It’s a comfortable feeling as Team Penske driver Simon Pagenaud returns to sports car racing -- a form of auto racing where the driver from Poitiers, France, excelled before becoming a Verizon IndyCar Series star.
Pagenaud will drive for Corvette Racing along with fellow drivers Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 C7.R. Ryan Briscoe, who drove the No. 8 Dallara/Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series last year, drives the team’s other entry along with Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 C7.R.
“The Corvette is an icon of American Racing,” the Frenchman said. “It’s fantastic to be part this program. There is no Corvette without racing. I’m proud of this program because I believe in America and it helps me relate with the fans. It’s great to be involved with an icon like this.”
The Corvette is far different from Pagenaud’s Dallara/Chevrolet that he drives in the Verizon IndyCar Series but it’s a great feeling for Pagenaud. But he will be competing in the GT class for the first time in the Rolex 24 after previously competing in the Daytona Prototype class.
“When you go away from a series it takes time to get back to the top level, especially in sports cars because there are so many variables with traffic and rules changing every year so the speed difference has changed,” Pagenaud said. “I have never driven in the GT Class before but there are certainly a lot of familiar faces I will be racing with.”
Gavin is a GT class winner and Milner previously drove the BMW for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Pagenaud has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2008-2011. While with Peugeot Pagenaud started on the pole in 2010 and finished second in 2011 in a 908 Peugeot. This will be Pagenaud’s third attempt in the Rolex 24 at Daytona but had plenty of experience in the old American Le Mans Series that featured the 12 Hours of Sebring as its prestige event.
ALMS and the old Grand-Am Series are now part of the Tudor United Sports Car Racing Series.
Pagenaud enjoys the fact the Rolex 24 at Daytona is the first major race of the season and signals the beginning of another year of auto racing.
“It’s a good feeling,” Pagenaud admitted. “It’s nice to get back on the horse. Personally, it’s two new teams with Corvette Racing and with Team Penske. It’s a whole new year with quite a lot of changes and quite an exciting time for me. I can’t wait.”
Pagenaud doesn’t know which shifts he will drive in the 24-hour race. It depends on the life of the tire and Pagenaud believes the Michelin tires have great reliability so he expects to do “double stints” behind the wheel before changing drivers.
“Being the least experienced driver I don’t think I will start the race because that is when the most experience driver goes into the race,” said Pagenaud, who said a normal driving shift is 2 1/2 hours.
One of the big challenges in a 24-hour race is battling sleep deprivation.
“I ended up being the car during a long caution period at Daytona in 2012 and I found myself almost falling asleep at the wheel a few times,” Pagenaud admitted. “Going very slow and the sound of the engine almost puts you to sleep. It’s OK when you are racing full speed because you can keep yourself focused and stay awake. There is a lot of ‘Power Napping’ in the 24-hour race.”
Pagenaud is lucky that he can “sleep like a charm” whenever he wants and that is what he does between his driving shifts in the 24-Hour race at Daytona.
“The overnight shifts are the times when you have to be the most careful,” Pagenaud warns. “When darkness comes down and it gets to be 2 or 3 a.m. a lot of drivers lose their concentration so it’s your job to be even more careful than in daylight and always look very far forward. When it’s dark your sight is not as good so you have to react to the situation.”
Most importantly, competing in this race helps Pagenaud get ready for the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season.
“Daytona is such a good race because it’s good to take the rust off and get your muscle and mind going and get back in the groove before the season really starts in IndyCar,” he said. “I love Daytona and Sebring because it helps me get ready for my IndyCar season. The more you can drive it’s always a good experience as a driver.”