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Joao Paulo de Oliveira says he sees an “alternative” to take part in additional worldwide races subsequent season with the World Endurance Championship’s change to GT3 automobiles, after making his Hypercar bow final month at Monza.
Method Nippon and SUPER GT champion de Oliveira was drafted in to affix the Vanwall staff for the fifth spherical of the WEC season alongside Esteban Guerrieri and Tristan Vautier when Tom Dillmann elected to quit the ByKolles-run outfit.
De Oliveira stated final yr after profitable his second title in SUPER GT’s GT300 class for Kondo Racing that he hoped to have the ability to take part in additional races exterior of Japan in a bid to escape his “comfort zone”.
And now, having whet his urge for food for worldwide competitors at Monza, the 42-year-old says that the arrival of the LMGT3 class within the WEC subsequent yr may present extra possibilities to check himself in opposition to world-class opposition.
“Truthfully talking, the extent I see there [in WEC] is sort of excessive,” de Oliveira advised Motorsport.com. “And that’s additionally in LMP2 and GTE, not solely Hypercar.
“I like that, and it makes me wish to be sharper and work tougher, to enhance myself. I prefer to have that problem.
“For subsequent yr, the arrival of GT3 automobiles creates one other window of alternative, to do huge occasions like Le Mans and Daytona. That’s the course I’m taking a look at. Hypercar can be troublesome to discover a seat, however to race in GT3 I believe is lifelike.”
De Oliveira defined that his first race outing for Vanwall was marred by braking points within the sizzling circumstances at Monza, which required the Vandervell 680 LMH’s brake ducts to be cleared throughout pitstops.
The time misplaced within the course of restricted the Brazilian and his team-mates to twentieth total, behind eight of the LMP2 runners.
“It’s very powerful leaping right into a automotive you aren’t conversant in mid-season,” recalled de Oliveira. “I did one take a look at final yr [at Barcelona] however I did not run a lot, and the automotive has modified since then. I didn’t know the monitor both.
“There was a difficulty with the automotive in FP2 so we didn’t run in that session, so we solely had two classes to divide between three drivers. Earlier than the race I had most likely carried out lower than 20 laps, and by no means with a full tank.
“My purpose was to simply not do something foolish and assist the staff. I used to be on the identical tempo as Tristan and Esteban, so I used to be proud of the job I did and I had enjoyable.”
De Oliveira has already been confirmed to be collaborating in subsequent month’s Fuji WEC spherical with Vanwall, however won’t be out there for the Bahrain season finale on account of a conflict together with his SUPER GT commitments.
On his prospects for Fuji, a monitor the place he has already raced twice this yr, de Oliveira stated: “I all the time had in my thoughts that Monza could be a studying weekend, and that the purpose could be to utilise a few of that at Fuji.
“I don’t count on we’re going to be instantly preventing the opposite Hypercars, as a result of we have been two or three seconds off the tempo at Monza, however I needs to be rather more tailored and cozy.”
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