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Giacomo Ghermandi broke his Achilles Tendon this month. But despite that, he is working on to be on the grid of the third round in Poznan, Poland.
Giacomo, this is your first season in TCR Eastern Europe. How is it going for you now?
My season had a very good start at Hungaroring, with a 4th place in Race 1 and a 6th place in Race 2. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same thing regarding Slovakiaring, where, right at the beginning of the first race, I was crashed and obliged to retreat after just some meters. Race 2 saw me starting at the bottom, and after a great recovery in positioning, another crash damaged the convergence. This gave me a really hard time and I ended on 11th place. It was a challenging weekend that gave me a lot of lessons to learn from. All in all, we are having a good apprenticeship.
What about the unexpected injury right in the middle of this season? What happened?
Sadly, I broke my Achilles Tendon the 17th of May during a training workout. I was operated urgently only after a few days and a complete reconstruction took place during the surgery. I’ll have to keep a brace for some time and do lots of rehab. The healing process is quite long… it will take me at least for months to have a complete recovery and be able to practice any sport. Luckily, to drive a racing car, I´ll only need my right foot.
It´s a debut season for Giacomo Ghermandi in TCR Eastern Europe this year. Photo: Petr Frýba
How will your goals change now? When will we see you back on the racing track?
It has been quite upsetting finding myself on crutches right in the middle of the season, but now, I’m 100% focused on coming back as soon as possible. My diet is under control, my leg is at rest, and soon enough I’ll start training the upper part of my body to maintain shape. A big challenge. The primary goal is to re-enter the competition in Grobnik, but we are working on being able to be in Poznan, Poland, in all security. We are really doing the best we can, Lema Racing is doing a great job in finding a solution.
What changes will have to be done to race without your left leg?
We’ll need to modify the clutch and the position of the steering wheel. To break, I’ll use my right foot. Fortunately, I’ve done this already in the past in Formula, and the simulator will help me to tain and to be ready to do so. I won’t be able to charge heavy weights on the injured foot for six whole months. To break, you need to charge up to 80 bar, so for this reason, we’ll have to use this strategy until the end of the season. I am motivated, maybe even more than before. It has never been my attitude to surrender in front of obstacles. We’ll see each other in the ring, I’ll fight as usual until the last curve.
Opening photo: Petr Frýba
