NIKI LANIK HAS WASTED NO TIME AFTER STEPPING ON TO THE EUROPEAN STAGE.
The 22-year-old Austrian from Ashurst Wood has bypassed the British championship after switching to GT racing.
Lanik, the double UK Clio Cup winter champion, is competing in the European FIA GT3 Championship after signing up to race a Porsche 997 with the Belgium-based Prospeed Competition team.
Niki comments: “My next race will be in Germany, at a track called Oschersleben between Hamburg and Berlin, on 20/21 June. This will be round 5 & 6 of the 2009 FIA GT3 Championship, and this will be my second ever race in Europe. As I have not raced there before I decided to fly over to Frankfurt to visit a friend and drive up to Oschersleben so I can walk around the track and familiarize myself with the race circuit. I had a close look at all the kerbs, surfaces, start/finish straight, etc, so that when I test there on the 19th June I will be a step ahead of others… that is the plan anyways. The circuit looks fantastic - some very complex tight and fast corners in the middle of the circuit, and there are some great 3rd/4th gear corners at the end. It will be a good weekend.”
“My Goal for Oschersleben: I will be aiming for some podiums.”
Keep up to date on http://www.twitter.com/nikilanik
“As the result of an accident at Silverstone, only one Prospeed Competition Porsche was entered in FIA GT3, but Niki Lanik and Geoffroy Horion kept the honour of the Liege based Porsche team high.”
“During the second race both ProSpeed drivers did a brilliant job of working their way up through the pack to finally finish sixth, as such scoring points twice on the Italian circuit.”
READ FULL PRESS RELEASE:
English: http://prospeed.be/communiques/2009_05_17_review_Adria_EN.pdf
Nederlands: http://prospeed.be/communiques/2009_05_17_review_Adria_NL.pdf
Français: http://prospeed.be/communiques/2009_05_17_review_Adria_FR.pdf
Niki comments: “We finished 6th place and 2nd in the Porsche class! I started 29th on the grid due to the penalty at Silverstone two weeks prior to Round 3 & 4. Nevertheless I got into the top 20 even with a mistake towards the end of my stint. Geoffroy, my team mate, took over and finished the race in 6th, and 2nd in the Porsche class. We both had a great race, and I am very happy to have a successful night race on my CV.”
“Two top 6 results, and a 1st & 2nd in the Porsches are great results for my third and fourth ever GT race.”
Race result: http://fiagt3.com/results.php?season=2009&event=2&session=Race%202%20Result
Niki comments: “My team mate, Geoffrey Horion, started 8th on the grid and had a brilliant start, and leading the Porsche class by the first lap. He then came in for the driver-change 29 minutes into the race where I took over, and drove and finished 4th overall and 1st in the Porsche class. Fantastic result and picked up a trophy too! The night race should be mega - it will be live on TV and can be streamed on the official FIA GT3 website at 10:30pm Italian-time.”
Race result: http://fiagt3.com/results.php?season=2009&event=2&session=Race%201%20Result
Niki comments: “My team mate had a good first qualifying session and secured 8th on the grid for Race 1. I did not manage to put a good lap together and also with a penalty from Silverstone I was slotted in 29th on the grid for Race 2 - the night race.”
Quali. 1: http://fiagt3.com/results.php?season=2009&event=2&session=Qualifying%201
Quali. 2: http://fiagt3.com/results.php?season=2009&event=2&session=Qualifying%202
Niki comments: “My first night practise… it was different. The team and I managed to set the Porsche up well to suit my team mate and I around the short track of Adria. I know the track now and am pretty confident I will have good results in the races. We were pretty happy with being 9th quickest and only 0.6 off the fastest driver. Qualifying is tomorrow late-morning. Tomorrow’s a busy day, as both races are on the same day.”
Result Sheet: http://fiagt3.com/results.php?season=2009&event=2&session=Free%20Practice%202
Niki comments: “I walked the track the day before - very short, and most corners are 2nd gear. The first session was all about learning the track. Geoffroy and I were also on old tyres so we were around 25th I believe. Looking forward to practise session two later this evening. This will be my first night practise.”
Result sheet: http://fiagt3.com/results.php?season=2009&event=2&session=Free%20Practice%201
Title: FIA GT3 - Adria - Round 3 & 4
Location: ADRIA, ITALY
Description: Practice, Qualifying, Round 3 & 4 of the European FIA GT3 Championship.
Start Date: 2009-05-15
Start Time: 09:00
End Date: 2009-05-16
End Time: 23:30
“Following the heavy crash a fortnight ago, only one ProSpeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S will be at the start in FIA GT3, in the hands of Geoffroy Horion and Niki Lanik.”
READ FULL PRESS RELEASE:
English: http://prospeed.be/communiques/2009_05_13_preview_Adria_EN.pdf
Nederlands: http://prospeed.be/communiques/2009_05_13_preview_Adria_NL.pdf
Français: http://prospeed.be/communiques/2009_05_13_preview_Adria_FR.pdf
