Nathanaël Berthon - Motivated and determined

During last year’s race you claimed pole position and finished third overall.  How do you approach the next round? What are your goals and what will you do to achieve them?

Yes that's true; in fact, every time I get in the car at Paul Ricard, ever since I’ve been driving sports prototypes, I have always been the fastest.

This year the situation has changed a bit because there are a lot of very competitive cars entered in the series.  For sure I’d like to qualify in pole position, especially after Austria where we got caught out by the red flag ... we missed pole position by just a whisker.

We have a good car and I feel really confident on this track, so we will be aiming for the front row and, if possible, pole.

As for the race, we could have won last year but were given a penalty for an internal error which cost us 30 seconds.  We therefore finished on the third step of the podium but we should have done much better.

We have what it takes to get good results. We must pay attention and be efficient, and if we do that we should have a good race.

Qualifying is important on a personal level, and the result of the race is very important for the team as a whole so we’re going to give everything to be at the front.

Murphy Prototype is currently 5th in the overall standings: how do you see the end of the season going? There are two races to go and everything to play for…what can you do to move up the rankings?

We have a very good package with the ORECA 03 but ORECA has really done a very, very good job with the 05. It’ll be difficult to compete against it. However, we keep getting the most we can out of the 03 and the best proof of that is that we are usually the highest finishers of the four 03s on the grid.  To do better we have to move on to the 05, it's the car that won Le Mans in LMP2 after all... but it's still too early for the team even though I know it would have liked to do it this year.

August is holiday time for many people, was it for you? And what are your 2016 goals?

No, I can’t say that I took a lot of holidays, the opposite in fact.  Just one week in early August, but the rest of the time I was involved in several events that I hadn’t necessarily foreseen. For example, a Formula E test, features for Auto Moto (TF1), marketing plans….I didn’t sit still for long in fact. 

How is Formula E?

It's really interesting. We can’t talk about pure performance because it is completely different. I drove it just after being in GP2 at the Grand Prix of Spa and obviously one is nothing like the other, you don’t even get to 230 km/h.  It’s much slower, but it's a mobile laboratory as much for the technology as for the team, the strategy, developing the drivers particularly when it comes to energy saving ...these are also key points in endurance racing.  What I've learned in endurance over the last two years will serve me in Formula E and vice versa.  So, it was really interesting.

It is a great championship and I would like to be part of it next year, if possible with a prototype programme too.  Of course, I’d love to drive for a manufacturer but equally with a good team in LMP2 which can also be very rewarding. In terms of my intentions for next year, I don’t think I’ll be in GP2 again and we all know that F1, even if it is the dream of every single-seater driver, is really difficult to get in to.  My future is therefore certainly turning towards endurance racing and why not Formula E?

What can you say about Circuit Paul Ricard?

To be honest, before endurance racing, I’d never really had good results at this track and it wasn’t one of my favorites. But since I’ve been there with the ELMS, and done well, I’m beginning to love it. Obviously the facilities are really good and it is a very beautiful circuit.  The big asphalt run-offs let you seek out thousandths of a second, it's easier than on other circuits where you can’t afford to make any mistakes...

Going through Signes is, I have to say, a fabulous feeling; it’s one of the track’s most distinctive corners.  In addition, last year there were a lot of spectators which surprised me.  I hope they will all be there again and it really is good to see there is the craze in France for endurance racing!

The European Le Mans Series is really starting to be significant.  It looks great, there are good drivers, great teams and it’s a championship that is growing well, becoming more and more professional and which is also fun!