Natacha Gachnang Makes History By Becoming The First Female Driver To Race An A1GP Car
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Oct 10, 2007
A1GP
A1 Team Switzerland prepares for Brno Round Two Monday, October 08, 2007 - Brno, Czech Republic – With A1Team Switzerland, a female driver takes an A1GP car to the track in Brno. Natacha Gachnang made history by becoming the first female A1GP driver racing in the A1 Team Switzerland car.
Natacha Gachnang who has already tested the car in Silverstone will be the Friday rookie driver. She will now head to the technical 5.41-km Brno circuit in the Moravia region of the Czech Republic for round two of the 10-event series on 12-14 October. The team’s week-end will continue with regular driver Neel Jani to take over. Neel Jani scored a podium and points in the two races of the thrilling season-opener at Zandvoort. A1 Team Switzerland is now fifth in the Championship (16 points).
Natacha Gachnang: “The tests in Silverstone have been a fantastic experience and I’m very grateful to Max Welti for the opportunity he gave me to drive for the A1 Team Switzerland team. It’s interesting to get to drive a single-seater like the A1 GP car, one of the top racing cars in the world. I will do my best to help the Swiss team prepare an excellent week-end on this technical track very challenging and very well designed that I know because I drove four races here with the Formula BMW in 2003, 2004 and 2005. I’m very happy to be racing here amongst confirmed talents. I can’t wait to be in the car. “
Neel Jani: “The circuit is very technical with a mixture of undulations, fast corners and long straights. Overtaking is facilitated thanks to numerous twists and turns. Moreover, changing weather conditions can be a frequent occurrence at Brno, making the racing quite exciting. Let’s hope that the temperatures will not be too cold! The last time I came to race in Brno dates back to 2004. I was racing in Formula Renault V6 and I scored 2 poles and 2 wins: A good aim and I hope I can repeat this performance with an A1GP car as well.
Max Welti – Team Principal: “As we have seen in Zandvoort, we are not too far from our objectives. Driver strategy is proving to be key for the A1 GP week-end. Following the Silverstone pre-season driver shoot out to determine the core drivers for A1 Team Switzerland, this is the first opportunity for the team to assess other potential drivers to add to the Neel Jani and Sebastien Buemi line-up. We will have to work very hard within the team and with our driver to be where we want to be. Natacha will have to go through the routines for basic preparation of the car for the weekend. I am also happy to continue the week-end working with Neel Jani who has put in strong race performances on the first A1GP debut in The Netherlands. ”
