MEDIA INFORMATION
2007 FIA GT CHAMPIONSHIP - ROUND 1, ZHUHAI, PRC
REFLECTIONS ON VICTORY
Three years ago, at the Spanish circuit of Valencia, Lamborghini claimed its first podium in international competition when the Lamborghini Murciélago finished third in the second round of the 2004 FIA GT Championship.
Last weekend, in the People’s Republic of China, at the opening round of the
2007 FIA GT Championship, Lamborghini claimed its first international win - the culmination of seven years of hard work from Reiter Engineering, who have been developing and racing Lamborghini cars since 2000.
Now that drivers Christophe Bouchut and Stefan Mücke and the All-Inkl.com Racing team have returned from Zhuhai, and the champagne bubbles have dried on cars and faces, Hans Reiter has had the opportunity to reflect on the race and what the victory means for Lamborghini.
"I could say we were lucky, but really I believe it was a combination of perfect timing and good strategy that let us take command of the race, and hold it until the chequered flag. Strategy in these two-hour races is even more important than ever before.
"We had qualified on a hard compound of tyres and struggled at the beginning of the race as it took time for the tyres to come up to temperature. A safety car period came at just the right time for us to make our pit stop, and from this we took the lead (from previous position of 7th). This gave us an advantage over our competitors and Christophe, who has been FIA GT Champion three times, defended very well
– holding back strong opposition from Corvette and Aston Martin to the end."Our second car had a difficult race, having run together with the no.7 car at the beginning of the race. While Peter Kox was behind the wheel there was contact with an Aston Martin and we lost three laps in the gravel. Jos Menten did some excellent lap times when they got going again and made up lots of time. They finally finished the race in 13th position, only two laps behind.
"As there are no races for seven weeks now it means we are Championship leaders for a good, long time! We will make the most of it, although we are realistic enough to know that the competition is very strong, and the challenge to remain ahead will be great. We have proved to everyone we have a race-winning car, and will be in the fight for victory at every round.
Don’t bet against us."
The next round of the FIA GT Championship will take place at Silverstone Circuit in Great Britain on 5-6th May 2007.
30th March 2007
For further information contact Hans Reiter on +49 8685 77920
For full results and Championship standings, please go to www.fiagt.com <http://www.fiagt.com/>
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