Simon Melhuish – Torrent Motorports

Q: Your team can be considered rookies for the up coming season despite running the Hockenheim round. What are your predictions and goals?
When we joined a few weeks before the Hockenheim round we was looking forward to it, but come race day we had a few issues. They was mainly to do with the GTR Evo Simulation as we was all new to it. It also didn't help having to run on default set up due to lack of time before heading off to Germany.

My prediction is for the normal guys fighting for victory (GMT-DHR, Flatout etc) we hope to be more on the pace in our outings as Hockenheim was abit of a disapointment. I only got up front with a different strategy to everyone else.

Our goals as I said above is to be fighting for poles and wins.

Q: The BMW M3 GTR was the dominant car count-wise and maybe when it comes to performance too and you guys seems to stick with it. Is it the best GT Sport car?
We chose our cars on personal prefferece more than performance, The M3 GTR is a very good looking car and we like to race with style, hehe. I also work for BMW in real life so that added another reason to pick it.

Q: Will you continue with the Audi R8 in the Pro class?
At this time I couldn't give you a straight answer if we are using the Audi. We chose it for Black cup as its a nice looking car and the owner of Torrent is a huge Audi fan but our Pro drivers can't get on with it so we will be hitting our home track in Ohio to test the Pro cars out more.

Mikael Hellén – The Black Rebels

Q: After a good start of the season with multiple wins and leading the championship after the 2nd round your team ended in P3 in the end. Are you happy about the result?
The 3rd place overall was a nice achivement for the full season but with out a few of those disconnects and unlucky crashes I think we would have been able to get 2nd, but still, yes I think the team is happy with the 3rd place.

Q: As one of the top six teams you get to chose one of the tracks for the Blue Cup. Have you decided on which one?
No, we are still talking about it but the selection of tracks aren't that wide, Jarama, Barcelona or Valencia.

Q: Do you think TBR will be able to fight for the championship next season and who do you regard as the team to beat?
TBR has in my opinion a very high average skill in the team but so does the other teams aswell, I think if we have a perfect season with no or few crashes and a top performance from all drivers we do have a shot at the overall win.The team to beat? Well, of course RPM is always there and so is GMT-DHR and the rest aswell,so it's really not easy to say.

Jari Vinnari - Roaring Pipes Maniacs

Q: As the first championons of the STC (ETC) you are of course very pleased. Were there ever any doubts during the season that you might not be up there and fighting for the win?
We did know that good results were possible but winning the championship wasnt a high priority to us when we started the ETC. We just wanted to have good time and not to worry about the race results or championship. We will continue driving with that same attitude also in STC.

Q: You and Kevin Asher were the main base of the team last season with a 1-2 in the GT Sport race in Anderstorp as highlight. Do you think it helped with using the same drivers more often then switching for every race?
I dont think so. Kevin and I drove so much because sadly many of our members had timetable problems and not because we are the fastest guys in our team.

Q: Who, exept for RPM, do you see fightnig for the win in the Blue Cup?
You never really know because there are new teams and new faces whose real performance are still unknown. Of course the top ETC teams has already proven that they are capable of winning the championship. We just have to wait and see.

Q: Will you guys keep the Corvette for both classes?
That´s classified information....just kidding. Our cars will be Audi R8 GT Concept and Sunred SR21. We didnt choose our cars because they were the fastest or easiest to drive but because we though it would be good idea to have little more car variations between the teams.

Tom Ilsbroux – FlatOut Club

Q: Finishing runner up after a very strong season, only 17 points behind RPM, what are your thoughts about it?
It was a nice championship, after a slow start we got better and better near the end. I think we were one of the most consistent team around and that made the difference. Also we could bring four different drivers to each event which for a teamevent is a good thing. These teamchampionships really bring a good atmosphere in our club and watching our temmembers battle for position makes us proud.

Q: What are your thoughts on the upcoming season?
We are lokoing forward to it, we are testing the different cars to see if we can get one that suits everyone. The superpole will bring something interesting to the championship, although the changable weather goes worry me as I find it not realistic. Like the Donington Sport race, that track should not have stayed wet like it did, with no more rain it should have dried up. I would rather pick a few races with wet weather and not chose the changeable options.

Q: Will there be any changes within the team for the Blue Cup?
Not really, we have some new members that are interested in the cup but also some that can't make it anymore because of work or other commitments.

Q: As a price for finishing in the top 6 you get to chose a track for next season. Anything decided yet?
Yes we have, we have jsut done a week of practice around various english tracks as there are so many to pick from. We have chosen Oulton Park as it is an interestin track with all its bumps.

Don't miss part 3 that will be up in a few days time!