WEC at Portimão with Miguel Molina

WECHyperCar

Apr 6

WEC at Portimao with Miguel Molina

Second round of FIA World Endurance Championship at Portimão

Ferrari is ready to make a comeback in the top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the 6 Hours of Portimão to be held over the weekend of 16 April. For the second time in its recent history, the Portuguese circuit, which opened in 2008, will host a round of the World Endurance Championship.

The two Ferrari 499P crews arrive in the Algarve after a positive debut on 17 March on American soil, where the #50 Le Mans Hypercar driven by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen took pole position and third place in the race, while the #51, crewed by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, crossed the line in seventh place.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring.

After the opening round the Ferrari – AF Corse team occupies second position in the Constructors' standings, 14 points behind Toyota, while in the Drivers' standings the crew of the #50 499P is third on 24 points and their #51 teammates hold seventh spot with 9 points.
The weekend at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão gets underway on Friday, 14 April with two free practice sessions scheduled for 10:30am and 3:30pm; on Saturday 15, after the third free practice session at 11:15am, there will be the qualifying session reserved for the Hypercar class at 4:20pm to determine the starting grid for the 6 Hours which will get underway at 12:00pm on Sunday, 16 April (all times indicated are local).

Miguel Molina

Source Ferrari.com

Miguel Molina’s roll of honour features thirty-three starts in the FIA WEC and two wins with Maranello’s production-derived cars, including one at Bahrain in November 2022 in the last race of the LMGTE Pro class era. The 34-year-old Catalan driver stepped onto the Hypercar stage in the 499P number 50 he shares with Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen. In their 2023 World Championship debut at Sebring, the crew secured pole position and third place, boosting confidence ahead of round two, the challenging 6 Hours of Portimão on 16 April.

Passion. For a young Catalan, the Barcelona circuit, which has hosted the Formula 1 Grand Prix and many domestic and international championships since the early nineties, holds a powerful attraction. “When I discovered that Fernando Alonso had started to make a name for himself in motorsport, my interest grew. I went to the Circuit de Catalunya to watch Formula Nissan. They invited me into the Campos Racing pit. Antonio Garcia and Fernando were racing for that team,” Molina continued. “It was the first race I witnessed from inside a garage. Years later, I competed with Antonio at Le Mans and other races. I enjoyed meeting him again as an opponent.”

Endurance. From karts to single-seaters to “closed” wheels, Molina’s sporting journey led him to join Ferrari to take part in the World Endurance Championship with the 488 GTE (racking up 32 races, two wins and 14 class podiums), then in the 2023 season to debut in the Hypercar class with the 499P. “At first, I knew little about endurance,” the driver admitted, “but once I stepped into this world, I learned a lot. The biggest surprises? That the races are very long, from six to 24 hours, but require total concentration from the first to the last lap. Today endurance races resemble ‘sprint’ races because if you don’t perform at 100% at every point, you lose the chance of winning.”

The extra dimension of the Ferrari official driver is inextricably linked to the Hypercar that heralded the Prancing Horse’s return to the top class half a century after its last appearance. A challenge connected with the concept of the team. “The relationships are excellent within our group, and I think this is obvious. I think I am at the peak of my competitive career with this project,” he continued. “I have achieved a great goal, but now I need to set new ones. The work done is paying off.”

Excitement. Adrenaline, passion, sacrifice and joy are concepts that are part of a professional driver’s everyday vocabulary. “The moment of greatest tension is when you prepare to climb into the cockpit. In that instant, you realise that in a few minutes, you have to give your all on the track,” Molina explained. “At that stage, I try to imagine all possible situations so that I am ready to face them. However, when I step out of the car and only have a two- or three-hour break before a new driving stint, I try to optimise my time. It’s tricky because I need to rest, eat, and sleep. It is essential to have a clear idea of what to do and how to adapt to situations.”

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring. Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen.

“My” Hypercar. The Girona-born driver chooses three words to describe the Ferrari 499P: speed, technology, and passion. “Speed is a feeling we experience from when we are young, so much so that we reach the point where we no longer realise how fast we are on the track.” This feeling peaks at the wheel of the Maranello Hypercar. “The first time I climbed into the 499P in July 2022,” he said,“I realised that I would have to make a greater physical effort. I recognised that I would need to train more because the car is much more challenging than the GTs. It was a radical change, particularly on a physical level because of the strain on the neck, which is subject to so much pressure.” Miguel Molina’s new sporting era will continue in the 2023 season. After Portugal, there are events at Spa-Francorchamps, Le Mans, Monza, Fuji and Bahrain.

WEC at Portimão with Miguel Molina

Second round of FIA World Endurance Championship at Portimão

Miguel Molina

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