LANIK tests Porsche 997 Cup S at Algarve, Portugal
Niki comments: “It was not looking good at all for my 2009 racing career. It was beginning of April and I was starting to worry whether I will even be racing this season. In February and March I had several options to compete in British GT and a few other GT series in other countries, but none of these were really what I wanted to do. Most championships in England and in Europe had started between mid-March and mid-April, and I was still at home not sure what was going to happen.”
“Towards the end of March I signed a contract with Justin Keen - he is now my official and exlusive driver manager and driver coach. He raced for Lister Storm in the GT1 and LMP1 class for several years. He called me up on a Saturday and told me that we need to be in Portugal the following Wednesday to test a Porsche 997 Cup S with a Beglian-based race team. I did not receive more information about the test, and we simply booked some flights and made our ways to Faro in soutern Portugal.”
“I met the team on Tuesday the 15th April at the brand new Algarve race circuit. I got a quick tour of the Porsche 997 Cup S and the team, and I was soon out on wets on a drying circuit. The car had 460hp and weighed around 1,170Kg … it was quick. I certainly did not expect it to nearly pull 3-Gs in teh fast corners once the track dried and I had full slicks all around.”
“The team runs several GT3 and GT2 Porsches in the FIA GT Championship, and are extremely professional and had the cars set-up spot on.”
“Justin and I will be visiting them in Liege next week, and we will see how we progress from there.”
