ENRICO CARINI joined AJ Foyt Racing in 2023 as a "fly-in" mechanic where he normally works just on race weekends unless the team needs extra help prepping the cars prior to the race weekend. He also works for another top name in motorsports in IMSA's GTP division--WTR Andretti! A master fabricator, he considers restoring a McLaren F1 road-going supercar one of his most significant achievements in his career. Born in California and now living in Oregon, he owns a distillery in Medford, grows his own vegetables (and fruit!), loves to cook, and enjoys spending time with his two sons. We asked him a few questions...
Where do you live now?
EC: "I live near Grants Pass, Oregon nicely tucked away in the forest not far from one of the tallest trees in the world."
Where did you go to college (degree)?
EC: "I went to college for welding metallurgy at College of San Mateo and then went through the MTP program at Jim Russell Racing Driver School."
How did you become interested in motorsports?
EC: "I met a guy that had a dragster when I was 16 and started helping him with it. We went to the Nationals with the dragster and I saw that people could actually make a career in racing so I decided that’s what I wanted to do."
What was the first race you attended?
EC: "First race I attended was an NHRA event at Sears Point."
When and where did you start your professional career in racing?
EC: "After I completed the MTP (Mechanics Training Program) at Jim Russell in 2004, my first job in racing was as a mechanic with the Finlay Motorsports Daytona Prototype No. 19 BMW in the Grand Am Series."
Have you ever raced cars yourself?
EC: "In 2007 and 2008 I built and raced an Open Road Challenge car in the Nevada Open Road Challenge and the Silver State Challenge. I also did 10 MTP races in the Formula Russell cars at Sears Point."
Carini built this Open Road Challenge car and raced it in Nevada in 2007 and 2008.
Please list major series you've worked in (year/series/ team/job)
EC: "Most of my experience in professional racing is with the IMSA series, this is only my second season in IndyCar. My career has pretty much been Grand Am, IMSA and IndyCar and I’ve done a bit of Vintage racecar restoration. Classes I’ve worked in the sports car arena are: GTP, Daytona Prototype, DPi, GTLM, GT2, GTD, LMP1."
Victory Lane at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
What is your most significant achievement to date?
EC: "Winning the Rolex 24, restoring a McLaren F1 and the BMW V12 LMR. The McLaren F1 is a road-going supercar designed by Gordon Murray and is probably the most valuable modern-day road-going supercar as they fetch around $20M when they come up at auction. I am the only one in the world to have restored one outside of McLaren. The LMR that I restored was not the car that won Le Mans (#15) but one of the other two that competed. The car I restored won the 12 Hours of Sebring."
How did you come to work for AJ Foyt Racing?
EC: "I’ve known Didier (Francesia), car chief of No. 14, for a long time and he asked me to join."
Carini makes an adjustment as Chevroet engineer Greg Kainhofer works in the background.
What do you enjoy most about working in the INDYCAR Series?
EC: "I enjoy how streamlined the schedule and workload can be compared to sports cars but I think I most enjoy the details of building an Indy 500 car."
What is your favorite track and why?
EC: "Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there’s nothing else like it. The first time I saw a car go into turn 1 in person I was really blown away and totally hooked."
What interests/hobbies do you have outside of racing?
EC: "I snowboard a lot in the winter and I like to hunt and fish quite a bit. I grow a big garden at home and I have a lot of fruit trees, I love to cook and be outdoors. In the summer, I do a lot of whitewater rafting and competitive shooting."
Enrico fishing with his sons.
What are the top 3 things on your bucket list?
EC: "Not sure I have a bucket list but I’d like to travel the world more and I’d like to build another open road challenge car to run the unlimited class someday."
What is the best advice you've ever received (and from whom)?
EC: "Steve Challis told me to buy a house as soon as you can."
SANTINO FERRUCCI was on pace and strategy to have a top-five finish last weekend but a pitlane speed violation (which may have been due to a technical glitch) resulted in a drive-through penalty which put him a lap down and back in 18th position. He came back to finish 12th. He is looking forward to the final road course of the season at a track he enjoys.
What do you like most about racing at Portland International Raceway?
SF: "I very much enjoy the track. It's old school with, you know, no runoff. It has a little bit of everything from long radius corners to hairpins and high-speed chicanes. So, it's a very well-rounded track."
Is there one section of the track that is the most challenging?
SF: "There's not any one part that's particularly challenging. The whole track itself is just quite unique because of how the layout is because it has everything -- except elevation changes. That's the only thing it doesn't have."
How does it compare to the other road courses you've raced this year in terms of difficulty?
SF: "It's one of the most difficult road courses for its length, and it kind of stacks up to a similar track like Barber."
Is that good or bad?
SF: "Well, considering we nearly probably could have won there, pretty good."
Is there one section of the track that you really need to get right for a great lap time in qualifying?
SF: "When you start the lap, that high speed chicane is very important because you can find a lot of time there. It's very easy to overstep because when you start your lap with the tires, you're never sure if the tires are fully in. So, it's just a high commitment corner for your very first time which makes it always very interesting."
Since the teams are more familiar with working with the hybrid, do you think it'll be more of a factor at Portland?
SF: "It's hard to say. The hybrid's been very good to us so far, and I think we've been very good at learning the systems with Chevrolet. So, it'll be nice to be back on a road course with the hybrid. But it's still a bit of an unknown for us."
STING RAY ROBB finished ninth at World Wide Technology Raceway last weekend for his career-best finish (his previous best was 12th at Laguna Seca in 2023). Robb was strong throughout the race and led eight laps as different strategies came into play. Coming to Portland International Raceway which he considers his hometown track, Robb will have the support of many friends and family.
Coming off your career-best finish last weekend, how does that impact your season?
SRR: "As great as it is to be coming off our best result, our plans remain the same! We have been building momentum all year and feel as though this is just a step of progress we want to continue."
Do you consider Portland your hometown track since it is the closest to Idaho? Will you have a lot of friends and family at this event?
SRR: "It is the closest thing to a home race! We always have many friends, family, and fans that join there with us. Since moving to Indy, the commute is a bit further and I will be flying instead of driving, but I am excited to head to a place that feels like home."
What do you like most about racing at PIR?
SRR: "It is very high speed in some sections and has a very unique rhythm. It makes for a fun qualifying track."
Is there one section of the track that is the most challenging?
SRR: "The (turns) 4-5-6 section would be the most difficult to find the timing of. The long, multi-apex complex is very pitch sensitive and can lead to getting out of sync."
How does Portland compare to the other road courses you’ve raced this year in terms of difficulty?
SRR: "It is technical in some aspects, but quite short, so that makes little mistakes that much more magnified than at other tracks."
Since teams are more familiar with working with the hybrid, do you think it will be more of a factor at Portland?
SRR: "No more than it already has been. There seems to be a sort of understanding of the system now that makes it easier to use and with less thought."
What is a secret about PIR that few people know about?
SRR: "There is a blackberry patch, at an undisclosed location at the track. This is always a fun pitstop while doing the trackwalk."
The BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland will be broadcast on the USA Network and streamed on Peacock on Sunday, Aug. 25 starting at 3 p.m. ET. All practices and qualifying will be streamed on Peacock.
コメント