Tatiana Calderón returns to LMP2 action for this weekend’s third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the historic Monza circuit in Northern Italy.
The Colombian driver will be taking on the famed ‘Cathedral of Speed’ with the Richard Mille Racing team, sharing driving duties with Sophia Floersch for the six-hour contest, following the team’s best class finish in the WEC so far last time out at Portimao.
In the absence of regular co-driver Beitske Visser, who is away on W Series duty, Tatiana and Floersch will be racing as a duo, a rarity in the WEC’s LMP2 ranks.
The increased driving time provides a sterner physical challenge for drivers racing as a duo, with Tatiana set to put in around three hours behind the wheel on Sunday, but there are advantages, including fewer compromises on set-up and more track time in practice.
Tatiana will be hoping to take advantage of these benefits around the high-speed Monza layout, which boasts some of the longest straights in Europe as well as famous corners like the Lesmos, Variante Ascari and Parabolica. It’s a circuit where the 28-year-old has enjoyed success in the past, notably in GP3, where she achieved her best results in the series.
Riding high from her best LMP2 result so far of sixth place with Richard Mille last month at Portimao, and her recent IndyCar test in Mid-Ohio for AJ Foyt Racing, Tatiana hopes to continue her recent momentum into this weekend at Monza – her final outing in the WEC before the biggest race of the year, the Le Mans 24 Hours in August.
Tatiana Calderón: “After a positive race in Portimao and an encouraging post-race test, I’m really looking forward to being back in the LMP2 car this weekend at Monza. It’s a very different track compared to Portimao but it’s more similar to Le Mans, so it will be important to make sure the car works well around this type of track as well. It’s a shame that we are missing Beitske this weekend, but on the positive side it means more time in the car, which I can’t complain about. It looks like it will be hot, which will make it tough on the tyres, but it should be an enjoyable challenge and I hope we can build on what we did in Portimao.”
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