Anassis remains upbeat after early Mugello troubles
The Canadian racer was shuffled at the back of the starting line-up and got sidelined by an early contact in Race 1 of the Ferrari Challenge North America round at Mugello.
With the North American entries grouped at the back of the grid behind the Coppa Shell drivers, Emmanuel Anassis got the worst of an early tangle.
"They got us at the back of the pack and sadly the speed differential was very significant," he said. "That bunched us all up with a lot of bumping and shuffling. I just got a bad hit from the side that broke a ball joint. I know he didn’t mean to do it on purpose, it’s just one of those racing incidents…”
The contact didn’t cause him to give up on his usually positive attitude. He now hopes for a prompt rebound as he looks forward to keep increasing his toll in points. “Tomorrow we’re gonna come out stronger, we learned a little bit more during qualifying and I felt the difference during the few laps I could complete.
"I raced here nine years ago and won the championship so the expectations are good. The car is great, I’m sure the team will get it back and we’re gonna go for pole and for the win”.
Known for having won Challenge titles with three different cars, the 360, the 430 and the 458, Anassis hopes to continue with his hot streak in 2016 and is still resisting the idea of moving up the endurance racing ladder.
“I still work for a living," he laughed. "I did Daytona Prototypes and competed in the Rolex 24 in the past, it was a lot of fun but my schedule doesn’t allow me really to take it to the next level.
"It’s a very demanding thing, doing two or three series, I did it for a year and it was very difficult, also because on Monday you have to be in the office.”
He also acknowledged the high-quality nature of the Challenge: “I have to tell that the level of competition here is as good as in any professional series you will find anywhere and the fact that the cars are so close, so similar just makes it so much more difficult.
"The top drivers of the European Series, you could put them in any car and they will win. I look forward to the next season, I hope to win with with the 488 after doing it with the 360, the 430 and the 458.”
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