Gabriele Minì on Imola Victory: “It was a tricky race and winning was not easy”

Gabriele Minì admitted winning race two at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on Sunday was far from straightforward, with the Italian claiming his maiden Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine victory amid changeable weather conditions at Imola.

Having been penalised for a jump start in Saturday’s opening race that prevented him from standing on the top step of the podium, the ART Grand Prix driver fought back superbly on Sunday, taking pole position in the morning before leading all the way in the race.

This was despite a mid-race rain shower and a red flag, and conditions being completely different in the final sector compared to the first two.  He, like most of the field, fitted wet tyres for the final few laps, but the final sector was drier than the rest of the field, making it a tricky conclusion to what appeared to be a dominant display by the Italian.

“It was a tricky race and winning was not easy,” admitted Minì.  “We found very different conditions, starting to race with slicks on a dry track.

“Then it started to rain in some parts of the track and I was the first one to notice these differences as I was in the front. It was not easy because it became wetter and wetter.

“After the stop we went back to the track with wet tyres, with the first two sectors completely wet and the other ones still dry, where I tried to manage the edge, I had in the best possible way bringing home a great win.”

Minì now sits third in the Drivers’ Championship after the first two rounds of the season, with the FRECA drivers now heading to the streets of Monaco at the end of May for round three.