From Covid Disruption To Corvette Glory: Varonne’s Journey To The Centenary Le Mans
DSC checks in with Corvette Racing's Argentinan young gun ahead of the final GTE race at Le Mans
10 June 2023, 1:15 PM
At its tightly-contested Silver level, the sportscar driver market exhibits plenty of talent. Yet, sometimes circumstances allow pure ability to transcend the commercial requirements that so often accompany a top-line drive.
Today, Nicolas Varrone will take on the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second time in his career. At 22 years of age, he is among the youngest competitors to have seen the starting ‘Tricoleur’, but his rapid ascent to a full-time factory drive speaks volumes for his versatility and pace across a variety of disciplines.
Currently running a season in the IMSA SportsCar Championship LMP3 programme with AWA, Nicolas landed a class win at the Daytona 24 Hours in his first outing and just missed out on a podium at the 12 Hours of Sebring. But a higher profile parallel season in the World Endurance Championship is starting to focus attention on the young Argentinian.
A background in single-seaters yielded results, but somehow Varrone’s career didn’t really get the breaks until dogged determination by his manager eventually paid off:
“The last three years has seen a big change for me,” explains Nico, “The pandemic was a big problem – I ran out of money. I struggled to find the support to get into Formula 3, so ended up just doing a few races rather than a real campaign. So, with Covid I did one or two races then I had to stop – I had nothing and returned home to Buenos Aires.
“For me that was tough, the end of my career – get a job, maybe work in the family business… racing was finished.
“But my manager, Jose Balbiani, is a really close friend of Michele Rinaldi (Rinaldi Racing’s owner). Jose said to me, ‘We’re not finished, you’re coming back.’ Jose went over to the Spa 24 Hours where Michele was running his team and stood outside his motorhome for an hour to convince him to try me at their next test at Portimao.
“At first he didn’t want to know, they had their drivers, but Jose didn’t give up and in the end Michele gave in just to shut him up!”
From there Varrone turns laps in an LMP3 car and turned heads, leading to a one-off drive at the end of the 2020 Le Mans Cup season.
“That was a really good weekend,” he explained. “The team was new to LMP3 but we were top three in every practice. We really could have won, but stormed back through the field from 14th to 5th after a penalty. The rest of the guys on the team really backed me and from that moment on Michele has been super supportive. By the end of 2021 we developed that car into one of the fastest in the series.”
“Then in 2022, Pierre Ehret was developing a full season ELMS entry with Michele, who got me into their Ferrari 488 GTE as the Pro driver alongside two Bronzes.” Nicolas chuckled, “How I got that drive was crazy. I got the call from Michele to get to Paul Ricard where the ELMS was testing. I arrived and the atmosphere felt weird, as if they wouldn’t let me test the car. It was Pierre’s car but he had no idea if I was going to test it, so I had to keep my reason for being there quiet. Nothing was happening on the first day and I was getting frustrated. So the next day I turned up in my race suit looking ready to drive.
“It really was like stealing a car… we waited until he went out for some laps for fun in one of his older collection of Ferraris, and Michele said, ‘Quick, get in..!’ I was strapped into the GTE but then the session was red flagged, so Pierre came into the pits. What was even funnier was that the mechanics knew what was going on and formed a wall in front of Ehret’s car as I was sent out. I was immediately really fast– I passed Pierre on the track and he was like, ‘Who is driving my car?!’”
“Pierre got over it when we won in our first race… and then he and Christian Hook needed a Pro for their Le Mans crew.” The Rinaldi Racing Ferrari went on to finish Le Mans 17th in class.
A last-minute call-up and win at the 24 Hours of Barcelona and a pole in IMSA in LMP3 at Watkins Glen were among the highlights of a successful 2022, when a meeting with Jeroen Bleekemoelen (with whom Varrone had shared the winning Rinaldi Ferrari at Barcelona) transformed the Argentinian’s career for 2023.
“I was waiting to see if Michele had something for me, but Jeroen recommended me for a rookie test at Bahrain with Corvette at the end of the WEC season. I turned up, did the shootout, got up to speed quickly and felt comfortable. I had done my best and went home to Buenos Aires.
“Two weeks later I got an invitation for another test at Sebring, which was kind of frustrating at first as I hate doing all this travelling for a shootout – it’s you or the other guy, and they’re good drivers.”
“So, while all my friends were celebrating Argentina’s World Cup win, I was on my way to the airport again…” It was a mixed test on old and new tyres, up against Nicky Catsburg as a reference. By about 3 laps I was cutting three-tenths off Nicky’s times. The session was cut short through rain but, again, I was nervous but knew I had done my best and went home.”
“My family Christmas holiday was interrupted by a message from Ben Keating saying, ‘Are you ready to come and fight for our championship with me?’ I was just crying, very emotional. It’s a long story, but I want to tell it to mention and thank all these important people in my career.”
My family Christmas holiday was interrupted by a message from Ben Keating saying, ‘Are you ready to come and fight for our championship with me?’
Verrone, Catsburg and Keating have shown near-perfect form so far for Corvette Racing in this year’s WEC, winning at Sering and Portimao and finishing on the Podium at Spa. Moving on to Le Mans then, how will Nico use his experience with the Ferrari last year?
“I learned a lot of stuff last year. Le Mans is a unique track because you only come here once a year. I drove almost 11 hours during the night, so it gives you a lot of experience in dealing with traffic, slow zones, fuel saving, change of temperatures and how to manage how tired you are, especially when the sun is coming up in the morning and you are flat out with it in your face. Also, you get that same feeling as when you are tired in your road car.
“You’re flat out, but the fatigue makes you unaware – that’s when mistakes can happen. Even being disconnected for a millisecond at that speed can be disastrous. You have to work with your team on the radio to stay sharp and present.”
“The Ferrari is a great car, but I’m really impressed with the handling of the Corvette. I immediately noticed it here right from Turn 1. The braking is so efficient and gives you a lot of confidence, which helps at the limit. Also, how the car rotates, in its axis, is just wonderful. In the Porsche Curves, for example, the car feels like an LMP3 car – and its fast. I enjoy every lap.
“Plus, I have joined this really great team. They know how to win, and I try to contribute back, but I learn so much from them. Also, the learning experience with Nicky and Ben is so good for me – as a racing driver and as a person.”
Today, for the most important race of his career, he will start from pole. In just over 24 hours, he will hope it will end with a famous victory.