News Archive » Oschersleben Preview

June 29, 2007

After staying on at Monza for a Pirelli tyre test, the Scuderia Ecosse team now heads north to Oschersleben, a few miles south-west of Magdeburg in Germany. Round five of the 2007 FIA GT Championship sees Jarek Janis rejoining the team to partner Tim Mullen in Ferrari no.62. Chris Niarchos, who made his FIA GT Qualifying debut at Monza, will again be racing Ferrari no.63 with Andrew Kirkaldy.

Oschersleben was the scene of Scuderia Ecosse’s first-ever FIA GT victory in 2006. Andrew Kirkaldy and Nathan Kinch put in a dominant performance, winning the race despite being saddled with a “10-places back on the grid” penalty from the previous race. Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen joined them on the podium with a strong third-place finish.

Chris Niarchos:
“I’m really looking forward to this race. I enjoyed Oschersleben last year as it was a fun race despite Tim (Mullen) and I having no clutch for most of it. I’m going to qualify no.63 again; we didn’t get the best out of the car at Monza so I know there is more to come and I’m up for it!”

Andrew Kirkaldy:
“We won here last year from the back of the grid so I’m confident we can get a good result this time around. We’ve just come back from a productive test at Monza where we managed to make some good improvements. I believe the track has been changed in a few places since the last time we were there: the first corner and the chicane. That will take a bit of getting used to but that’s no problem. I’m looking forward to a positive weekend.”

Tim Mullen:
“I enjoyed the Oschersleben race last year; the circuit is good fun to drive on and there’s no reason to doubt us having another good result there. I’ll be racing with Jarek (Janis) this weekend which I am looking forward too.”

Jarek Janis:
“I enjoyed racing with the team in Bucharest; unfortunately the race didn’t last as long as it should have, but this time I hope we can do a great job. I know it is important for the team to score some good points in Germany so I will do everything I can to achieve this. Qualifying will be vital because it is quite difficult to overtake, unless you can pressurise someone into making a mistake. Of course, a good strategy is also a way to move forward. I finished fourth at Oschersleben last year. We could have done better but my Saleen had brake problems and then a puncture so I had a big spin, but I managed to keep the car out of the barriers.”

Stewart Roden, Team Principal:
“We stayed on for an extra day at Monza as we were doing some tyre testing with Pirelli. Both cars pounded round all day; it all went to plan and we learnt a lot. The guys will have finally had a weekend off by the time we get to Oschersleben so we’ll be rested, refreshed and ready for it!”

The FIA GT cars will take to the track for the first time at Oschersleben on Saturday at 0900hrs CET. Qualifying is on Saturday afternoon and the two-hour race begins at 1315hrs CET on Sunday. The race will be shown live on satellite channel, Men and Motors, with a highlights programme on Sky Sports one week later.

ENDS

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