| Mazda Motorsports Zoom Media Interview Transcript Oliver Jarvis, Harry Tincknell, Jonathan Bomarito Moderator: Harry Tincknell and Jonathan Bomarito were two-thirds of the driver lineup that took the victory in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in 2019. Obviously, an emotional victory for Mazda as it was the program’s first in DPi competition and started a run of three consecutive victories for the program at that time in 2019. So fast forwarding now to 2021, Oliver Jarvis and Harry are currently second in the DPi point standings, 71 points behind Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque. Jonathan, Harry and Olly are also second in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup point standings, just four points behind Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Alexander Rossi. So, Jonathan, why don’t we start with you, headed to the site of some pretty happy memories. Talk a little bit about what you’re looking forward to getting back to here at Watkins Glen this week. Jonathan Bomarito: Yeah, sure is. It seems like forever since we’ve been back there, but like you mentioned, the breakthrough victory happened there and kind of storybook fashion going one-two with the cars. It was amazing, but Watkins Glen is just a phenomenal race track. We had all the classes back together, racing at the track. It’s just an unbelievable facility and our cars, — prototype cars, cars with the higher horsepower, a lot of downforce — they just loved that place. And from a driver’s standpoint, it’s a pleasure to drive there and looking forward to getting back in the car. I missed the last couple of races, them being the shorter sprint race format. So that was Harry and Olly driving. And I just can’t wait to get back in the car and get back at it. Moderator: Let’s switch out in the spotlight with Harry, kind of the same thing, going back to Watkins Glen, certainly a pretty special place just to talk about that and what you’re looking forward to this week. Harry Tincknell: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, last year was, it was a big miss off the calendar. I think everyone enjoys going there and certainly, very good memories for Mazda Motorsports, as you said in your prelude. It was a big moment in 2019 to get the first win for the prototype program in a long time. Obviously, were very motivated to go back there. It’s a big part of the championship now being two races back to back. Jonathan and I are defending the six-hour race and then the next weekend as well, obviously the WeatherTech 240 – we won that at Daytona last year, too. So hopefully we can repeat 2019 and 2020’s successes here on the simulators today. I’d like to flip my camera around and show you what we’re up to, but they’re a little bit secretive about things like that. But just driving the track again for the first time, even on the simulator you just go, ‘wow,’ it’s just incredible how much grip there is. Like Jonathan said, in a prototype around Watkins Glen, it doesn’t really get much better to be honest. That always does shock you the first few laps – how a corner you think is going to be third gear is fifth gear. It’s just incredible, you have to readapt your horizons a little bit. But, we’re doing that today – we were on it all day yesterday as well. We’ll go there as prepared as possible. Q: Thanks, Harry. Pleased now to be joined by Oliver Jarvis. As I look at the championship, you and Harry are currently 71 points behind Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque, which sounds like a bigger number than it really is, given our current structure. And also you guys are second, pretty close in the Michelin Endurance Cup point standings. We’re kind of hitting that point in the season where the championship really starts to come into focus for you guys. Can you talk a little bit about, maybe what that looks like for you and what it’s going to take for you and Harry to move up that one spot. Oliver Jarvis: I think naturally this stage in the season, we’ve got an eye on the championship, but we’re also approaching each race on a race by race basis. …We’ve had a very good start to the season, but I think now certainly going to Watkins and Road America, it’d be really nice to start getting podiums but also fighting for the wins. I think it’d be a really nice way to sort of develop into the season if we could pick up that win early on, or at least, in the first half of the year. Watkins was a track for us last year. It’s one, I think Harry just touched upon, we all enjoy driving. We had a very competitive car there in, sorry, 2019. That’s not to say it’ll be the same this year, but, I think we go there with high hopes that we can finally get that win. Q: For, Harry or Olly, you thought that the majority of the DPi teams tested at Watkins Glen, you guys haven’t as far as I know. Do you think that might be a little bit of a disadvantage considering the time off at the track, or are you sort of putting the virtual sim testing to good use there with that? Tincknell: Yeah, I mean obviously if one team’s tested over another and it’s an advantage in real life, definitely, but we’ve done some testing in the background ourselves, as well, but not Watkins. So maybe in the first section or so that will be an advantage for others, but we’ve done a number of days in the sim and we’re pretty confident in our simulations, real life correlation. And, obviously, we’d love to test as much as we could, but I have to say we’re pretty confident in that, and we’re going in pretty confident from how we were in 2019, but lot’s changed on everyone’s cars, but especially ours. …Everything that we’ve seen so far suggests we’ll be in the fight for sure. Jarvis: I think naturally we would prefer to have tested that, but we can’t test at every track, but we’ll do all the preparation we can before we arrive. I think it’s more difficult from what I’ve seen from the schedule. We have just two one-hour sessions, we’re running three drivers. It’s great to have JB back with us. He brings so much to the team. I’m not sure what other teams would do. Maybe they’ll run two, but testing is quite limited. So I think it’s important that we arrive there with a good setup, which is where the simulation plays a huge role. We’ll also have a good idea of a base setup from 2019, but that’s not to say stuff hasn’t changed in the year or two since. I think the great thing about DPi and IMSA is everybody’s constantly making progress. If you stand still, you fall behind. So we can’t underestimate our competition. I think already in 2019, qualifying was extremely close — a few hundredths, if not a few thousandths. So I expect it to be close again, the qualifying and certainly the race much tougher than in 2019, in some respects. We were very strong, but also we were made to look even stronger by the way some of our competitors approach the race. Q: And, we know that there was a BOP adjustment for you guys ahead of this weekend. Is that something that you’re able to simulate in the simulators specifically and how does that work in that kind of process? Tincknell: Yeah, we can simulate it and I think in general, IMSA can simulate everything like that as well, so that they know what they’re giving people in terms of power, weight, but also what that should give in that time, as well. But it’s a moderate adjustment. As far as I’m aware, it’s something that we probably should have already had before, and it just sort of calculates differently, so I don’t think it’s a game changer by any stretch. I think it’s all going to be pretty honest, even compared to Detroit. Jarvis: Just touching on what Harry said. I did the simulation and it’s almost nothing, especially at a track like Watkins because it’s very much in the lower RPMs. … You’re not often in that lower RPM. Q: We’ve seen a lot of travel challenges still in this pandemic. I know in the UK specifically, there’s very strict travel, quarantine restrictions. Have you guys, how have you sort of juggled that in between races and I know Harry, you’ve done the LMS races in addition, have you, or are you at, have you been at home at all, Harry, or are you sort of on the go at all times And Olly, are you at home right now? Ticknell: I’ve not really been at home. I’ve just been on the go. I think I’m in my ninth hotel of this current trip tonight before the flight to America tomorrow. So, yeah, it’s interesting times … but it’s been a nice time. It’s actually really good system in the UK with the elite sportsmen’s exemptions and stuff like that … Jarvis: Yeah, similar situation. I mean, I was fortunate enough. I’ve been home since Detroit, but following all the guidelines. We’re allowed to travel for work purposes. Like Harry touched upon, it is just staying safe. … Q: Olly, it seems like you don’t always roll off the truck quick but come qualifying, you’re there. Any reason for that, just in terms of exploring other setups, going from a two- to a one-car operation this year, has that had any effect on how you attack a weekend? Jarvis: I think certainly Mid-Ohio we didn’t roll off the truck in a window we would have liked to have been. I thought Detroit was much better, but I think over the years, we’re very methodical in the way that we work through the sessions and we were constantly improving the car. And I think somewhere like … Detroit, we just got better and better throughout the weekend. And we ended up with a very good race car. It’s certainly not an intention to start the first session off the pace. We’d much rather roll out and be the quickest car and progress from there, but it’s just the way things have played out so far this year. Like I said, I think we made a big step in Detroit. We expected Mid-Ohio to be a tough race. It was surprising how quick we actually ended up in qualifying and the race itself. But again, that was fantastic work by the team to constantly improve the car. And I think that puts us in a good position for the rest of the year, because if we do arrive at a circuit and where we’re not where we want to be, we know we have the tools and the capability to continually improve. Q: And Harry, for a lot of the DPi guys over the last couple of months, fuel mileage and saving fuel seems to be a bit of a hot button. Is that on your list of priorities when you’re sitting in there today? Ticknell: Yeah, a little bit. Obviously I’m focusing on set up, mainly, but … obviously fuel saving and managing … consumption saved versus that time lost is absolutely vital. So for sure we know those numbers, as does everyone else, but there’s definitely a little finessing you can do with the driver to maximize that. … Q: With the sim, what is the technology in updating the racetrack and in terms of grip levels. So we haven’t been to The Glen in a couple of years. I’m not sure if the track has got any bumpier just from the New York winter stuff like that. Is that you essentially running as you did in 2019 with a track in the SIM, or are there any updates there that the team puts in? Tincknell: … We have a lot of very clever people here who are constantly sort of helping update that, that model and that sim, and I think we’ve got a situation right now where we’re pretty confident in the changes the we make on the sim and how they correlate to real life, but for sure that the tracks do change slightly and everything like that, but we obviously have a lot of real life data and other things that we can do to sort of check the correlation. And then, of course, once we get to real life, let’s see the data. On Friday we’ll know even more that the facts here, the case and that correlation is pretty good. … Q: Quick one for Jonathan. Great to see you back, mate, have you been in a car since Sebring? I know you haven’t tested at The Glen, but have you tested elsewhere? Bomarito: Oh, these guys give me the crappy jobs and send me over to do the car shake counts and stuff like that. So, yeah, all the grunt work for the superstars. … No, it’s been good. I have done a couple of those, so it keeps me around the team and engineers and just updated with any new updates to the dash and systems and things like that. So, I’ve been involved on a small level still, but I’m not in the car as much as I have been in the past. It’s hard to miss some of the races, for sure. My wife’s been having to deal with me a lot more at home, which isn’t good. Watching the races on TV is a whole different perspective that you’re going through. I have the computer going, the TV going, I’m trying to watch the timing. And I’m trying to think about what’s going on. I’m texting Olly when he’s out of the car or whatever, and just it’s been a change for sure, but it’s all been good. But I can’t wait to get back to the track, that’s for sure. Q: I spoke to another DPi guy who’s running full time who said they tested (at Watkins Glen), and he said he had to go back and do extra training because recognizing just how much grip and force around that circuit. Does that, have you been hitting it hard to make sure you’re ready to go? Bomarito: Yeah. I mean, I just add a little bit more padding to the headrest, so I just rest. No, it’s all good. I think, from a physical standpoint, I’m fine in the car. And, I do a lot of work around the house here and stay fit and I’m ready to go. I feel confident about it. We feel good about the car and I think we’re all three just kind of ready to get back to Watkins. It’s such an amazing track. It’s a good track for our car. At least it has been in the past. Can’t wait, man, looking forward to it. Q: Harry, I believe I recall just a couple of years ago, the last time we were at Watkins Glen, you had to hold off Montoya there in that final hour, making a nice pass for the lead there in the boot section. Just how hard do you remember driving in that final hour of Watkins Glen? Tincknell: So given everything at that point, I mean, we’d led for so, so much of the race. I think JB and I won the award for most laps led in the season primarily because we led pretty much that whole six-hour race. … It was an interesting one really, because if I remember right, the safety car protocol wasn’t followed correctly. So I actually went ahead of him and then he overtook me, and I think those rules now are much more defined in the championship. … Q: And then these next two races at Watkins Glen, obviously as mentioned earlier, a big, big track for Mazda with it being their first win in DPi. And the first 1-2 finish in IMSA competition. How much has this been circled on the calendar or how important is this race? Tincknell: Yeah, definitely. It is very important. And obviously two races in a row, back to back weekends at Watkins. … If you put a fast race car down this weekend and you’re probably gonna have exactly the same next week, as well. So it’s kind of like double points up for grabs potentially. So, sure, we go in there with more confidence. But look, it doesn’t always work out the same way, that just because you’re quick at a track last year, it means that you’ll be quick as two years ago. … So we’re not taking anything for granted. I think it will be a little closer to this time round, but I definitely think we have a car to be in the fight. The fact that we were on the front row in Detroit, which is traditionally one of our weakest circuits, gives me a little confidence that we’re going to have a pace. But we still got to go there and prove that we can do it, but I think everyone’s excited and motivated. … Q: Every time we talk to Ricky Taylor, he keeps telling us the points are closer than they appear. I get the feeling that he’s very aware of what your team can do. Can you just talk about the championship at this point and how you guys are in the thick of the battle. Tincknell: I didn’t even know how many points you get for a win or what the gap was until you guys just told us earlier, so that just shows how much sort of, we’re just focusing on race by race or suddenly I have a firm from that point of view, I know it’s all changed this year and I couldn’t even tell you how many points it was. I just want to try and win as many races as we can. And then if we do that and if we can’t win, finish second, you can’t finish second, finish third, and so on. By the end of the championship, we’re going to be in a good position. … It’s very, very competitive … , but clearly a couple of the Cadillac teams had some bad luck or some, some instance in the start of the season, but they’ve come good recently, too. So it’s all still very tight, I’m sure. … At some point, we’re gonna have to start taking race wins and take the points with them. … Q: Jonathan, you’re a part-time driver with the team, but you can win the Endurance Cup. So how important is that to you? Bomarito: Yeah, that’d be great. I mean, obviously my first goal is to contribute to the team so we can get a championship for Harry and Olly and Mazda and Multimatic and all the partners. But the endurance cup would be huge. I mean, it is pretty cool that IMSA does that for teams that are just wanting to run that, that come over and run the four biggest races in the States and for the third drivers that we can still fight for a given championship, as well. We’re still right in the hunt for that with two races to go with Watkins and Petit and feel good about it. I mean, we have arguably the two hardest races for us out of the way with Daytona and Sebring. We had great podiums at both. I think we have a good shot at that and overall championship at this point. Q: You’re coming from a two-car team to a one-car team. And Jonathan, since you’re hopping in for the long hauls, what type of dynamic does that bring to you in terms of just dealing with a single-team structure? Have you seen anything different? Does it relate to the way you approach this? Bomarito: I mean, it’s definitely a change. It’s the first time the program has been a one-car team since the start. I think they’ve done a very good job of taking all the best components of that program and consolidating it into a core group of people. Probably have even more — definitely have more full-time employees (on one) car now. So I think they’re much stronger as far as the workload when we’re not at the track. We have more cars and resources to cycle through because we’ve consolidated the program down to one car, but it’s definitely a transition. I think they’ve done a great job of it. And from a driver standpoint, it almost helps a little bit because there’s less people. Everybody wants their piece of this and that. It’s a little bit easier when there’s less of that going around. But I think it’s worked well. That’s been definitely a change for me going into a third driver role. … The third driver just seems to come in (and) be low-maintenance, and I’m trying to do that my hardest and come in and just do the job, get your stints done, leave the car in good condition for going all the way to go finish the race. But I mean, I think it’s been good. So we’ve still been able to develop the car and the right processes involved, like all he was hitting on earlier. We’ve still been able to make a lot of progress through sessions. It seems like, through all the practice sessions and get to the race and not miss too much information like we had more information from a two-car team. I think it’s been OK so far, Q: Oliver, do you have anything to add or any reflection? Jarvis: No, I think JB’s touched on most stuff. … Being a one-car team, you do lack that option of the two cars going in different directions on the setup. In the past, we’d always have maybe slightly different setups on the car or one would focus on, let’s say front dampers, the other one would focus on a geometry change. So you have much less options available to you to actually focus on and get the setup right. And that’s where I think this year has done an incredible job. Just being that one-car team, it puts you on a bit more pressure to make the right setup choices. And so far … we’ve improved the car every session, I think. … Having one car means the whole team’s focused on one car and that now makes life a little bit easier. So there’s pros and cons to both, but certainly in an ideal world, I, from my personal point of view, we’d be running two cars. We’d have JB full time, like last year. … We certainly miss having them around. We were a really good team, got on really well. From a personal side, it’s a shame not to have them at the track every race and, and also our third drivers who brought so much last year, as well, and in previous seasons. I definitely miss that camaraderie, but we understand the reasons behind it and we’re making the best of the situation. Q: Harry, do you have any personal reflections as it relates to this? Tincknell: I’d say Multimatic has so many good people, talented people in the program, and the big thing to me is that pretty much every single person as it’s gone from two cars to one car, has stayed. We just have so much brain power and knowledge and experience on one car rather than spread across two cars. So, for me, that’s a key factor really that while it has gone down to one car, we haven’t lost half of the brainpower. We still got very, very intelligent engineers and guys and girls on the car, who remain pretty much there. So that’s very important from my point of view. And, great to see that JB has used his time off from driving to really grow that beard up. So that’s fantastic for the weekend. Q: I guess going to a one-car team, you just have to be that much more decisive. That’s one thing about race car drivers. So when it gets down to it, what are you going to do? You’re going to be decisive. Tincknell: You haven’t got a backup if the lead car goes wrong at the moment. So again, massive credits to Multimatic and AAR and everyone involved on the reliability side. The car has been super strong all year. Touch wood that that’s going to remain the same. That was a crucial part because I think if we didn’t get through Daytona and Sebring, we wouldn’t have a chance for the championship. So that’s obviously great. And we just continue on with the same focus. |
