“Emil Frey is a great name, a great team”

(Motorsport-Total.com) – He’s a true veteran: Franck Perera has been racing GT for over seven years and was included in the Lamborghini business team in 2018. During his career, he’s driven the traditional Austrian Grasser team, but the French is currently driving for Emil Frey in ADAC GT Masters. The 38-year-old compares the two Lamborghini teams.

“Grasser had a lot of experience here at ADAC GT Masters,” he says. “They’ve been here for a long time. Grasser was like family to me too. I spent many years with them. They were also a part of when I came to Lambo. So I really respect the team. It’s a bit strange without them in Austria.”

His move to Frey isn’t much of a change for Perera: “I already had a season with Emil Frey in 2020, and last year they called me for 24 hours at the spa. Emil Frey is a big name, a great team. He has great potential. It’s a new team. In this tournament but we are doing really well.”

Good start to the season

So far, Pereira and fellow Frenchman Arthur Rogier are second at Oschersleben. After four races in Germany and Spielberg, Austria, the Frey duo finished ninth overall. “We’ve had a bit of bad luck so far, but it’s not easy with three vehicles either,” Pereira says.

“We can still improve some points,” the Frenchman added. “But the potential is there. We started the season first, we could have won. But Arthur was still improving. This week he is getting better. The season can only get better.” Roger is 22 and won the French Formula 4 championship in 2017. But the youngster still has a lot to learn in GT3 racing.

In his career, Pereira has worked with many different drivers. In GT3 racing, it is common practice to share the car with a teammate. In Pereira’s case, Ezequiel Perez Compan, Rolf Invention, Albert Costa and young Roger, was the Frenchman’s latest teammate.

Who was the best teammate?

But who was the most powerful driver? “You can’t say who’s better,” Pereira says diplomatically. “Sure, I had a good relationship with Albert. We still have a good relationship too, no issues. But this year has not been easy in terms of BoP [Balance of Performance] And everything. And the rules were different, a different race director and everything… We could say we weren’t so lucky for many reasons.”

Perera shares “many beautiful moments” with Ineichen. “Last year I had one of the best seasons with him,” says the 38-year-old driver. “We finished seventh in the championship. If you look at the level, it’s crazy. We were only 10 points behind the #63 car. That was huge.”

© Alexander Trenitz

Frank Pereira looks at his teammates Zoom

Rogier is Pereira’s first French teammate who has lived in Italy and the USA during his career. That is why he says: “Although I am a French driver, I often do not feel French. I grew up in other countries. But we are making progress step by step. He is very young, 16 years younger than me. There is a big difference.”

Although the pilots are “two completely different people,” Pereira says Fry’s project is “interesting”. “Young drivers are getting old,” says the veteran, who is now one of the world’s most popular GT3 drivers. “It’s competition for me too. She wants to see if you’re still faster than the young drivers.”