Eduardo ‘Dudu’ Barrichello didn’t come into his first full season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with any expectations, but is right in the mix for silverware.
The Brazilian, piloting the #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo for Heart of Racing, put together a strong early campaign with three podiums – including two runner-up results – in his opening four races to sit atop the GTD championship standings. It’s been a struggle since, however, with no top three finishes since early May and that led to a slide.
Going into Sunday’s Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, the son of longtime Formula 1 driver Rubens Barrichello sits third in the GTD standings, 177 points behind Winward Racing’s duo of Philip Ellis and Russell Ward – the reigning back-to-back class champions that have made a late resurgence with three wins and a runner-up over the past four rounds.
A ‘fun year’ for Barrichello
For Barrichello, who also splits time running non-clashing round with Heart of Racing’s FIA World Endurance Championship, this year – just his second in endurance racing – has brought a lot of learning. Additionally, though, he’s eager to score a breakthrough victory and, potentially, a championship.
“Yeah, it’s been good fun,” Barrichello told Motorsport.com. “It’s my first year with the team. It’s my first year in IMSA as well. So, I’ve been having fun.
“You know, it’s a busy schedule. I won’t lie and I’ll tell you that it is really tiring. This is my fifth weekend in a row of just racing. I just got back from Japan two days ago, so I’m really jet-lagged. But yeah, I can’t really complain. It’s a great opportunity. I’m really happy that the team wants me to do both of the schedules.
“I didn’t really have any expectations coming into it. I’m just trying to do the best job I can. Of course, I’ve progressed a lot throughout the year. I’ve learned a lot from my teammates and from the team. The team’s been great. The car’s been great as well.”
Barrichello has been the only full-time driver in IMSA for Heart of Racing, sharing the seat with a rotation of talented teammates: Tom Gamble, Zacharie Robichon, Mattia Drudi, Spencer Pumpelly, and Roman De Angelis.
“It has been a little bit frustrating that we haven’t really been able to win a race,” Barrichello said. We’ve come so close. I think we led eight of the nine races and we couldn’t win a race. So, we’re trying to do this. It’s going to be tough with the championship. We’re P3 at the minute, pretty far from the lead, but we’re going to try and do our best job, win the race and who knows?
“But yeah, I’m happy here. I really enjoy IMSA. The way of racing here in America is really similar to Brazil. The tracks are similar to Brazil. So, yeah, I feel like I’m home.”
#27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo: Dudu Barrichello, Tom Gamble
Photo by: Art Fleischmann
Ian James, Heart of Racing’s team principal, mentioned that Barrichello ended up on his radar last year in FIA WEC when he was part of Racing Spirit of Léman squad. Since bringing him over to Heart of Racing, James has seen tremendous growth as the season has gone on.
“I met Dudu last year in WEC when he was in the sister car in the garage,” James told Motorsport.com. “Obviously impressed with his speed and his work ethic, but joining Heart of Racing, he’s just grown up a lot this year. A bit of maturity in what he’s doing, and he’s just done a really good job on the track. He’s gelled really well with the other drivers, and they’ve been quick everywhere.
“Obviously we’ve had a few setbacks here in the championship run, but he deserves to be heading into the last race with a shot at the title, that’s for sure.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com
