Catching up with Leonardo Pulcini (DAV Racing)
29.07.2015
The young Italian talent claimed his maiden win in the series at Red Bull Ring, at the wheel of his DAV Racing-entered Dallara F312
Leonardo Pulcini, who is making hisfirst full-season campaign in the Euroformula Open, has made quite an impression by winning at Red Bull Ring on Saturday. The talented youngster explains his past, his present… and his future.
Explain us how was your racing career so far? Which steps have you taken?
“I started my racing career in 2011 with karting. I started directly with the KF3 and Junior Rok. I did not race with CSAI Karting Lonato-60 Mini so it was very difficult for me the first year of racing because the other drivers had much more experience than me. But I did a lot of sacrifices, every day, and finally in 2012 I won the Mini Rok Italian and the World Cup, my first two titles in karting. 2013 was a very disappointed year for me, I was very unlucky because I won the CIK FIA WORLD Championship, but due a penalty I finished 2nd in the ranking. And then I also claimed 2nd place in the Italian series and I finished 2nd in the European Championship race. My karting career was finished after only three years. I raced in the F4 Italian Championship, scoring a lot of podiums. Then I took 4th place in the drivers´ championship, but for most of the season I was 2nd in rankings but in the last race two drivers crash into me and I lost crucial points for the championship”
Looking back, how do you assess your participation in the Euroformula Open so far? How was your debut?
“My debut in EF3 Open was at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, last year. I finished 2nd overall in FP2, and 5th in FP1. But my real debut was in Barcelona, the season finale. I brought 7th place in the race. It was difficult for me, because the other drivers had full-season programs, and it was my debut. But I think was not too bad as I finished in the top-ten both races and topped FP1”
Obviously your most emotional moment was your win in Austria. Tell us how do you prepare that weekend in Austria and how feelings were in the car?
“My best moment was my win in Austria for sure. Right now I have some budget problems, so I am looking for a sponsor to give me support, and finally my sacrifice paid off. It was my maiden win ever in my formula career. It was an amazing feeling. I train six hours every day and I am in the gym with Shape Driver, Mr. Beppe Sebastiani. I didn't use simulator for learning the track, so it was difficult. But I learnt the track very fast and the weekend started very well from the very first moments”
You are driving for Matteo Davenia´s team, Describe us, please, how to work with them is. Is it a help considering they are Italian as well?
“It is quite easy for me to work with them because they are Italian, and I have a special feeling with my engineer. We work together to choose the best path to follow with the set-up. The atmosphere at DAV Racing is very nice, for me it is like a family, because I live with them in Milan right now, in the workshop with all the mechanics, so there is a special feeling between them and me.”
Which targets do you set for your career in motorsport?
“I hope to arrive in F1 if we manage to find a sponsor giving me its support, because there is a very good potential for making very good results. But if I don´t achieve that goal, I hope to race in America or with GT cars. My life is all about racing, so I hope to be a professional driver in the future”
Finally, what is your opinion about the Euroformula Open?
“The Euroformula Open is a very good championship, the organization is very serious and I want to thank Mr. Jesús Pareja for the nice person he is and for making this championship. The level of the drivers is very high, if you fast with this Formula 3 car you will be fast for sure in other categories, and Alex Palou or Sandy Stuvik are two good examples in the GP3 Series. I hope the best for this championship because I like it a lot. Finally I would like to thank my father, the Davenia family in particular and my coach Enrico Toccacelo for their collaboration and support”
