FIA GT Championship

JetAlliance Monza preview

© JetAlliance racing

The “Autodromo Nazionale” in Monza, 25 kilometres north of Milan, will play host to the second round of the 2008 FIA GT Championship this weekend (May 17th & 18th). And Jetalliance Racing will be the defending champion in Italy – last year’s race was the start to a winning streak which almost ended with the team from Lower Austria taking the title. . .

Karl Wendlinger looks back with pleasure: “We were fastest in every session, got pole position and then the first win of the season – that was really a very nice feeling.”

But this time there is quite a hard nut to crack: The Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 of Wendlinger and his partner Ryan Sharp will be weighed down with forty kilogrammes of success ballast after winning the season opener at Silverstone!
A circumstance that does not irritate the Austrian all that much: “We have already shown last year that we are able to win with penalty weight. Of course, the competition is very strong this year, but if we work hard, another good result should be possible. For me that’s a challenge.”

Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer too has very fond memories of last year’s Monza race, where he managed to finish in the GT1 points for the first time: “I’ll never forget that day, that seventh place was fantastic”, Lichtner-Hoyer says.

The 2008 season also started very well for the team owner: P6 with his German partner Alex Müller at the wheel of the second Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9! “Silverstone has shown that we perform well. If we follow up on that performance in Monza, another points finish is certainly possible.”

JAR’s Engineering Director Othmar Welti and his thoughts ahead of the race in Italy: “In my opinion, two things are vital in Monza: You have to be fast on the straights and very good on the brakes. We are both. But we also know that the competition is stronger than ever. That’s why now, more than ever, perfection is needed.”