Costa “Proud” of DragonSpeed Ahead of GTD Pro Showdown

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Albert Costa has praised the efforts of DragonSpeed to be in the GTD Pro championship fight entering this weekend’s title-deciding Motul Petit Le Mans.

The Spanish driver and the Elton Julian-led privateer Ferrari squad sit just 18 points behind championship leaders Alexander Sims, Antonio Garcia and Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports ahead of Saturday’s ten-hour enduro at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

It is the closest title fight out of the four WeatherTech Championship classes, and one that resonates as a ‘David vs. Goliath’ battle in the all-pro GT3 class.

“At the end, we are against a manufacturer, a big manufacturer like Corvette, and this makes me remember that I have an amazing team behind me,” said Costa.

“They are working so, so hard to give me the best car and the best performance I have on track.

“I never compare anything, but last year in MotoGP… It’s not the same, but different. Jorge Martin won the championship with a private bike.

“I think this race will be the biggest race for the team. I think we are almost 25 people and Corvette, I think have double, because they have two cars and at the end it’s a manufacturer, and they have the manufacturer helping 24/7.”

DragonSpeed, which has received engineering and infrastructure support from Risi Competizione this year, has contested the majority of the season without a factory driver, with Ferrari works pilot Davide Rigon having only been part of the team for the Michelin Endurance Cup races.

It has resulted in Costa being the only driver in the No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3 for the entire season, with fellow independent driver Giacomo Altoe having been in the car for five of the races.

“Sometimes, of course, when Davide is there, we have a little bit more support from the Ferrari factory team,” said Costa. “But during the year we never had it.

“It’s DragonSpeed by Risi that is pushing every day to be the best. I’m super proud of them because with this situation [because] we are against Ford and against Corvette.

“Everybody has a factory driver or somebody behind them that they have a manufacturer behind and we don’t have it when Giacomo and me and driving in the car.”

The team, which scored a breakthrough first class victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July, is on a five-race podium streak entering this weekend, which has been pivotal in their championship quest that Costa said appeared unlikely at the start of the season.

“We’ve been focusing weekend by weekend, never thinking on the championship,” he said.

“To be honest, at the beginning after Daytona, I never planned to be fighting for the championship at the end of the year, really.

“[By] Sebring, I was [thinking], ‘OK, we have some potential to do some good races.’

“But we start to think of the championship at the last race, when we have seen it was real, the real possibility was on the table.

“I think, again, the key for us has been to learn from the mistakes and move forward and focusing every weekend and day by day.”

2024 Petit Le Mans GTD Win Put Contract-Less Costa in Spotlight

Costa will be seeking back-to-back Petit Le Mans class wins, one year after taking GTD honors with Conquest Racing after being told the day before the race that he wouldn’t return to the team in 2025.

“It was bad, to be honest, because the previous day I realized my team was signing Daniel Serra and they were firing me,” Costa revealed.

“I came to the race on Saturday morning, very sad. Very sad because Risi Competizione was closing, so they were finishing [their] program and Conquest Racing was realizing that the seat from Daniel was free.

“Of course, between a private driver to a factory race car driver, I also would like to be with the factory one.

“Friday night, I had a meeting with the team and they said you will not continue. [Two days earlier], I was planning to sign a contract, but now everything changed.

“I was without [a] contract on Saturday morning. The only tool I had in that moment in myself was to win the race or to do as [best] I can, like every day I do. At the end, I think I drove with my heart.

“Of course, I’ve been lucky because the race is long and you need to be in the right place [and] right position with the strategy and many, many other things on the table.

“But everything worked my way, and I [brought] the victory at home in my first attempt. But I think it was about luck, because Saturday morning, [I almost wanted to go home].”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John