Le Mans (France), June 16 (EFE).- The Spanish driver Miguel Molina, who this Sunday was part of the Ferrari AF Corse team number 50 champion of the 92nd edition of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, declared after the race that He has sacrificed “many things” to be able to live “moments like this.”
Molina shared the wheel of the winning Ferrari 499P with the Italian Antonio Fuoco and the Dane Nicklas Nielsen and became the third Spaniard to win in the premier category of the legendary test, as Marc Gené did in 2009 and Fernando Alonso in 2018 and 2019. .
“It’s incredible. It’s something I’ve been looking for for a long time; last year we were very close, and since we finished that race we knew that we had missed an opportunity and that maybe we could have another, and this year we took advantage of it,” he said. the pilot from Girona, 35 years old.
Molina added that after winning one thinks “about the suffering that has been going on for many years.” “Winning here is exciting. We sacrifice a lot of things for moments like this, to be part of this history. Being the third (Spanish) driver to win at Le Mans in the top category after Marc (Gené) and Fernando (Alonso)… “I can say that now I could retire in peace, although I hope to have some more opportunities,” the Catalan stressed.
Unlike on other occasions, Miguel Molina affirms that this time “almost everything did not go well.” “All the decisions with the tires, the strategy went well… And the pace was very good. The only bad thing was the problem with the door, which was left open. But it even worked out well for us because we didn’t have to stop once. more,” he said.
Molina had to overcome a mandatory pit stop with one hour and 42 minutes left, when the lock on the right door of his car failed, which seemed to jeopardize his chances of victory when he was comfortably leading, but the appearance, again and intensely, the rain allowed the Ferrari to save a stop and reach the end of the race with one stop less than the rest of its competitors.
The man from Girona pointed out this as the most critical moment of the test: “We had not planned that extra stop. Before, in the pre-grill, we changed an accelerator sensor, which we did not know if it was going to work or not, and I think it could have been our lucky charm. for the race. There are things that are out of our control, but what was in our hands we have done in the best way,” he said.
“As soon as we stopped for the door we saw that if we saved a little or a lot of energy we could make one less stop and that was the case. Niklas was incredible and his rhythm was very good. Today was the day,” he added.
“Today was the day, the day to win, to get this precious trophy, and I am very proud. I thank everyone who has always been supporting me; to my family, to the ‘Joves Pilots’ program, to all the people of Ferrari and AF Corse, who have done an incredible job to win Le Mans again,” commented an exultant Molina.
In his opinion, this year’s race has been “very intense.” “The competition is becoming more and more difficult and you can’t make mistakes. And this time we made very few or none and that has been one of the keys to winning.” EFE
omb/sab
