfectly. Winning in the dry reassured us. We were full of confidence!
On October 20, in Monza, the final will include a single race and this will count double…
Like in Spa, yeah. Six or seven crews can still reach the moon mathematically. We are third, so a little dependent on the results of the two duos in front of us. Given the delay accumulated in the spring, we have everything to gain, nothing to lose.
On a track where you have just made sparks in GT World Challenge Endurance…
Replace Davide (Rigon, competing that day in an IMSA championship race across the Atlantic) alongside Alessio (Rovera) and Alessandro (Pier Guidi) who play for the title, it was a heavy responsibility. Especially in Ferrari’s garden. I shouldn’t have missed it… Result: we made pole and podium (3e) with the best pace in the race. Victory eluded us because of a somewhat far-fetched modification of the regulations. But the Ferrari No. 51 still gets big points. I’m glad I responded.
