RAM RACING FIRED UP FOR ELMS RETURN IN AUSTRIA

The British Ram Racing team, which is competing with two Ferrari 458 Italias in the 2013 European Le Mans Series, heads this week to the Red Bull Ring in Austria for the third round of the five-race series.  After a two month gap in the schedule, the LMGTE class leaders are more than ready to spring back into action to reinforce their position at the top of the points' classification.  Johnny Mowlem (GBR) and Matt Griffin (IRL), current leaders with 45 points, will once again be behind the wheel of the No.52 white and blue Ferrari.  Since the last round at Imola, the duo has raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for different teams, been testing and racing in other series, and Griffin comes to the 4.32km track near Spielberg in the Styrian Mountains with a further win under his belt in a Ferrari 458 (International GT Open, Silverstone, 14th July).

While Johnny Mowlem has raced at the former home of the Austrian Grand Prix in the past, it is 15 years since his last visit during which time there have been considerable improvements to the track's infrastructure.  Griffin will be making his debut at the track.

The super-experienced Johnny Mowlem says of this weekend's racing:  “It's such a long time since I was at the track but what I do remember is that it's a really beautiful area and it's like the circuit is set in the middle of ‘The Sound of Music'!  It's very picturesque with flowing green fields going downhill around you. "I have good memories of the place and am looking forward to getting back there and hoping we can have another decent result.  The forecast isn't currently the same for race day as it is for the rest of the weekend, but we'll worry about that when – and if – we need to.” Ram Racing's No.53 entry will, as at the past two rounds, be driven by the North American pairing of Gunnar Jeannette and Frankie Montecalvo.  Young New Jersey driver, Montecalvo, is lying third in the drivers' classification with long-time team mate and friend, Jeannette, and they are both looking for their first win in the series after finishing twice on the podium.  Neither has competed at the Red Bull Ring before, but learning a new track hasn't held them back at either Silverstone or Imola! 

Gunnar Jeannette will be returning to the cockpit after breaking his left leg shortly after the Italian round (see separate statement), and can't wait to get racing again:  “Like Frankie, I've been doing as much Red Bull Ring research as possible.  I've ‘driven' there on a computer game, watched a DTM race and on-board footage, and done as much as I can without being there and it doesn't look like it's a super-difficult track to learn.  “It's extremely exciting to get back to racing as it's been a long break since Imola and Frankie and I are looking to go one or two steps higher on the podium.  Our team mates won at Imola and we want to make it our turn now!”

Team Principal Dan Shufflebottom is enthusiastic about the forthcoming round of the ELMS.  “We're sharing this weekend with World Series by Renault and it looks as though it could be a busy one as far as fans are concerned.  As far as the track goes, it looks like there are three reasonable braking zones – two uphill and one downhill – which adds to the character of the track.  “I understand the track surface is quite abrasive so line and grip will be at a premium, but low tyre degradation is expected.  Speeds might be lower than expected because of the altitude – all in all it's very different to what we've experienced so far so it should be a really good challenge.” The first of two one-hour practice sessions begins at 10:20 on Friday 19th July, with qualifying and the 3 Hours of Red Bull Ring taking place on Saturday 20th July.  

Gunnar Jeannette on his recent leg injury

 Gunnar Jeannette, 30, lives in Salt Lake City in Utah and is a highly experienced sky-diver but, as he found out at the beginning of June, accidents happen when you least expect them.  In his words, he explains what happened: “Right after I got back from Italy after the team's private test at Vallelunga, I went sky diving.  It was a completely normal jump but there was an irregular deployment of the canopy.  I knew I had to get away from the main canopy and had a reserve, but that malfunctioned too.  The result was that I unfortunately landed at a higher than normal rate of speed and broke my left tibia. “I've been recovering for almost two months after having surgery, and have been fortunate to have in Utah very good orthopaedic surgeons who worked with the US Olympic team.  They have great facilities for rehabilitation and are used to dealing with the demands of athletes' accelerated recovery schedules. “Ordinarily the time frame for healing would be much longer, but they put me to work on rehab and fitness and I'm happy to say that the doctors have cleared me to race in Austria.  “The only change I foresee making to my normal style of driving is that, in recent years I've been a left-foot braker, but now I will be going back to my roots and using my right foot on the brake pedal.  I keep being told that the Ferrari pedal positions favour right-foot braking so now I'm going to put it to the test!”