FIA GT: Roock Racing Aims to Repeat Last Year's Hungary Victory
2 July 1999
o Place of success: On the Hungaroring, ROOCK took home the only FIA GT Porsche victoryo Strong support: Last years winner Sascha Maassen will join ROOCK Racing in Hungary, too
Leverkusen / Hockenheim--Last year, Hungary was the most successful race for ROOCK Racing throughout the whole season: At the end of a dramatic race, Sascha Maassen (D) and Bruno Eichmann (CH) finished first and scored the only win a Porsche was able to succeed in the whole FIA GT championship year. Next weekend, the Porsche customer team wants to repeat this result on the small and twisty circuit near Budapest. After his stunning performance in Hockenheim, Sascha Maassen will support ROOCK Racings regulars Claudia Hrtgen/Stphane Ortelli, Andr Ahrl/Hubert Haupt and Michael Eschmann/Paul Hulverscheid on the Formula 1-track again. Their goal: to beat the works supported Chrysler Vipers.
Twelve month ago, ROOCK Racing was proud to win the Hungarian GT race, but unlucky to miss a double victory: The Porsche of Claudia Hrtgen/Stphane Ortelli fastest 911 GT2 on the grid was hit by a starting accident and forced to give up. So it was up to old campaigner Bruno Eichmann and his young partner Sascha Maassen to take home the victory for the Leverkusen outfit. This year, team chef Fabian Roock wants to repeat this success again. Last weekends Hockenheim race prooved that our cars are fast enough to compete with the Vipers the German says. With the softer compound delivered by Yokohama, Stphane Ortelli suddenly was the fastest man out on the track. In Hungary, we will try to repeat this performance right from the start of the race. If we can push our competitors just hard enough, they will face problems.
A man who never should be underestimated is Andr Ahrl, too: In last years heat-battle, the physically strong German from Bonn finished sixth on the Hungaroring. Together with his new partner, quick Hubert Haupt, the two time Daytona 24 hours winner (GT2) expects another strong result.
For Hungary, the signs are not to bad for ROOCK Racing: The layout of the Hungaroring suits the Porsche 911 GT2 a lot of slow and medium fast corners compared with short straights allow the twin turbo sportscars from Stuttgart to compete with the much more powerful Chrysler Viper. But the Hungaroring is very problematic for the drivers: It allows no time for recreation, and the typical high outside temperatures will do the rest to exhaust the pilots.
Editors Note: For hundreds of hot racing photos and racing art, be sure to visit The Racing ImageGalleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.