Continental Tire IMSA Spotlight: Alex Riberas

IMSA Spotlight: Alex Riberas
Driver: No. 23 Heart of Racing/AJR Porsche 911 GT3 R
Follow: @AlexRiberas

How does it feel to have claimed your first WeatherTech Championship victory of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca?

“It feels absolutely fantastic. The entire Heart of Racing crew was just perfect all weekend long. We were the fastest GTD car in all of the free practice sessions and I was able to put the Heart of Racing Porsche on pole.

“I got a good start and was able to hand the car over to Mario P1 and he brought it home in first. We led every lap of the race. It’s one of those weekends you can only dream about and suddenly the dream came true.”

It seemed the whole weekend went to plan. Tell us about it…

“We knew our Heart of Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R would be strong for Laguna and somehow the team was extremely motivated. The team has a lot of data on the track and I did my homework to learn the track and the hard work clearly paid off. We were fast with the car the minute we unloaded it off of the trailer.”

You’ll be completing the rest of the season with the team, in your first full season of American racing. What are you looking forward to the most?

“I look forward the most to any single day I spend in the United States of America. I still haven’t had a sad day in the country. I just love it.

“I feel extremely blessed and grateful to the people who made this happen. The only way I can give it back is by giving everything I have on the racetrack.”

It was your first time at MRLS and you won. Any tricks for learning new tracks?

“The trick is to have an awesome co-driver that tells you the best driving tips on the track walk. I have to say Laguna Seca is a very interesting layout. The Corkscrew is one of the craziest turns I have driven.”

How has it been working with your co-driver, Mario Farnbacher?

“Mario is like the brother I never had. It doesn’t get much better than sharing a car with him. The chemistry is just magnificent.

“I’m looking forward to learn a lot from him this year. In addition the team is very close as well. Ian James is a true professional who is also giving me a lot of input on all the new tracks I will run at this season.”