Manuela: “Our first race together – actually racing against each other! – was in 2014, in the Ferrari Challenge Europe, at Brno. And that was in a Ferrari 458 Challenge.”

Corinna: “Yeah, that was the first time at Brno, and it was so lovely that we had the chance to race! My father [Thomas] and my brother [David] didn’t have the time to race, so we had that opportunity and I really enjoyed it!”

C: “It’s so nice to race against your sister! You can follow her, watch her, and you can race cleanly with her.”

M: “We were pretty close, but you [Corinna] were in front. At least for the first race, so I can accept that!”

C: “I remember, that first year, we always did the same times…”

M: “Always.”

C: “…and it was so close!”

M: “We are both super competitive, so for us, it was always important who was in front, or who was faster!”

M: “Well it was the first race I have to say, because for our family, it was our first step into endurance racing. It was in Monza… I can’t remember which year,* but it was our first race sharing a GT3 car together and it was a very special moment for all of us. I’d done some endurance racing before that already, so I knew what I was going in to…”

C: “Actually it was Manuela who pushed us into that race, because she’d done it before. And she kept saying, ‘you have to…’ ”

M: “Let’s go, let’s go!”

C: “Let’s go,’ and she just kept pushing until we did that first race together. And it was so lovely!”

M: “Fiiiiinally! It took me years, but finally! I mean, we are used to racing in the same series, and we are used to racing together at the same time. But, to share a car and go all in the same direction, I found that idea really intriguing. We’re used to half-hour sprint races in the Ferraris, and super aggressive starts, etc. But endurance racing is different because there’s much longer stints, tyre management, traffic, strategies, fuel saving… completely different skills than in sprint races. And the key is avoiding accidents…”

C: “When you’re racing as a family, you really don’t want to be the one who makes a mistake!” 

*2020. A pretty good debut it was for the Gostner family too, who were co-driving that weekend with Giorgio Sernagiotto, as the #58 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo went on to finish 4th overall.

M: “Corinna’s favourite circuit is Mugello, for sure. She loves the second sector, she loves the Arrabbiate, and she loves the high-speed corners.”

C: “And Manu loves Imola. It’s rather technical, and she’s a very technical driver.”

M: “Oh it’s not ‘technical, it’s…”

C: “Oh, no no, what’s the word…?... ‘Tough’?”

M: “It’s super tough! At Imola, you can really make the difference as a driver, because you have to be super committed. It’s super old school, and if you really want to set a good time, you really have to commit to every corner.”

M: “I would love to do some more races in the USA. I would like to go to Sebring, Watkins Glen or Laguna Seca. These fascinate me so much, and I really hope, one day, we can go there.”

C: “I’ve been to the USA one time, to Daytona.* But… I don’t know, we’ve done so many circuits together, but you [Manuela] always talk about circuits in America, so maybe we should go there together some time.”

*In 2016, Corinna, Manuela and father Thomas competed at that year’s Ferrari Challenge ‘Finali Mondiali’ season finale at Daytona. 

M: “Oh, Corinna is a great fighter! She has no fear, and she’s a great overtaker. And starter!”

C: “Manuela is a great qualifier. When she has to go, she goes at 1,000 per cent. And she has a great feeling for the car. I don’t have this unfortunately, so when I’m in trouble or the car doesn’t quite work, ‘Manu! Help!’ And she can take that, speak with our engineers…”

M: “It’s fantastic to see her face when that happens: ‘Corrina, how is it?’ [Makes panicked face] ‘I don’t know, I don’t know!’ So I’ll go out, do my run, come back in, ‘Corinna, I think the car does this, this and this.’ [Imitating Corinna] ‘That’s what I wanted to say!’ ”

C: “I don’t know how she does it!”

M: [Slight pause] “She hasn’t done many embarrassing things, but there was one time… she always switches shoes [between sessions], and one time, she was in the race car, already suited up, but she had the wrong shoes on [her sneakers]!”

C:[Laughs] “At the very last moment, I realized – ‘oh my God, there’s something wrong!’ – and I had to get back out. Luckily it wasn’t during a race!”

C: “There’s not much!” [Laughs] “Wasn’t there a race where you did one lap more after the chequered flag?”

M: “No, that was dad.”

C:[Pause] “I only remember the good things…”

M: “I am super serious!” [Both laugh] “But I do have to say, I never try to judge anyone that does something embarrassing, because I have two left hands, and I’m clumsy. I do so many stupid things, so I can’t really laugh when Corinna does something silly!”

M: “Corinna is very… careful. I’m not sure if it’s the right word, but she takes good care of all of us.”

C: “Intelligent!”

M: “Today, I am faster! But Corinna has many days where she is faster. And when she is fast, she is super fast. Super, super fast.”

C: “So hopefully tomorrow, I will be faster!”