Ending the circuit season in style: Aliyyah Koloc looking forward to her first night race
The weekend races at the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet will not only mark the end of the 2022 French GT4 Sports Car Championship (FFSA GT4), but also the circuit season of Buggyra ZM Racing. Aliyyah Koloc and David Vršecký in a Mercedes-AMG GT4 will once again defend the team’s colors on the famous track.
And since the season is supposed to end with something special, the 18-year-old pilot and her mentor are in for a big premiere. On Saturday, they will start a night race for the first time. The first one-hour race at Paul Ricard starts shortly after 9 p.m. The second cup race is scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
"The year full of challenges does not end. For the first time, we will run the entire race at night. It is again something different from what we are used to. But given that endurance races will be our circuit priority in the coming years, we consider it an absolute necessity to gain experience driving at night," explained Buggyra's head of communications, Jan Kalivoda.
Aliyyah Koloc has only done one race so far that ended in the dark. In the summer, as part of the FFSA GT4 championship, she started at Spa-Francorchamps at half past eight in the evening. But the light conditions were completely different, and this time the race will be driven in darkness right from the start.
"It will be another very interesting experience. Night races are something special. It is necessary to pay even more attention to what is happening in front of and behind the car and to react quickly to possible critical moments," said Aliyyah.
David Vršecký will make his debut in the south of France at another circuit known from Formula 1, similar to this year in Silverstone or Spa-Francorchamps. Also, for the two-time European champion in circuit truck racing, the night race will be a challenge.
"I'll like this end to the season. It's going to be a big fight because nobody gives you an inch of track in this championship. At Le Castellet, there is a top track that was designed as a model of safety for other world circuits when it was renovated. I'm very curious about it and I'm looking forward to it," said the experienced driver.
FFSA GT4 race schedule at Circuit Paul Ricard:
Saturday 15.10.
21:10 First race
Sunday 16.10.
14:35 Second race
Live timing and TV broadcast: https://ffsagt.gt4series.com/live
