Team Fordzilla, the Ford simracing team, continues to grow and now even has a Portuguese driver: Nuno Pinto.
At 32 years old, the pilot who came to strengthen the team's abilities in the tests on the rFactor2 platform gained fame after having participated in the “McLaren Shadow” program that selected the best simracers to later train them on a “real” track.
His arrival at Team Fordzilla comes after he passed through the TripleA team that belongs, nothing more, to former Formula 1 driver Olivier Panis.
Specialization is crucial
Regarding his entry into Team Fordzilla, José Iglesias, Team Fordzilla captain said: “Nuno's arrival makes us glimpse a very exciting future, because he is the first driver to join the team to compete exclusively on the rFactor2 platform”.Subscribe to our newsletter
Until now, the Ford team was not present on the rFactor2 platform, which is one of the reasons behind the hiring of the Portuguese, with José Iglesias saying: "The world of professional simracing requires great specialization in the simulator in which you want to compete" .
What's next?
On the newest horizon for the new Team Fordzilla driver is participation in the next GT Pro season — rFactor 2's premier touring car championship.
When asked about the reasons that led him to accept the invitation, Nuno Pinto said: “It is obvious that the name Ford was in the first place, which is very important (…) Secondly, also the challenging, everything involved in the connection to a brand of this magnitude, all the duties and obligations, and the very objectives defined by the brand”.
Speaking of goals, the Portuguese driver admits that nothing has yet been defined, however he declared that he intends to “always reach the top 10 on a regular basis, the top 5 and maybe some podiums, for now, these are my goals”.
Who is Nuno Pinto?
As we told you, the most recent Team Fordzilla driver became famous on the “McLaren Shadow” show.
His debut in simulators took place in 2008, on rFactor1, and since then his involvement in simulators has been growing. In 2015 he started dedicating himself almost 100% to this activity and in 2018 he won the final of “McLaren Shadow” in rFactor2.
In January 2019 he went to the world final in London, finishing second and from then on he devoted himself practically 100% to this activity, becoming a professional in the sport.