Why the man who penned the winning Peugeot is now working with Ginetta
Ginetta’s partnership with A.R.S also brought with it a valuable introduction to Paolo Catone, the man behind the design of Peugeot’s 2009 Le Manswinning 908 HDI FAP LMP1. The Italian is working as a consultant to Ginetta’s P1 project. He brings a wealth of experience, but even he has been impressed by the level of Ginetta’s programme so far.
“What is good for me is that, with a project like this, I am always able to still learn something,” says Catone.
“Peugeot was a great project, but it was just different. Here we continue to learn and push performance forward. The level of performance we have now is nothing to do with what we had at Peugeot, just because you progress so much every year.
“For me this type of testing [windtunnel] is amazing now. The kind of technology and quality of the model now is a big step over what we had two or three years ago, let alone what we had in 2009! The level has increased so much both with testing and analysis. It shows on the track too as we now have LMP2 cars lapping almost as fast as the 908 did when it won Le Mans!
“For me this project appeals as I am not the head designer, I’m not the aero guy, I just bring my experience. I have people around me with much different experiences and we match them all together as best we can. It is a great experience to work like this. It is an open book. To have a car born from a process like this is a very special thing.”