HOME LATEST NEWS BIOGRAPHY YOUTH 4 HUMAN RIGHTS SPONSORS TRACK DAYS PRESS RELEASES BLOG CONTACT DOWNLOAD A BROCHURE	PRESS RELEASES 19th April 2011 Blancpain series – Monza Lanik goes to Lamborghini for Monza 2009 FIA GT3 Porsche manufacturer champion Niki Lanik marked his return to international sports car racing at Monza this weekend with the Leipert Team in a last minute deal to secure the young Austrian. After a busy winter working on Human rights campaigns around the world the young Lanik got the best birthday surprise on Saturday morning after the offer came via his management team, Rapid Man Ltd. The team ran into some problems with Bronze rated driver Arnoud Peyroles as he was simply too tall and so Austrian Niki Lanik stepped in for him on short notice. Team Manager Ingo Leipert explained: “The three registered drivers didn’t harmonize from point of view of their total height. This is a big problem since the seat cannot be adjusted in the Lamborghini.” Qualifying went well, earning Niki a respectable time given only 7 laps in a new car and on an unfamiliar circuit due to missing practice in the morning because of the last minute nature of the deal. The mood in the team was positive and the line up of the driver trio of car No. 7 - Olivier Tielemans (NL), Mika Vähämäki (FIN) and Niki Lanik (AUS) seemed to be harmonious. The race was started by Vähämäki as he had shown to be the fastest driver of the Rhino’s energy drink backed car and quickly showed his race craft by making up positions and highlighting on the TV coverage with several overtaking moves giving his new sponsor, the Lapp Group some great exposure. However after half an hour Vähämäki had a problem and slowed to the pits, the front splitter had come away from the car making it un drivable and so the No 7 Team Rhino’s car had to retire from the race. After the race, Leipert said: ”This result is quite annoying since the Mika showed good performance in the early stages of the race and we surely could have reached a podium place with the No. 7 car, a feeling shared with most of the other competitors. The next race of the Blancpain Endurance Series takes place in Navarra, Spain, on 22nd May 2011. Seasonal calendar: 17th April Monza/ITA 22nd Mai Navarra/ESP 30th July Spa/BEL 27th August Magny Cours/FRA 9th October Silverstone/GB PRESS RELEASES 22nd September 2010FIA GT3 Portimao Lanik makes successful return to FIA GT3 2009 FIA GT3 Porsche manufacturer champion Niki Lanik marked his return to the category with a brace of second places in the Porsche manufacturer category from the weekends racing at the fantastic Portimao Algarve circuit. After sitting out most of the 2010 season through budget restrictions the young British based Austrian was called up to partner the experienced Gilles Vannelet in the Muehlner motorsport Porsche GT3 RSR. Missing the first session of testing didn’t help with Niki’s quest to shake off his “rustiness”, not having driven a GT3 car since last season. Qualifying went well, earning 4th place and 17th place starting slots for the weekends two races. Vannelet started race 1 from the 4th slot on the grid, and used his experience to bring the car into the lead by the driver change. Time lost in the pit stop brought Niki out into 3rd place and his lack of time in the car was highlighted by a spin early in his stint which dropped him 7th, which he was to hold to the end of the race, earning 2nd place in the Porsche standings in the process. Niki started the second race from 17th and made good progress, bring the car up to 14th on the first lap. An abortive overtaking manoeuvre later in his stint dropped him back down, but an early pit stop and a solid stint from Vannelet brought the car back up to 7th, again earning 2nd place in the Porsche standings. Niki says “It was great to be back in a GT3 car again, and a bit more time in the car would have sharpened me up. If I hadn’t made a mistake early in my stint in race 1 I’m sure we would have been on the podium. I’m happy that in race two my lap times were better and I was mixing it with several of the quickest drivers in the category, a couple of 2nd places from the weekend was pretty nice too! I hope that I can work out a deal to drive with the team again at Zolder” PRESS RELEASES 26 October 2009FIA GT3 European Championship Rounds 11 & 12 – Zolder, Belgium Niki Lanik Secures the Porsche Manufacturers Title in Belgium Niki Lanik scored a top ten finish in the final race of the 2009 FIA GT3 European Championship at Zolder in Belgium and secured his position as the top Porsche driver in the leading European sports car series. In tricky weather conditions the 22-year-old Austrian brought the car home to take the chequered flag and the applause of his family and sponsors who had travelled to Belgium to see the successful end to his debut season in European competition. The first 60-minute race of the day was started under the safety car, with Niki at the wheel for the first part of the race. On lap 11 he was hit by a BMW Alpina, which span the Porsche round, but the Austrian continued to climb up the order before handing over the car to his co driver, Finland’s Mikael Forsten. Their race ended on lap 20 when a puncture put Forsten into retirement. The second race proved to be much better. Forsten drove a steady race, with the Finn handing the car over to Niki just after the safety car came out when rain soaked the circuit, causing a few cars to spin off. After taking over the Porsche, Niki Lanik kept the car on track in the tricky conditions, slowly moving up the order to finish in the top 10 at the end of the 34 lap race and claim his trophy as the top Porsche driver of the 2009 season. “It was a bit up and down throughout the year but I’m happy to say we made it,” said Niki Lanik. “I’ve had a couple of different team mates throughout the season, but it usually went quite well, I’ve learnt a lot and we came out on top. I’ve still got a lot of work to do but I’m pleased at what I’ve achieved in my first season in European competition. I’ve improved a lot as a driver and I’d like to come back next year and go for podium finishes and maybe a shot at the overall title. But tonight I’m going to celebrate an end to a good first season in the FIA GT3 European Championship.” Sunday 4 October 2009FIA GT3 European Championship Rounds 9 & 10 – Paul Ricard HTTT, France Lanik Leaves France as Porsche Cup Leader 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. Niki Lanik said: “The weekend didn’t start well with very little time on track on Friday due to problems with the car. I qualified OK considering we hadn’t had much time to set up the car. Some of the other Porsche’s had qualified faster, so I knew there was more to come in the car. We had a good race, especially from where we started and we finished in the top 10, ahead of David Ashburn. The goal was to be in the lead of the Porsche Cup and we’ve achieved that. We just need to do the same in Zolder in three weeks. The Prospeed Competition team, which are Belgian, have plenty of experience at Zolder so I’m confident that we will get the job done.” The final two rounds of the 2009 FIA GT3 European Championship will take place on 24/25 October at Zolder in Belgium. Niki Lanik will once again be partnered by Mikael Forsten in the Prospeed Competition Porsche. 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. Sunday 13 September 2009 FIA GT3 European Championship Rounds 7 & 8 – Algarve, Portugal Double Porsche Win for Lanik in Portugal Niki Lanik stood on the podium for both FIA GT3 European Championship races at the Autódromo Internacional Algarve in Portugal after scoring two wins in the Porsche Manufacturers Cup with teammate Marco Holzer. A determined drive in the second 60-minute race by Lanik saw the 22-year-old Austrian overtake the BMW Alpina B6 of Jens Klingsmann on the penultimate lap to take 4th, equaling his best overall finish this season. Full story - click here FIA GT3 - Round 5 Algarve Algarve in Portugal – 12th – 13th September is the stage of Round 5 of the FIA GT3 Championship and will be Lanik’s first race since his successful Spa 24 hour debut where he finished 3rd. Porsche Motorsports supported driver, Marco Holzer will partner Niki in the no 12 Prospeed GT3 Cup car in Portugal. Full story - click here Press Release – TOTAL SPA 24 HOUR 25th – 26Th July 2009 At 4 pm 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 dry laps the heavens  opened and qualifying continued in heavy  rain. Full story - click here