Italian F3
NICHOLAS LATIFI ACCOMPLISHES THE FEAT AND WINS HIS FIRST RACE AT VALLELUNGA
15 days that are so hard to forget for Nicholas Latifi. After a powerfully gained second place in Imola, the young Italo-Canadian driver got up to the highest step of the podium, scoring the first win of the season.
This is a noteworthy result achieved at the end of a sprint race he ran as a leader from the very beginning to the end. He didn’t make any mistake and showed all his great sangfroid in handling the race in a clear-headed way since the depart from the pole. Even during the trickiest moment of the race, he was able to maintain a very good pace, just as it happened when the safety car got off the track and the race restarted.
That was a brand new situation for the JD Motorsport team driver who was able to face it in the best way, keeping the other drivers bottled up behind him.
We don’t have to forget that this is the very first season for Latifi behind the wheel of a Formula car, after beginning his young career in the Canadian karting. It took only five months for him to get up to the highest step of the podium, scoring a win on Sunday afternoon which marked the end of the seventh race, the second last one of the Italian F.3 European Series, valid also for the tricolour series.
Thanks to the win scored at Vallelunga, Nicholas preserves his 4th place inside the rookie standing and the 7th place inside the Tricolour and European Series’ general standings.
NICHOLAS LATIFI: “This weekend in Vallelunga was probably one of the toughest race weekends for me so far. We were struggling throughout all the sessions to get the car dialled in. After qualifying 6th and 9th I was disappointed and knew that the races were not going to be easy. I was pleased to finish 6th in race one, which gave me reverse grid pole for race three, but in race 2, my race ended early after another driver tried to make a pass when there was no room for a pass. I managed to come away with the win in race 3 which felt amazing, as it was my first win, and my teammate Riccardo finished 2nd so it was a great result for the team.”
MICHAEL LATIFI (Nicholas’ father): “ I’m very satisfied with Nicholas’ race. This win is the result of a great job. Over these months Nicholas has demonstrated his continued progression throughout the races. Coming straight out from karting, we knew that It was not going to be easy , even because he has competed with much more experienced drivers. This win must be a starting point to continue to develop and improve. Now we would like to end the season, gaining another important result in Monza .”
DAVID TENNYSON: “ Nicholas has continually demonstrated his immense driving and racing skills this entire 2012 racing season. Coming straight out of karts and into F3 was a true challenge and I am more than impressed by his progression this
season. We set realistic goals all year and focused on developing his understanding of the car and how to work with his engineer to optimize car setup and performance. The win on Sunday was truly impressive as he maintained his composure all race and never put a wheel wrong. The JD team were also flawless in car preparation and professionalism.
GIOVANNI MINARDI: “ First of all I’d like to congratulate Nicholas who, with this win, has reached the goal he was longing for a long time. I’m sure this is only a starting point and a great boost of confidence to get into the final race in Monza . I’d like also to congratulate the staff who supports and looks after Nicholas.”