2008-11-15, The overall winners of the 2008 FIA GT Championship will be decided this coming weekend (22, 23 Nov) in Argentina. Maserati versus Corvette, or Andrea Bertolini/Michael Bartels (ITA/GER) versus Mike Hezemans/Fabrizio Gollin (NED/ITA), that will be the big fight – the two crews are separated by eight points! But this time, the television audience will have to do without Jetalliance Racing, since the team from Lower Austria will not enter the San Luis event.

Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “I already voiced my opposition against overseas races in this series for financial reasons last year. On the one hand, our title chance is already gone. On the other, being the proper businessmen that we are, the market slump is forcing us to take effective measures immediately in order to reduce costs associated with our ventures. Hence this unpopular decision.” The year in racing nevertheless closes on a successful note for Jetalliance Racing: Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp have taken a total of three wins – more than any other driver pairing. And third place in the team classification has already been secured, while amateur racer Lichtner-Hoyer, together with Alex Müller, has furthermore scored his first podium finish in Oschersleben. At present, Lichtner-Hoyer is remaining silent about his plans for the future: “We will be probing the market before issuing a decision in due course.” But the season is not quite over yet for Jetalliance Racing: During the San Luis weekend (November 22nd/23rd), Lichtner-Hoyer will partner Vitus Eckert in the new KTM X-Bow for the Vallelunga (ITA) six-hour race!

LLH: “We are going to test whether this car could be used as part of our customer sports programme next year.”

2008-10-19, A great deal of bad luck for Jetalliance Racing today at the European finale of the 2008 FIA GT Championship in Zolder: Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp in their Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 finished the ninth race in third only. “Only” because Ryan Sharp threw away a possible race win with an off-track excursion. But their charge to catch up which followed was worth seeing! Victory in Belgium went to the pairing of Andrea Bertolini/Michael Bartels (ITA/GER/Maserati). P2 in yesterday’s qualifying, on pole position today. The reason: pole setter Allan Simonsen had overtaken under yellow flags on his fastest lap and was hence relegated ten places on the starting grid, as was Vincent Vosse.

Karl Wendlinger therefore started the race from pole position, immediately taking the lead ahead of Mike Hezemans in his Corvette. He was subsequently able to extend it continuously. Even having to lap many of the slower GT2 cars did not hamper him doing so. After a fast and faultless opening stint, the Austrian handed over to his partner Ryan Sharp with an advantage of roughly six seconds after fifty minutes (32 laps). Then the moment of shock: Sharp slid off the track on his second lap, touching the tyre barriers, losing a lot of time, but able to continue. The result of the “excursion”: about 30 seconds lost, down to sixth place! Sharp set very quick times afterwards, but was unable to get past Miguel Ramos for a long time – but on lap 43 it finally happened – Ryan passed the Maserati driver with a daring move, up to P4. The fightback had begun... And Sharp makes up second after second, he hands back over to Karl Wendlinger with 35 minutes to go in fourth place – trailing the leader by 17 seconds. Wendlinger sounds the final charge in his final stint, he works his way up to third, is even within striking distance to Hezemans in second place near the end of the race, but also has to fend off several attacks by Allan Simonsen who gets increasingly stronger in the closing stages – which he manages to do: The Austrian crosses the finish line in third after two hours. Another top result for Jetalliance Racing – although the fourth win of the season would also have been possible today...

Karl Wendlinger: “Ryan’s mistake cost us more than twenty seconds, in the end we were just ten seconds behind. In view of this mishap I’m satisfied with third place. Unfortunately our tyres were not holding up as expected. Both during my first stint, when I was unable to gain an advantage of more than six seconds, and also subsequently, when Ryan and I had to push. That’s why it was impossible to close in on Hezemans in the end. The tyres were already finished by then.”

2008-10-18, A good start for Jetalliance Racing to the European finale of the FIA GT Championship in Belgium: Karl Wendlinger in his Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 took second place in today’s qualifying at Zolder, thus starting from the front row tomorrow, together with his team mate Ryan Sharp! Pole position went, somewhat surprisingly, to Denmark’s Allan Simonsen, also driving an Aston Martin DBR9. It was an extraordinarily dramatic qualifying session. First Italy’s Andrea Bertolini was in front, but soon Simonsen put in a perfect lap to take P1, followed by Karl Wendlinger’s attack, who closed in on the Dane lap after lap, setting his fastest time only on his sixth lap – but it just wasn’t enough. He missed pole by only two tenths in the end.

Karl Wendlinger: “It was a very turbulent qualifying this time. There was an accident on my first lap, hence a yellow flag – so I could forget that one. Then I got quicker and quicker, setting the fastest first sector time on my final lap, before I was unfortunately held up a bit by Pedro Lamy. I don’t know whether it would have been enough for pole position without this incident. In any case, Lamy has already apologised to me. But I’m satisfied with P2 as well, because the car is perfect, and we’re certainly well-prepared for tomorrow’s race.”

2008-10-13, Wendlinger/Sharp in the #33 have their sights on the podium, the #36 won’t be ready after Janak’s practice crash in Nogaro! As expected, Jetalliance Racing will enter just a single Aston Martin for the final European round of the 2008 FIA GT Championship: Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp are going to fly the flag for the team from Lower Austria in the ninth race this coming weekend (October 18th, 19th) and try to finish on the podium – or even take the fourth win of the season. “We can actually be very relaxed at Zolder”, Karl Wendlinger says, “we can watch the championship battle from the best seats in the house – and maybe also get involved indirectly. Because one thing’s for certain – we want a top result this weekend.”

The second Jetalliance Aston Martin – or rather what remained of it – will stay in the workshop. Jiri Janak’s practice crash in Nogaro simply left too many traces: “The car will be rebuild”, according to team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer, “but it just wasn’t possible in that short a time. A real shame, because I was really looking forward to this race. Well, things like these do happen, that’s racing. I’m convinced that both Karl and Ryan will really rev it up once again. A podium finish should hence be realistic. If it’s good enough for the top step, I’d be even happier, of course.”

2008-10-05, Nothing came of the hoped-for spot on the podium: Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp in their Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 finished today’s eighth round of the 2008 FIA GT Championship at Nogaro in fifth position, hence scoring four points for the championship.
The Jetalliance pairing – having started from seventh place – drove a rather inconspicuous race this time and was not really able to get involved in the battle for the top positions. After running in sixth place for a long time, the team benefited from Andrea Bertolini’s tyre failure near the end of the race, eventually finishing in fifth. 40 kilos of success ballast seemed to have a greater negative effect than previously assumed.

Karl Wendlinger: “Our main problem this weekend was that we never got the tyres to work properly with our setup. I already felt that in yesterday’s qualifying, and today it was no different over the race distance. It has been a very difficult race.” As previously reported, the second Jetalliance Aston Martin was unable to take the start after a heavy shunt by Jiri Janak in Saturday’s pre-qualifying.

Team manager Georg Silbermayr: “We’re going to analyse in detail how badly damaged the #36 really is over the next few days. At first glance, it really doesn’t look good. That’s why there’s also a big question mark over running the car at the next event.” Speaking of the next race: round number 9 will take place on October 19th in Zolder, Belgium.

2008-10-04, Not a good day for Jetalliance Racing at the eighth round of the 2008 FIA GT Championship in Nogaro. Karl Wendlinger only qualified his Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 in seventh place, he and his team mate Ryan Sharp will have to start tomorrow’s race from the fourth row of the grid. Pole position went to Switzerland’s Marcel Fässler (Corvette). Karl Wendlinger: “The first lap is always the best one for my car – unfortunately I outbraked myself at the end of the straight. After that, the grip was less than ideal. Our setup isn’t perfect yet, maybe we’ll still find the odd improvement today.”

No message of success from the second Jetalliance Aston Martin either, which did not even make it to qualifying. The reason: the newly-acquired Jiri Janak had a heavy shunt during pre-qualifying, crashing head-on into a wall! The result: The Czech was lucky to walk away with contusions, the #36 however was badly damaged. Team manager Georg Silbermayr: “Janak ran wide at the exit of a corner and was then unable to control the car. Jiri is still slightly shocked, after all it was the first heavy shunt of his career.”

2008-10-03, The 2008 FIA GT Championship is entering the home straight. There are still three races left to go, the next one this weekend (October 4th-5th) in Nogaro. Jetalliance Racing is travelling to France with loads of self-confidence after the recent home win in Brno. And the successful pairing of Karl Wendlinger (AUT)/Ryan Sharp (SCO) have set their sights on just one aim: To put their Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 onto the top step of the podium in France as well!

Karl Wendlinger: “Nogaro is not really a pleasant track. There are a lot of slow corners where mechanical grip is very important. That’s why it will be crucial to find the right setup in practice. I’m sure that we’ll be able to do that, and that we’ll be competing for the win once again.”

The number 36 Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 will see a change of personnel: Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer is away on business in the United States. In his place, the Czech Republic’s Jiri Janak will share the cockpit with Germany’s Alex Müller for the Nogaro meeting.

Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “As an amateur I take the liberty to put the job and my company first. With Jiri Janak we’ve signed another pro to be able to enter two cars in the Nogaro race. He has proven to be a fast driver with his second place in the GT2 class at Brno recently. That’s why I assume that we’ll be able to finish on the Nogaro podium with one, but maybe with both cars.”

2008-09-28, The next podium finish for Jetalliance Racing! This time not in the FIA GT Championship, but at the traditional 12 hour race in Budapest: team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer, Ryan Sharp and Vitus Eckert in their Jetalliance Porsche RSR took an excellent third place on Saturday! But not only that: Ryan Sharp also set the fastest lap time in 1:51.723 minutes on lap 211!

Victory in Hungary went to Claudia Hürtgen (GER), Stian Sorlie (DK) and Jörg Viebahn (GER) in a BMW Z4 M Coupé entered by Schubert Motorsport. The Jetalliance crew was actually among the front runners all the time, moreover they had a perfect start: Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer started the race from third spot on the grid, he was soon able to work his way up to second place after just a few laps and even went past the leading BMW just before the end of his stint – Jetalliance Racing hence in P1 – keeping the lead for another two hours! LLH: “That was a totally wicked feeling. I was able to keep the pace from the beginning, I was really fighting and I was rewarded with the lead.”

This lead was then surrendered to Schubert Motorsport during the fourth hour. After that, Jetalliance Racing was holding P2 for four hours, before the team from Lower Austria went back into the lead during the eighth hour, finding themselves back in second once more one hour later. Then the final three hours: Second after ten hours, third after eleven hours – and P3 also at the finish after twelve hours – a huge success for the three, and for Jetalliance Racing as well. But it might have been even better...

Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “We were able to measure up to the Schubert BMW for a long time. Three mechanical faults unfortunately dropped us back decisively: first it was a broken brake disc, then a broken drive shaft and near the end of the race we also lost third gear. The drive shaft problem was crucial – we lost a lot of time in the pits which we were unable to recover. And when the third gear broke on top of that, we had to be content with bringing the car home. Third place is great – even though the win would have been possible.”

2008-09-14, Jetalliance Racing is back! The team from Lower Austria celebrated an impressive comeback in the FIA GT Championship today: Karl Wendlinger and his Scottish partner Ryan Sharp in their Jetalliance Aston Martin took a great win in the seventh round at Brno ahead of the Netherlands’ Mike Hezemans (Corvette). It already was the third overall victory of the year for the two! Pole sitter Wendlinger took the lead right at the start, increasing it to about twenty seconds before the first driver change. Even though Sharp lost some time during his stint, he still handed the car back over to Wendlinger with about a ten second advantage. Wendlinger suddenly found himself down in P2, because France’s Bouchut put off his second swap for a long time – but when he finally dived into pit lane for the mandatory stop just shy of the end, the old race order was restored and the win for Wendlinger/Sharp became a done deal! But the second Jetalliance pairing also fared exceptionally well: Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer and Germany’s Alex Müller took fifth place despite 70 kilos of success ballast, hence scoring points as well! Müller had a brilliant start, even running second behind Wendlinger for a long time. But eventually, they had to pay tribute to the penalty weight.

Karl Wendlinger: “I really had a great car at my disposal today – a big thank you to the team. My Aston Martin was extremely consistent in both stints. That’s why I was able to keep a very good pace. It has been a very, very enjoyable weekend for me – fastest time in pre-qualifying, then pole position on top of that, and now the win – just terrific. I’m really very happy!” Ryan Sharp: “The first few laps of my stints were very good. Then I ran over part of another tyre and subsequently suffered from an incredible understeer. It was very strenuous after that. But in the end, everything worked out okay.”
Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “Whenever we get to the finish, we are winning – that’s the way it is this year. I’m totally happy. Personally, I had some problems today. I had never driven the car with 70 kilos and a full tank. The car’s handling is completely different then. I first had to get used to it. But it was all right again near the end of my stint.” Alex Müller: “We wanted to be back in the points again – and we managed to do it. The penalty weight was really very noticeable here in Brno. But I think that we almost got the maximum out of it.”

2008-09-13, Pole position for Jetalliance Racing in today’s qualifying for the seventh round of the FIA GT Championship in Czechia! And Karl Wendlinger in his Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 really outclassed the competition, eventually boasting an advantage of more than a second over second-placed Dutchman Mike Hezemans in a Corvette, starting tomorrow’s race with his Scottish partner Ryan Sharp from the first spot on the grid. It’s already the second pole position of the year for the Tyrolean. Karl Wendlinger: “The car was extremely well-balanced, the lap perfect. We’ve been proving all year long that we’re competitive – even though things didn’t quite work out in recent events. The team is very well-prepared here, the engineers have done a good job – I’m upbeat for tomorrow.”

The second Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 also fared reasonably well: Germany’s Alex Müller claimed seventh despite 70 kilogrammes of success ballast – that’s the fourth row on tomorrow’s grid – together with his partner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer. Alex Müller: “I’m obviously unhappy with seventh. But that was the best I could get out of my car. I don’t know whether our time deficit is just down to the 70 kilos of penalty weight. We’re going to further analyse the matter now.” Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “It’s once again obvious – we’re up front as long as we don’t retire. Karl totally eclipsed the competition today. You could see in qualifying that weight is crucial here. Not only for Alex – the Maseratis aren’t quite up front either this time.”

The seventh race in Brno will get under way tomorrow, Sunday, at 1.15 pm.

2008-09-08, Each and every year, the race on the Masarykring near Brno is the home event for Jetalliance Racing, and this year is no different – the 5.4 kilometre long track, just about a two hours’ drive by car from Vienna, is the venue for the seventh round of the 2008 FIA GT Championship this weekend (September 12th to 14th). Traditionally, a lot of Austrian racing fans will be at the track. A circumstance which also constitutes an obligation for the team from Lower Austria:
Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “The ambience at Brno has always been very good. We want to add our contribution to make sure the Austrian fans will drive home contentedly – and perhaps be able to celebrate something with us beforehand, meaning that we want to get involved in the battle for victory.”

The turbulent weeks in which the team failed to score points in both Spa and Bucharest are now forgotten – after all, the causes are sufficiently known. Lichtner-Hoyer, who will share the number 36 Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 with Germany’s Alex Müller: “We are only looking ahead from now on.” Karl Wendlinger, who will again team up with his Scottish partner Ryan Sharp (Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9), has a similar view:

Karl Wendlinger: “The championship train has steamed off without us. We are only focusing on the individual races now, we just want to score some good results. We have already proven many times this year that we are competitive. As a case in point, I finished in the top three of every qualifying session – with the exception of Monza, where I suffered a tyre failure. I’m convinced that we will play an important part in the battle for victory at Brno.”

2008-08-30, After withdrawing from the Bucharest event for reasons of safety despite a spot on the front row, the team of Jetalliance Racing from Lower Austria has been pursuing in-depth causation studies over the past few days. Successfully, both Aston Martin will race again in Czechia.
Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “Both Aston Martin DBR9 have undergone a detailed revision – during which we determined that we were indeed dealing with cracks in a suspension component that chanced to appear simultaneously in both cars. After free practice, we didn’t really pay attention to it at first since it wasn’t a load-bearing component, hence we would have been able to continue despite such a fissure. But then, after qualifying, we detected the same fault with the second car as well, and I no longer wanted to believe it to be merely a coincidence. We were unable to obtain replacement parts at such a short notice. Hence the withdrawal from Bucharest as a safety measure. In hindsight, the decision was the right one, safety is the chief principle for the company group. Now, after the parts have been changed, there’s no further reason to doubt the raceworthiness of both DBR9. For Brno, I’m upbeat once again.”

In plain language that is to say: Jetalliance Racing will be competing in the seventh round of the FIA GT Championship in Czechia on September 14th with its strongest team. With the pairing of Karl Wendlinger/Ryan Sharp on the one hand, with the duo of Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer and Alex Müller on the other.

2008-08-24, The news hit like a thunderbolt just a few hours before the first of two races in Bucharest that make up the sixth round of the FIA GT Championship: Jetalliance Racing is withdrawing both cars from the event for reasons of safety! And this despite a spot on the front row! Because Karl Wendlinger had put the Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 onto second spot in qualifying!

Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “We have discovered technical problems with both cars after qualifying, whose causes are yet unknown. I’m accustomed to giving safety the top priority in aviation. And in this case, I applied the same principle to the race team, forcing myself to take this unpopular, yet certainly only appropriate decision. This measure is even harder because we are giving up a front row start.”

Thus the race weekend is already over for the team from Lower Austria. Because the team will not take the start to tomorrow’s second race either!

2008-08-23, Newsflash: in a close fight for pole position Karl Wendlinger had to settle for second. Marcel Fässler in the Phoenix Corvette was just a fraction of a tenth quicker. Teammate Alex Müller placed his car, which carries 70 kg of success balast, to seventh place. The race starts at 5.15 pm CET.

2008-08-18, While Austria’s Olympians are fighting for possible medals in China, another FIA GT round is imminent for Jetalliance Racing, the official partner of the Austrian Olympic Committee, this coming weekend in Romania. Contrary to the other events, two one-hour races will be run (on Saturday and Sunday) on the Bucharest street course around the palace of former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, which today is housing Romania’s parliament.
After the setback of the early retirement from the Spa 24h race, the team of Jetalliance Racing is coming to Romania with renewed motivation. Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp only have a small outside chance in the championship, thinking race by race from now on. Especially the Scotsman is in the mood for a win: “The Spa race is behind us, we are going to Bucharest to win. Because now our only chance is to finish right up front in each and every race that’s left on the schedule.”
Karl Wendlinger: “A street course that won’t forgive any mistakes. We have to try to find good traction and an ideal behaviour under braking for our Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 in practice. That’s the foundation. But we already solved that very well last year. That’s why I’m very confident for this year as well.”
It is a different situation for the Jetalliance Aston Martin DBR9 with start number 36 – it will have to carry a lot of penalty weight due to the second place finish at Oschersleben and not entering Spa – 70 kilogrammes in total! Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “For a short time, Alex and I had considered going on a special diet programme, but eventually we gave up on that idea. No, seriously, 70 kilos are a real bummer. But rules are rules, we’ll have to live with it. Nevertheless, our goal is to finish in the points with both cars.” Lichtner-Hoyer’s partner Alex Müller has never raced in the streets of Bucharest before: “I usually do all right on street courses, I always managed good results in Formula 3. I hope that this will continue in FIA GT as well. In my opinion, it will be very important for us this time to get into a good position for the race in qualifying.”

TIME TABLE, BUCHAREST:
Friday, 22 August
3.00 – 4.20 p.m. FIA GT, Free Practice

Saturday, 23 August
8.45 – 10.05 a.m. FIA GT, Prequalifying
1.15 – 1.50 p.m. FIA GT, Qualifying
6.15 – 7.15 p.m. FIA GT, Race 1

Sunday, 24 August
2.15 – 3.15 p.m. FIA GT, Race 2