Those were Callum’s words ahead of the 23rd running of the prestigious Winter Cup at South Garda this weekend. The success Callum was referring to was his win at the 28th Trofeo Andrea Margutti in 2017 where he became just the eighteenth Brit to win the event joining a list of names that includes Oliver Oakes, Will Stevens, Ben Hanley, Jon Lancaster, Jack Harvey, James Calado, Jack Hawksworth and Tom Joyner.
That win came back in March last year where Callum beat a grid of very tough competition which included the likes of Lorenzo Travisanutto and Fin Kenneally who joined him on the podium. It was Callum’s first win with CRG at the time and now very comfortable with the chassis the even tougher task of winning the Winter cup should be a possibility.
There are 71 drivers entered in total with only one winner crowned come Sunday. Callum’s toughest competition for victory could come within his own team with Pedro Hiltbrand on the grid. Familiar to Callum already this season, Travisanutto is the defending champion and is back and then we have WSK Champions Cup winner Nicklas Nielsen. Looking through the grid at least 20-30 drivers are capable of winning, including Callum, making the first two days of the event crucial!
Friday will see the event officially get underway with Qualifying and the first of the heats. A bad qualifying will set the extremely tough task of trying to work up the order in the three heats each driver has. Sunday morning will see the Super Heats take place where even more points will be up for grabs before the grid for the final is set. No Pre-Final means starting at the back of the Final makes things extremely difficult if you’re aiming to win so by this point Callum will be hoping to be starting in the top ten at least!
As for the track itself, the recently modified South Garda circuit provides a fast first sector and a final sector that provides overtaking opportunities at every single corner. Last year’s final saw a four-way battle go all the way down to the wire with a CRG chassis on the podium which is positive for Callum and the team heading into the weekend. Big crowds are expected as ever not just around the circuit, but also on the live stream!
Callum comes into the event having shown impressive pace at the WSK Super Master Series first round and the SKUSA Winter Series Vice Champion! He’s in good form and will be hoping for a big improvement on his 23rd place last year.
Ahead of the Winter Cup Callum commented: “The winter cup in Lonato will hopefully be successful as I like the track a lot and have had success at this track before. The team and I will be giving it everything!”
You can find out more details about the event this weekend on Callum’s website here
Images courtesy of Alex Vernardis / The RaceBox