NEWS

ADAC GT: Seven Hannawald mid season Interview

For ski legend Seven Hannawald (35, Munich), “this has been a very instructive first half of the 2011 ADAC GT Masters series.” The fourth place finish at the last ADAC Masters weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria was his best performance of the season. Seven earned a first place podium finish in the amateur division of the competitive series. Together with former Formula 1 world vice champion and DTM driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen (44, Neuss) the two drove a brilliant race together. The pair drove their Buchbinder sponsored Callaway Competition Z06 Corvette. The team will compete this coming weekend at the Lausitz circuit 2-4 September against some very strong competition.

Hannawald’s verdict for the season is: “It was a difficult beginning with forty competitors seeking the top podium position. The competition is enormous and rule changes at the beginning of the season really hampered our Corvettes excellent performance. Fortunately the regulations have been slightly eased and our car is now more competitive. The first half of the season has been very instructive for me.”

How is the collaboration with Heinz-Harald Frentzen?

Hannawald: “He is very impressive on how he analyzes the performance of our Buchbinder Corvette. In qualifying he is very quick to learn the course and set a fast time regardless of what is going on around him. Initially he had problems on the in car radio speaking with our German engineers. In Formula 1 the team only speaks in English, but he as adapted well.”

You are currently fifth in the amateur standings. What are your chances of improving your position?


Hannawald: “Last year the competition was not as fierce and my chances of a podium finish were high. This year that has all changed, now we need to fight much harder, which makes our performance last weekend all the more satisfying. The amateur leader Marc Hayek has had a pretty trouble free season so far. My teammate Toni Seiler is always a very tough competitor. However, I must say my collaboration with Heinz has been very instructive and has really helped me progress. It would be nice to stand on the amateur podium a few more times this season.


What do you think your chances will be this weekend at Lausitz?

Hannawald: “The two races will not be easy for me because the course has some difficult corners. I must work hard to bring more speed in the corners.”


Do you think you can secure another podium?

Hannawald: “We missed third position at our last race my a mere 1.6 seconds. There will be many factors that we will need to overcome to get a good finish. I am confident that we will perform well this weekend.”