FIA GT1-Swiss Racing well-prepared for Portimao

Swiss Racing well-prepared for Portimao

The three-week break since the second round of the championship in Zolder has given Swiss Racing time to put in some solid preparation ahead of the third round at Portimao this weekend.

With the takeover of both cars from Reiter Engineering happening at very short notice and the schedule at the start of the season being very tight, the team has had little opportunity to work with the cars, according to team principal Othmar Welti.

“We were able to use the time after the last race to prepare the cars for Portimao," he said. "Now we need to qualify car No.5 (Karl Wendlinger and Peter Kox) for Q3 and No.6 (Max Nilsson and Jiri Janak) for Q2.

"We want to score as high as possible in Portugal and we hope that nothing happens with the cars during the weekend because it will only be one week until the next race at the Sachsenring circuit in Germany.”

Team manager Erich Kolb confirmed that the team has solved the oil pressure problem that blighted the No.6 Lamborghini in Zolder as the team looks for plenty of points. "Now we are looking forward to the Portimao race and we hope to score with both cars," he said. "The fourth place in Zolder raises hopes that Karl and Peter are prepared, and we are also happy about Max’s and Jiri’s start position of eighth. We have a great team that has been working hard in past few days."

Hans Reiter, of Reiter Engineering, is fully aware of the steep learning curve the Swiss Racing team is on having switched from Nissan GT-Rs they ran in 2010 to the Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670 R-SV for this season.

“I am very happy that Swiss Racing Team scored in both races, even though the cars are new to the team," he said. "Most teams have been participating longer and know their cars and the championship. It is only the second year for the Swiss with their own team and they have been more successful this season with the new cars.

"They need to concentrate on the cars now and catch up with regard to the know-how. This can take a while considering that a GT1 car needs a lot of service and work after every racing weekend. Othmar (Welti) is a respectable technician and a good engineer. However, the tight schedule got in his way. He and his team will get better with every race

Info : FIA GT1 Championship/acreditated and autorized media press.

Ickx secures Belgian Racing drive

Vanina Ickx, a 'guest' driver at Zolder for Belgian Racing, will drive one of the team's Ford GTs for the remainder of the season. She will share the car with Christoffer Nygaard.

The announcement comes after agreement between team owner Marc van der Straten and Olivier Baglione, the owner of the Lola Aston Martin Ickx will drive in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

"He (Baglione) and I share the same passion and we quickly decided that we should extend our collaboration. That's why Vanina Ickx will drive one of the two Ford GT of Belgian Racing during the FIA GT1 championship," van der Straten said.

Ickx is delighted with the news that she will compete for the remaining eight races of the GT1 series with Belgian Racing. "There seems no end to the stream of good news," Ickx said.

"Only a couple of weeks ago I was without a seat for this season. But since the weekend in Zolder, I could participate in the Le Mans 24 Hours and now I can drive the remainder of the FIA GT1 championship. I can never thank Marc van der Straten and Olivier Baglione enough for providing me with these extraordinary opportunities.

"I can hardly wait to start the Portuguese round," she added. "The FIA GT1 championship is of a high level. In Zolder, circumstances meant I was not able to drive a lot in the Ford GT, but enough to make me understand this car needs a very determined driver at the wheel.

"I was very impressed by the efficiency and diversity of the team. The team members have very different backgrounds, but they are able to communicate very well. I do not know Christoffer Nygaard personally, but I know he has a wealth of experience."

The other Ford GT of Belgian Racing will be driven by Antoine Leclerc and Martin Matzke.

Info: FIA GT1.com

Team ORECA-Matmut : Spa in preparation for Le Mans…

Team ORECA-Matmut : Spa in preparation for Le Mans…

After a productive Test Day, the Team ORECA-Matmut will compete in its second race of the year: the 1000km of Spa-Francorchamps. As winners of the 12 Hours of Sebring with the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, the team arrives in the Belgian Ardennes at the top of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup championship standings. But the first objective will be to prepare well for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Racing against the new Audi R18s and alongside the official Peugeot 908s, the Team ORECA-Matmut is getting ready to race in its first European event of the season. It will be a particularly important weekend for drivers Nicolas Lapierre, Loïc Duval and Olivier Panis as the race is only a month before the twice around the clock classic in la Sarthe. “We are going into Spa differently than we did Sebring – which was a goal in itself,” admits David Floury. “On one hand, it’s a six hour race, in the European style: the sporting regulations are similar to those of Le Mans. On the other hand, the clear goal is to prepare for Le Mans and consequently to conserve the car and not put ourselves in the red.”

Like the two major constructors, the 1000km of Spa will therefore be a dress rehearsal for June. The Technical Director explains the reasons. “Firstly, it’s a perfect training session. It’s good for the team, notably during pit stops. It’s also good for the drivers, for example traffic management. In a general way, this will allow us to dial in the car as well as certain parameters like fuel consumption. We will also continue our tyre work. In terms of setup, we benefited from the Test Day and we hope to resume these tests at Spa.”

Last “interesting” point according to David Floury: the weather. “The more the conditions will be changing, the more we will be ready for Le Mans. Due to Spa’s layout, it sometimes rains in one area, but not in another. We always learn a lot there. It can be a great ally…in order to get the best result with an excellent car, the Peugeot, and a trio of drivers that gel.”

Practice starts Thursday, May 5, at 12:20 p.m. Follow the action on our social networks…

Info and pic: Team Oreca Matmut.

Quotes after the race at Hockenheim

Quotes after the race at Hockenheim

Ingolstadt/Hockenheim, May 1, 2011 – Mattias Ekström clinched a podium result
for Audi at the season opener by finishing as the runner-up. Timo Scheider and
Martin Tomczyk showed strong performances as well. Quotes from the Audi
drivers after the race at Hockenheim.

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “At the race today we’ve seen a
similar picture as we did yesterday in qualifying. Bruno Spengler was just a little bit
faster. Behind him the whole field was very close together. Mattias (Ekström) and
Timo (Scheider) squeezed the maximum out of their potential. Martin (Tomczyk)
was very quick in his year-old car too. Naturally, the safety car mixed up the situation
quite a bit – but that’s part of racing. All in all, it was an interesting opening round
which promises an exciting season.”

Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #8), 2nd place
“Obviously, winning feels better than anything else. Today we achieved second place
– that’s nearly perfect, but not completely. We had a car to be in contention for
victory – particularly after my good start. But Bruno (Spengler) simply overtook me
flat-out on the outside of turn one alongside the track. I was running flat-out too
but he had more momentum that way and was able to pass me again. I didn’t think
that this was okay. It was the crucial moment of the race because we were almost
equally quick. Toward the end the situation became really exciting once more. A few
turns before the finish something broke on my rear suspension. But this time I was
luckier than in the years before – maybe that’s a good omen for the 2011 season.”

Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi A4 DTM #4), 4th place
“P4 is a result I can live with today. Right at the start I had body contact at the rear
when I was pushed against the car in front of me. As a result, the front of my car
was damaged. At the rear I lost a few flics. That was not helpful for balance. That’s
why I’m pretty happy to have finished in fourth place.”

Martin Tomczyk (Schaeffler Audi A4 DTM #14), 5th place
“We were competitive this weekend from the outset. The driver, the car and the
team – all three of these have always got to fit together. This was definitely the case
here. It was also huge fun to be driving a DTM race again, particularly the overtaking
maneuvers I had. The duel with Maro (Engel) was tough but friendly. I feel that
that’s the way a fight between two rivals in the DTM should be. The duel with Ralf
(Schumacher) was fair too. It was a good start that we can be happy with.”

Oliver Jarvis (Audi Sport performance cars A4 DTM #5), 9th place
“This wasn’t the start I’d been hoping for. We wanted to score points and fight for a
podium position but we finished in ninth place. It was an improvement over our
qualifying performance. But now we’ve got to work hard and make fewer mistakes in
the next race. Hankook have done a good job, but I’ve got to gain a better
understanding of the tires. I’m hoping that we can be stronger at Zandvoort.”

Mike Rockenfeller (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A4 DTM #9), 11th place
“The weekend had started out well. Practice was okay. Position five in qualifying
wasn’t perfect but it was a good starting base. Unfortunately, that doesn’t do you
any good if you go home empty-handed. That’s why my race was disappointing from
start to finish. Nothing seemed to really fit. The main problem: I was much too
slow, which bothers me the most. At the first pit stop something went wrong. The
car wasn’t lowered properly. I also hit the safety car period at an unfortunate point
in time. I had to stop at the red light. A weekend to forget.”

Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi A4 DTM #19), 14th place
“My first race in the DTM was marked by many difficulties. But I’m glad to have
finished it. We had communications problems and I wasn’t able to listen to the
team radio. The safety car was on the track when I had to pit, that was a bit
unfortunate. We’ve got to be satisfied. The race was okay. We know that kinds of
problems we had. Without these difficulties we can drive a better race.”

Rahel Frey (Glamour Audi A4 DTM #15), 15th place
“My assessment after the first race is very positive. The teamwork is fantastic, the
guys support me. The race had ups and downs but basically I pulled through and
achieved my goal. I’m happy.”

Miguel Molina (Red Bull Audi A4 DTM #22), 16th place
“The race wasn’t so bad. I started from position eight and fought for seventh place.
After the re-start following the safety car period I was hit and spun so that my race
was over. Now we need to fight for the next race. Fortunately, the next round is
coming up in just two weeks from now.”

Filipe Albuquerque (TV Movie Audi A4 DTM #18), 17th place
“I had a very good start and was able to make up some positions. But then I lost
some places in the commotion. It was very tight, door to door, someone brushed
me. After the safety car period Vietoris touched me, which cost me a lot of time. At
least I did finish the race. It was a very tough race. We collected kilometers. That
was a positive thing here. But we need a lot more speed.”

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): “This wasn’t bad
for a season opener. It was a tough race. We tried to get everything right. The pit
crew did a superb job. The strategy was perfect too. But Mercedes didn’t make a
single mistake either. Congratulations to Bruno Spengler, he drove a great race.
We’re pleased to see that we’re racing at the same pace and are in contention for
victory. That was not quite the case last year. Therefore, we’re in for an exciting
season.”

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): “An optimal start into the
season. Martin (Tomczyk) was one of the protagonists of this race. He had some
first-class duels. His car was running well. All of our pit stops were very good. At
Martin’s second stop we were even a bit too fast and didn’t get the fuel can off the
car in time. That’s why Martin went out with the fuel can and dropped from fourth
to fifth place. A big ‘well done’ to Martin and the team. I’m also pleased with
Rahel’s (Frey) performance at her first DTM race. She finished in 15th place and
made no mistakes. Naturally, she still needs to become a bit faster. We’re working
on that.”

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): “I was quite happy that we
started among the top ten with one car. Edoardo Mortara’s start was pretty decent.
He came out of the first lap on position nine and did a pretty good job of defending
his place. He was fighting a fair duel with Gary Paffett for a long time. I was pretty
pleased. But then we encountered a communications problem. We didn’t know at
which point in time the radio was still working. When we were trying to call Edoardo
in during the safety car period he couldn’t hear us. He kept on driving, that meant
his race was over. Filipe Albuquerque didn’t have a bad start either but was forced
into the grass. When his tires were dirty he was overtaken and running in the
penultimate position. Then he ran a red light after a pit stop. Although that’s
unfortunate and shouldn’t happen it has happened to others before. Now we’ve got
to close the book on it and continue the performance we showed during the tests.”
Info and Fotos: Audi Motorsport/ for acreditated and autorized press media.

Mattias Ekström clinches podium for Audi

Mattias Ekström clinches podium for Audi

• Second place at the DTM season opener at Hockenheim
• Three Audi A4 DTM cars on top five positions
• Martin Tomczyk is best driver of a year-old car

Ingolstadt/Hockenheim, May 1, 2011 – 58,000 spectators (throughout the
weekend) at the Hockenheimring saw a thrilling DTM season opener and an
impressive performance by Audi driver Mattias Ekström. Just 73 days after he
broke his left wrist in a sporting accident the Swede clinched second place and
thus a podium result for Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline.
With three Audi A4 DTM cars on the top five positions the brand with the four rings
achieved a clearly better start into the season than last year when not a single Audi
driver mounted the podium. In addition to Mattias Ekström, Timo Scheider and
Martin Tomczyk shone in particular. They saw the checkered flag on positions four
and five, just barely missing the podium.
For many fans, the hero of the race was Mattias Ekström. The Swede had not even
been sure about being able to pull through the entire 37-lap race distance at the
Hockenheimring. But the two-time DTM champion gritted his teeth and brought his
Audi A4 DTM across the finish line as the runner-up. “Toward the end I was
beginning to lose some of the strength in my left hand,” said Ekström. “I’m glad to
have made it.”
The Swede had even taken the lead after a good start but was overtaken on the
outside of the track in turn one by Bruno Spengler. After a safety car period Ekström
did not completely agree with the behavior of the subsequent winner either: “Bruno
hit the brakes before the re-start. He was the quicker driver today, but this type of
thing shouldn’t happen.”
On the last race lap Ekström had another moment of shock: “I felt like I was having
a puncture of the left rear tire and almost had a heart attack. After the race it turned
out that I had a defect on the rear suspension.”
Ekström was able to bring the car safely across the line in a photo finish barely
ahead of Ralf Schumacher who made a mistake on the final lap and was almost
intercepted by Audi driver Timo Scheider. The two-time DTM champion missed the
podium by just 0.671 seconds.
Martin Tomczyk drove a strong race as well. He finished his first run for Audi Sport
Team Phoenix in fifth place and thus as the best driver of a year-old car. Tomczyk
through no fault of his own triggered a safety car period because the fuel can got
stuck on his Audi A4 DTM during the second pit stop and subsequently fell onto the
track.
The safety car period deprived several other drivers of better positions because they
had not yet made their second pit stop – particularly Mike Rockenfeller, who had to
stop for the red light at the pit lane exit and dropped to eleventh place. Edoardo
Mortara (Audi Sport Team Rosberg) as well was thus bumped out of the top ten. His
team-mate Filipe Albuquerque had to sit a drive-through penalty after failing to
notice the red light at the pit lane exit. Before the incident he had been turned
around by a rival in the hairpin.
Miguel Molina was another driver to suffer misfortune. After his mechanics had
worked late into the night replacing the entire cable harness of his Audi A4 after
electronic problems in qualifying. He was running in the points before being
attacked by Gary Paffett and subsequently turned around by Oliver Jarvis in an
unfortunate incident.
A solid performance was shown by Rahel Frey. The young Swiss drove a flawless race
on her DTM debut, which she finished in 15th place.
“Naturally, I’d have been happier with first place,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr.
Wolfgang Ullrich after the season opener. “But only one driver can finish at the top.
This time, unfortunately, it wasn’t us. Next time we want to be at the very front.
We’ve fought with our rivals on an equal footing. The opening round has confirmed
that we can expect a very exciting, well-balanced DTM season.”

Audi Communication Sport/for autorized and acreditated media press.

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid Successful race debut for the “Version 2.0”

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid

Successful race debut for the “Version 2.0”


Stuttgart. A strong race premiere for the further-developed Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. With “Version 2.0” of the innovative hybrid race car from Weissach, Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Marco Holzer (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) finished round two of the Nürburgring Long Distance Championship in eleventh position. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Manthey Racing with Porsche factory pilots Timo Bernhard (Germany), Romain Dumas (France) as well as Manthey pilot Lucas Luhr (Switzerland) secured second place.

The race meeting for the 911 GT3 R Hybrid was part of intensive preparations for the Nürburgring 24 hour race in June. “We’re well within our time plan and are making good progress with the 2011 version,” says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Motorsport at Porsche. “At an endurance test and one other outing as part of the Nürburgring Long Distance Championship we will gain additional data so that we are well prepared for the Eifel marathon.”

Priority in the further development over winter was placed on increasing efficiency. For this, the weight of the vehicle, including the hybrid components, was reduced from 1,350 to 1,300 kilograms. The weight of the hybrid components was reduced by 20 percent through targeted optimisation. The general hybrid layout was adopted from the 2010 model.

The output of both electric motors in the portal axle increased from 60 to 75 kilowatts each. For seconds at a time, pilots now have about 200 hp more at their disposal with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0, which equals ca. 23 kW (32 hp) of additional conventional power per Nordschleife lap. Depending on the programming, this electrical power is automatically activated through use of the throttle pedal. Moreover, hybrid pilots can manually call up this extra power, for instance when overtaking.

With the portal axle driving the front wheels, the four-litre, now 465 hp six-cylinder boxer engine, which drives the rear axle, was reduced in power and optimised with respect to fuel consumption.

“In many aspects, version 2.0 of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid is a completely new car,” says Joerg Bergmeister. “It’s always a good sign when a new car reaches the finish line at its first race outing.”

The yellow and green Porsche 911 GT3 R of Manthey Racing also drove a trouble-free race. Separated by 33.6 seconds from the winning Mercedes, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr brought home second place. The trio were unanimous: “Our car ran like clockwork. Over the entire race we were involved in many spirited two-way fights and that was huge fun.”

At the wheel of their Porsche 911 GT3, the All-German driver line-up, Georg Weiss, Oliver Kainz and Michael Jacobs saw the flag in seventh position. Ninth place was occupied by the 911 GT3 R of Jochen Krumbach (Germany), Marc Gindorf (Monaco) and Philipp Wlazik (Germany).


Public Relations and Media Motor and Sports Press Oliver Hilger

Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, round 1 in Hockenheim

Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, round 1 in Hockenheim

Nick Tandy’s gamble pays off to yield season-opening win

Stuttgart. A rain shower shortly before the start turned the season-opening race of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland into a lottery. Britain’s Nick Tandy (Konrad Motorsport) played the right cards in the tyre poker, stayed on slicks – and like last year celebrated his first win of the season. Separated by 1.072 seconds, the reigning champion of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, René Rast (Germany, Förch Racing), saw the chequered flag on the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg in second. Third over the line after 18 laps was Sean Edwards (Great Britain, Team Deutsche Post by tolimit).

Lady Luck was not smiling on several prominent pilots. Pole-sitter Robert Renauer (Germany, Herberth Motorsport), title defender Nicolas Armindo (France) as well as his Danish teammate Nicki Thiim driving for the championship winning team from 2010, Hermes Attempto Racing, switched to wet tyres prior to the start only to fall back once the track started to dry.

Second qualifier, Nick Tandy, played all his cards right. The Briton virtually inherited the pole position because Renauer started the race from the pits after changing to rain tyres. Putting in a perfect start, Tandy then quickly pulled away while the rest of the field were busy fighting amongst themselves. The strategically clever runner-up from last year could increase his lead so much that his rivals René Rast and Sean Edwards were able to close the gap in the second half but had no chance of snatching the lead from the Briton.

Fourth at the flag after a turbulent race was Jeroen Bleekemolen from the Netherlands, who drives for the Team Deutsche Post by tolimit as Edwards’ teammate – and not only promptly lived up to his new team’s high expectations. Thanks to Edwards and Bleekemolen’s results this weekend, the squad occupies first place in the team classification. In the very final moment, double Supercup champion Bleekemolen had snatched position four off two-time Carrera Cup title winner Uwe Alzen. The German, who runs his own team ‘PZ Aschaffenburg Uwe Alzen Automotive’ this season, had to settle for fifth, just 0.2 seconds behind the Dutchman.

Sixth and seventh place went to Jan Seyffarth and Jaap van Lagen. The German (SMS Seyffarth Motorsport) and the Dutchman (Land Motorsport) delivered a spirited duel which saw Jaap van Lagen take a spectacular journey off the track but thanks to his ultra fast reflexes he brought his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup off the wet grass and back on to the track to finish the race.

Huge delight in the Förch Racing camp, not least due to the podium result of seasoned campaigner Rast, but also due to Robert Lukas. The 23-year-old Pole achieved a commendable eighth place under difficult track conditions. Even more astounding, however, is the performance of the pilots who finished ninth and tenth: Both the 21-year-old Swiss racer Philipp Frommenwiler (Attempto Racing) and the 19-year-old Austrian Johann Ledermair (Konrad Motorsport) are newcomers to Germany’s fastest brand trophy series. For these two, the top ten placing with the 450 hp Cup-Porsche on the slippery track signalises a truly impressive start to the season.

Nick Tandy (winner): “Under such conditions, the race was really difficult, but it was great fun for exactly this reason. I gave more than 100 percent, particularly in the first few laps in order to build up a decent gap. Around the mid-way point I slackened off the pace a little. And in the last laps René put the pressure on and came closer and closer. So I had to put my foot down again to bring home victory.”

René Rast (second): “It was a difficult race for me. Unfortunately, my start wasn’t the best and Uwe Alzen got past me. By the time I overtook him, Nick had already put a decent gap between us. Okay, I managed to reduce the gap but it wasn’t enough to win. Still, I’m happy with our start to the season with my Förch team.”

Sean Edwards (third): “What a race! Because I only started from 14th on the grid I lost a lot of time in the first half. I got caught up in duels between drivers who’d started on wet tyres and came from behind. I couldn’t regain that time again. But I’m happy with third place.”


Race result
1. Nick Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, 33:26.830 minutes (147,693 km/h)
2. René Rast (D), Förch Racing, + 1.072 seconds
3. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, + 5.752
4. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, + 8.492
5. Uwe Alzen (D), PZ Aschaffenburg Uwe Alzen Automotive, + 8.688
6. Jan Seyffarth (D), SMS Seyffarth Motorsport, + 13.890
7. Jaap van Lagen (NL), Land Motorsport, + 19.319
8. Robert Lukas (PL), Förch Racing, + 37.530
9. Philipp Frommenwiler (CH), Attempto Racing, + 58.844
10. Johann Ledermair (A), Konrad Motorsport, + 59.145

Drivers’ standings after 1 of 9 rounds
1. Nick Tandy (GB), 20 points
2. René Rast (D), 18 points
3. Sean Edwards (GB), 16 points
4. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), 14 points
5. Uwe Alzen (D), 12 points
6. Jan Seyffarth (D), 10 points
7. Jaap van Lagen (NL), 9 points

Team classification after 1 of 9 rounds
1. Team Deutsche Post by tolimit, 30 points
2. Konrad Motorsport, 26 points
3. Förch Racing, 26 points

Round 2 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland takes place on 15 May on the Circuit Park Zandvoort in the Netherlands.



Public Relations and Media
Motor and Sports Press
Oliver Hilger