19/03/2007
NEWS STORY
Christian Vietoris is going to contest a race for the A1 Team Germany for the first time. In the ninth of the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport's eleven rounds in Mexico the 17-year-old rookie will be the driver competing for Willi Weber's team. In Mexico, the squad will go into the round with a 30-point lead in the standings.
On the previous eight race weekends of the 2006/2007 season Nico Hülkenberg clinched eight victories and 99 points as the team's "duty driver”. In calendar year 2007 alone the team, after having claimed three pole positions and six wins, has been unbeaten so far. The reason for entering Christian Vietoris are Nico Hülkenberg's commitments for the upcoming Formula 3 season. After the race in Mexico Hülkenberg will return to the cockpit of the A1 GP racing car.
Christian Vietoris has previously particpated in two rookie sessions in the New Zealand and Australian rounds. "This means I'm a little familiar with the A1 GP racer already," Vietoris commented on his 520-hp cockpit. "Nevertheless, the two races will be a real challenge. In the main race I have to drive at the limit for 70 minutes – I've never driven the car for such a long period. The former Grand Prix circuit is new to all the drivers, which is an advantage for me – this way, nobody has the benefit of being more familiar with this race track. I recently watched another race on this circuit on TV in order to get to know the track."
The 4.42-kilometre "Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez" circuit, however, not only demands that the drivers give their best due to its layout and bumpy surface. 2,285 metres above sea level the performance capabilities of the human body are measurably reduced by several percent.
Willi Weber does not expect his protégé to perform any miracles in his début race: "Nico scored total wins on all of the past three race weekends – we cannot expect Christian to match this immediately. We don't want to put him under pressure. In the rookie sessions he demonstrated that he knows how to handle the car. I wish him two good races in Mexico. I'm sure that he's going to represent the German colours well."