Frijns “Not Taking No for An Answer” in Pier Guidi Battle

Robin Frijns was “not taking no for an answer” in his battle with Ferrari driver Alessandro Pier Guidi in Saturday’s 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, which saw the two drivers clash as they fought over podium positions in the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The No. 20 BMW Hybrid V8 and the No. 51 Ferrari 499P made contact on two occasions in a battle that also involved the No. 36 Alpine A424 of Mick Schumacher.

The two drivers first came to blows when Schumacher overtook Pier Guidi at Stavelot, compromising the Italian’s exit speed and subsequently allowing Frijns to pull alongside.

The Dutchman then attempted to swoop around the left of Pier Guidi’s Ferrari but was forced to take to the runoff, making high-speed contact with the No. 51 car before charging through to take the position.

A lap later, Pier Guidi got back ahead after he used a well-executed, late-braking pass around the outside of both the Alpine and BMW at the final chicane.

However, a better exit for Frijns allowed him to attempt another overtake on Pier Guidi out of La Source and the run down to Eau Rouge, where the two cars again touched before Pier Guidi straight-lined Raidillon at the top of the hill.

In that case, race control ordered Pier Guidi to hand the position back to Frijns.

Speaking after the race, Frijns described the battle as “exciting,” but criticized the aggressive nature of Pier Guidi’s defensive tactics.

“I was definitely not taking no for an answer,” he said.

“This was clear. It was also exciting in the car to be honest.

“It was both occasions where everybody is battling hard and try to be fair but I find that if you have a momentum and you go side by side heading to Eau Rouge, I would say one of the most dangerous corners in the world, and you try to squeeze me into the wall… give me a bit of space.

“I’m there, I’m not going to move, I’m not going back out. Especially when he tried to squeeze me more and more, I would definitely not back out at all.

“I just find it a bit unfair, I would say. At the end of the day, we do endurance racing. It’s not like DTM in the 80s or the 90s where the elbows are out 24/7.”

When asked if the increasingly close nature of the Hypercar field could lead to an increase of this kind of high-risk, contact-heavy battling, Frijns replied it is “hard to say.”

“I mean, when we were battling heading into Blanchimont, he had a bad exit and I go for it and he again pushed me off,” he said.

“So I gave him a sign, like I turned back on and I hit him again. So yeah, everybody is very close together. It’s great racing and I like it.

“I did enjoy it, being on the limit, but it’s also what the people want to see at the end of the day.

“But if I would go off and hit the wall with 250 [kilometers per hour], we would talk differently.”

While the No. 20 BMW would later be retired with a brake issue, Pier Guidi went on to capture a second consecutive victory alongside Antonio Giovinazzi and James Calado.

“I think it was a nice fight, to be honest,” the Italian said about the battle.

“Sometimes you are on one side, sometimes you are on the other side. To be honest I never complained about anything. I think it was quite okay.

“When I overtook at Eau Rouge they asked me to give the position back and I gave the position back.

“I did what they asked me and I have nothing else to say. I think it was quite nice to watch from outside.”

Jamie Klein contributed to this report