As 2021 draws to a close, France Bleu Bourgogne invites you to come back to the personalities of Côte-d’Or who have marked this year. Today, it’s Charles Milesi, a young racing driver from Talant.
Last August, for his second participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he won the legendary race in the LMP2 category, reserved for independent teams, smaller and less known to the general public than the big manufacturers such as Peugeot or Toyota. A first step in the big leagues for the 20-year-old pilot who intends to make more talk about him in 2022.
France Bleu Bourgogne: Six months after your victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, what do you have left?
Charles Milesi : It was a year where there were a lot of challenges because with my team, we were really beginners and they had no experience in that category, it was their first participation. So, to succeed in a year like this, we will say that we ticked all the boxes: with a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a world champion title, we could not necessarily do better. But we will say that for me, it was really a successful year.
How do you feel when you take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans when you are only 20 years old?
I was pretty confident and relaxed because we didn’t necessarily have the pressure. It was the first year with this team at Le Mans and we knew that for us it was not going to be easy, but that if we really did everything we had learned from the previous races, it was going to be fine. We tried to do a really clean job.
Were you waiting for this on this race?
The performance was there directly. We knew we just had to erase the mistakes we made at the start of the season and we managed to do it for Le Mans. It was the most important. As I said, work always pays off and we will say that since the start of the year, we had really worked a lot for this race. I think we can be proud of what we have done.
In October, you had two victories in Bahrain. What state of mind were you in? Was it a confirmation from Le Mans?
Arriving in Bahrain, we are still in contention for the Championship (from the World, editor’s note). The fact that we won Le Mans and that our direct competitors had a bit of bad luck and missed each other in that race meant that we immediately came back to a point in the championship. We were relatively confident because, if there is one race to be won in the year, it was Le Mans, and we knew that we had succeeded. The championship was a bonus. The first race was a bit complicated at the start, during practice because it was the first time we were going on this circuit. We managed to win two races in a row. We are really proud of what we have done. I think we couldn’t do better than to finish with three wins in a row.
In Bahrain, you had the opportunity to try out a Toyota. Is this something exceptional for a pilot?
It is an experience apart. Toyota gave me the opportunity to try it out, with about a month’s preparation.
And according to you, is it thanks to your victory at Le Mans that we offered you this opportunity?
Obviously, Le Mans highlights us as a driver. But I would say that it is especially after the performances that I was able to have over a whole season.
After this year 2021, what are you waiting for? What can we wish you for 2022?
My goal now is to be with a builder (Peugeot, Toyota, etc. Editor’s note). I won Le Mans in LMP2 (category reserved for teams independent of manufacturers. Editor’s note), now I would like to win it overall with my constructor. This is something that will be even more difficult, because in 2023 there will be a lot of competitors. To manage to get a victory, it will not be easy. Normally, after that, it should open a little more for 2023 and 2024!