“I have very good memories of Monza.” – Giorgio Pantano
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The Auto GP grand finale, planned for 3 October in Monza, will host one more player: the Italian weekend, that in all probability will decide the series champion, will also see the debut of a new team: Ombra Racing.
The Italian outfit, who won the 2004 Italian F3 title and was teams champion in Euroseries 3000 in 2009, decided to take part in the last Auto GP round as a “toe-in-the-water” looking to a full commitment to the series in 2011.
Despite being at their debut in the championship Davide Mazzoleni and Marcello Pollini (respectively Sporting and Technical director of the team) are very confident that the team will be in Monza not only to gather datas and experience but also to compete for an outright win. To be as clear as possible about their ambitions they chose Giorgio Pantano to drive their car. The former F1 driver and GP2 2008 champion always had a special relation with the Italian track, with the best moment in 2006 when he clinched a double win in GP2 ahead of future F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Giorgio will bring to the team not just his speed but also the experience needed to give the team the right feedback, so that Ombra can immediately find the same staggering performance level it had in 2009.
Davide Mazzoleni: “We think that the Auto GP concept proved to be very good and as the championship is one of the most likely options for our 2011 season we thought that giving it a try on our home track was a good idea. We have some experience on this car, Monza is one of our favourite tracks and it’s the same for Giorgio so we hope to get a good result. Choosing a driver like Pantano is a bit of a statement: we won’t race in Monza just to be there, our aim is a top-notch debut”.
Giorgio Pantano: “I have very good memories of Monza, I hope that also this year I will confirm the great feeling I have with the track. I loveit because it’s one of the few tracks where the driver is making the difference more than the car, because with low downforce the car gets more difficult to drive, pushing the driver to the limit of his skills. Obviously to compete at the top you need anyway a good car and given their results in the last seasons I’m confident that the Ombra guys will do a great job”.
source: autogp.org
