by Russell Atkins

TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN FULL: 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:CLICK HERE

Heinz-Harald Frentzen - a man who began more than 150 grands prix in the top flight ꦗand triumphed in three of them - is returning to his sportscar roots in 2008, having signed up to compete for Aston Martin Racing in the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours, his first appearance in the legendary round-the-clock French classic since 1992﷽.

Not only that, but the highly-experienced German will have the honour of racing the British marque's GT1 class-winning DBR9 decked out in the original Gulf livery, celebrating the oil company's 40th debut at La Sarthe. The 40-year-old spoke exclusively to wuqian0821.com Radio about how he is feeling about taking on 'the greate🌺st race in the world' for a se🀅cond time 16 years on...

Q:
Heinz-Haralꦇd, you're racing with Aston Martin in the Le Mans 24 Hours this year, but it's been a while since your sportscar days, hasn't it?

Heinz-Harald Frentzen:
Yeah, actually my last experience in sportscars was ไin 1993 in Japan, and then I had a similar experience to this kind of car🐼 in the DTM, where I drove from 2004 to 2006.

Q:
Do you think it may take youꦗ a while to get back to 𓂃grips with sportscars again, or not?

H-HF:
Well actuall🔥y, the Aston Martin is similar in terms of speed to the DTM car, so that's not too different.

Q:
You left the DTM at the end of 2006, since when you've ha💟d a year away from racing. Are you feeling refreshed now, ready to go again a🍒nd eager to get back on-track?

H-HF:
Yes, I had a good, relaxing year after 2006, and slowly since the beginning of this year I've been getting ready to get back into motorsport. I won't be competing that often - just a few long races. I will also take part in the 24-hour race at the N?rburgring, as well as the Le Mans 24 Hours, which is obvio🌳usly a very competitive event.

Q:
The car in its Gulf livery✅ looks fantastic; how much are yo𓃲u looking forward to driving it?

H-HF:
When 🤡I saw the car I found it really special. It has a fantastic paint scheme and a very traditional design. It's a really cool-looking car.

Q:
Have you had much time to work alongside your team-mates yet? Obviously 🔯you know Karl Wendlinger from your Formula 1 and sportscar days together at Sauber, and there's also Andrea Piccini...

H-HF:
I know Karl from my early days in Formula 3 and I drove with him in sportscars too in 1989 and 1990, so I 🃏know him quite well. Andrea Piccini is for me a new guy, but we have quite a few opportunities to get to know each other before the race.

Q:
The race is about a month-and-a-half away now. How much tim⭕e are you likely to have in the c💛ar between now and then?

H-HF:
There will be a few opportunities, but I can't say yet exactly when we w🗹ill be able to test.

Q:
People refer to Le Mans as the hardest race in the world. What in your opinion ♛makes it so special?

H-HF:
First of all it's a very crucial race in terms of reliability - to extend a racing car's life to 24 hours is quite a big technical achievement. Also for the drivers a♊nd mechanics, it's quite challenging in terms of concentration. It's a big challenge.

Q:
How competitive do you expect 🎀the GT1 class to b🃏e this year?

H-HF:
This is my first race in this category at Le Mans after 16 years, and I think it will be very competitive - that's wᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚhat I have been told! From what I understand it's just about going flat-out each lap. It's going to be a very tough pace this year, because we have very close contenders in the class. That means it's importa🔯nt that we get the maximum out of the car whilst also being reliable - that's the big challenge and we are very concentrated on that.

Q:
Aston Martin﷽ obviously won the GT1 class in Le Mans last year and finished fifth overall. Do you think a similar result is possible again this year?

H-HF:
Of course we are aiming to win our class again, but we know that in🐬 the Corvette we have very tough co🐟mpetition, like the team had last year and also in the past. I've been told the pace was very, very high last year, so the pressure is pretty full-on.

TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN FULL: 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:CLICK HERE