Luca Filippi admitted that he wanted to be the first driver to give Romeo Ferraris a victory in PURE ETCR, after the Italian won his SuperFinal in Copenhagen last weekend at the final corner.
Filippi had run in second for most of the six-lap, six-car battle on the streets of the Danish capital, but at the final corner of the last lap he sensed an opportunity.
Exiting the chicane faster than race leader Mattias Ekström, Filippi threw his Alfa Romeo Giulia between the leading CUPRA and the wall on the inside, seizing the lead with just metres to spare to win by 0.118 seconds.
Filippi admitted that taking the first win was a relief, with Romeo Ferraris having changed its approach to the weekend as confidence has built within the independent Italian outfit.
“Generally, there was a special atmosphere in the team this weekend, with Philipp [Eng] coming, and we had also a big boost because of the changes we made to the car,” said Filippi. “Technically we felt strong, and we really had our goals set.
“We felt that we could win from the beginning, and I think our attitude has changed. Eventually, coming second wasn’t enough anymore.
“Also, we lost our number one fan, Aldo ‘Baronio’ Cerruti, who was Michela’s Dad, so of course it was emotional for everyone in the team. I’ve been part of Romeo Ferraris now since a long time, so we used that feeling and emotion as a boost.
“We had a battle on lap one with Mattias, and I started to learn a little bit more about him. He is tough, but he is also fair. I was trying to study the situation, and I saw he slightly brushed the wall at some point.
“Eventually his driving became a little bit more cautious, and I wanted to take advantage of it. At the last chicane, I did it like I have never done before.
“I raised the risk bar in order to try and go for it, and also the way I timed my braking and my acceleration compared to his, it was eventually perfect.
“Then I decided to go for the shorter way, which was the inside, and I had just enough space to go through.
“It was really fantastic, and I really felt so happy in the car, for myself, for Michela and everybody in the team. I wanted to give the first win to the team myself, and it was fantastic.”
Ekström confirmed that Filippi’s assessment was correct, as he had driven more conservatively on the final lap after contact with the wall.
“I think he has got it pretty much right – I was a bit too conservative in the last chicane on the last lap, and actually the whole lap was a bit more conservative after I scratched the wall,” said Ekström, who was third overall at the weekend.
“In my situation I have more to lose than to win in that moment, because if you don’t finish a main race [SuperFinal] you get a really big loss.”