Q&A

Interviewer: Katia Indigne

Inerrviewee: Niki Lanik

Katia: You were 16 when you started to race. Why have you chosen for carsports?

Niki: I always liked speed and I always wanted to compete. As a kid I had the opportunity to drive old cars around a big field at the family farm house. This is were I learned how to drive, and wanted to do more and more of it. Originally I wanted to drive in the World Rally Championship like Colin McRae, but I was too young and so decided to take up circuit racing, which I have now grown very fond of.

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A top ten finish in the second of two FIA GT3 European Championship races at Paul Ricard in the South of France gave Niki Lanik the lead of the Porsche Manufacturers Cup.  The 22-year-old Austrian, who lives in Ashurst Wood in Sussex, was handed the car by Finland’s Mikael Forsten in 14th and drove a determined race to finish the 60-minute encounter in a creditable 9th overall.

The weekend got off to a poor start with Niki only getting eleven laps in the car on the unfamiliar Paul Ricard circuit during free practice on Friday due to technical problems.    He then qualified the car 14th out of 30 cars for the first of the two 60-minute races on Saturday afternoon.  A short rain storm on part of the circuit caused the race to be stopped on lap 2 after several cars crashed heavily, with Lanik classified as 14th in the final results but scoring one more than his Porsche Cup rival David Ashburn.  In the second race Mikhael Forsten drove the first part of the race handing the car over on lap 12 in 14th place.  Lanik then drove well to move up the order to finish 9th overall to secure the lead in the Porsche Manufacturers Cup with two races remaining. (more…)

UK based sportscar driver Niki Lanik heads to the South of France for the penultimate FIA GT3 European Champion race meeting this weekend and has his sights firmly on the lead of the Porsche Manufacturers Cup.  The 22-year-old Austrian, who lives in Ashurst Wood in Sussex, has a new driving partner in the #12 Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 with Finland’s Mikael Forsten sharing the driving duties in the two 60-minute races on the 5.8km Paul Ricard circuit.

Three weeks ago in Portugal Niki Lanik, along with Marco Holzer, scored two Porsche Manufacturers Cup victories to cut David Ashburn’s lead in the #22 Trackspeed Porsche to just two points with four races remaining.  Lanik is confident that the change in driving partner wont affect his performances this weekend and he is sure teaming up with Mikael Forsten will help him move closer to his goal of becoming the top Porsche driver in the championship.

Niki Lanik said: “I am looking forward to racing with Mikael.  This will be the first time we’ve raced together but I’m very confident we’ll get the job done this weekend.  My goal is to leave Paul Ricard leading the Porsche Cup, but after getting two 4th place finishes in the previous races, an overall podium finish here would be a nice bonus.  This circuit at Paul Ricard is fantastic, a real driver’s circuit, and one that should suit the Porsche.”

Qualifying for Rounds 9 & 10 of the FIA GT3 European Championship will take place on Saturday 3 October at 12 Noon, with Round 9 the same day at 17:30.  The second of the two 60-minute races will get underway on Sunday 4 October at 16:45.  Live coverage of the two races can be seen on the championship website at www.fiagt3.com, with highlights shown in the UK and across Europe on Motors TV.

Read more on: http://fiagt3.com/newsitem.php?key=458

Although 2009 is Austrian Niki Lanik’s first full season in the FIA GT3 European Championship racing with Prospeed Competition,  the 22-year-old has already claimed two 4th place finishes and is a leading contender for the Porsche Manufacturers Cup.  Living in the UK in Sussex Niki chose to pursue a career in saloons and sportscars rather than follow the usual route into single seaters and as one of a new generation of sportscar drivers he is set to reap the rewards of this decision.  Away from the race track Niki’s calendar is pretty full working as a company director, as well as the Youth 4 Human Rights organisation.  When he does get some time for himself he enjoys all forms of extreme sports, so what makes this young Austrian tick?

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0. Tell me a little about yourself, including your age and something about your background:

My family history is 100% Austrian. I am born in Vienna and am now 22 years of age. Extreme Sports is what I live for - I am an adrenaline junky and love speed and competition. Travelling and meeting new people and cultures is also a passion of mine. I have also lived in Florida for 3 years in the 90s, and now have been living in Sussex in England since 10 years. Even though I speak better English than German, I still consider myself Austrian. Though I must say, I really like Great Britain. (more…)

What Niki had to say:

My name is Niki Lanik, I was born in Austria but now live in the UK and I am 22 years old. I have been promoting and raising awareness about the subject of Human Rights since December 2006. My website is www.nikilanik.com.

I’m a professional race car driver, racing Porsches around Europe. I decided I want to be able to use my position as a winning athlete to make the world a better place. For an athlete or musician I find this perfect as we have fans and followers, and many read about us, see us on TV etc. Therefore it’s a perfect combination - youngsters live their teens looking at role models - this is what we athletes, artists and musicians live for. (more…)

ProSpeed Competition also had en excellent iron in the fire in GT3 and in the #161 the Austrian Niki Lanik took a brilliant start in variable weather conditions. Markus Palttala, David Loix and Rainman Slingerland also did a great job and were a strong opposition for the winning Ford GT. “But here also our top car was slowed by a series of problems” GT3 team manager Marc Maton continues the story. “Amongst others we lost a windscreen and during the race several minor technical problems reared their heads. That the team finally managed to finish third is in all honesty great. The drivers had full faith and the team never lost their sprits.”

Read more: http://prospeed.be/index.php?page=news064

GT race driver, Niki Lanik, made his debut at Total Spa 24 Hours this weekend with a brilliant result of 3rd in GT3.

This was Niki’s first outing at Spa-Francorchamps but got used to the track with in a short time. Prospeed Competition ran two GT3s and two GT2s, of which Niki’s car, #161, was the only car which made it on the podium. Oskar Slingerland (Holland), Belgian David Loix (Belgium) and Markus Palttala (Finland) shared the GT3 Porsche with Austrian Niki Lanik. Having had brake problems during testing, they were forced to miss the first of three qualifying sessions and ended up qualifying 10th in the GT3 class (34th overall), due to heavy rain fall. (more…)

At 4pm on the 25th July Austrian driver Niki Lanik took his place on the grid and waited for the lights to go out to signal the start of his first Total Spa 24 hrs race.

Qualifying had began dry but after only three laps the heavens opened and qualifying continued in heavy rain.

Niki’ls qualifying had been hindered by brake problems from the start which unfortunately meant Niki missing the dry track opportunity. This resulted in Niki’s lead Prospeed GT3 car starting on the last row of the grid! (more…)

“Lanik misses top 10 finish”

“NIKI Lanik endured a frustrating weekend in the GT3 European championship round at Oschersleben Germany. The 22-year-old from Ashurst Wood took time with his co-driver Greek Dimitris Deverikos to adapt to the circuit, Lanik finishing 23rd in the qualifying sessions in the ProSpeed Porsche.”

“The first race ended on the track, but one day later we drove a strong race climbing to 11th which is not a bad result on such a difficult and technical track, ” Lanik reflected.

Read more on www.thisiseastgrinstead.co.uk