Hard times for Susie Stoddart at “Bella Italia”

From the very beginning of the race weekend at Mugello in the heart of beautiful italian Tuscany Susie Stoddart and her Persson team were struggling in finding a good set-up for her TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C class. “On this fast and challenging track it is crucial your car is balanced”, the 25 year old explains. “If you fail to find the right set up it is very difficult to hit the limit.”
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Susie Stoddart taking the pressure off in ‘08

Scotland’s leading lady racer ready to do battle on a more level playing field in 2008.

 

She may still have to open her points-scoring account in the DTM, but Susie Stoddart insists the pressure is off in 2008 – as she enters the campaign with her best chance yet to impress.

The Scot has moved across from Mücke Motorsport to Persson Motorsport for the new campaign – set to get into gear at her favourite circuit of Hockenheim this weekend – and she says she has settled in well, and is particularly enthusiastic about the opportunity to be working alongside 2005 DTM title-winner and Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes Formula One test driver Gary Paffett this year.

“Obviously whenever you join a new team it’s different people you’re working with and a different way of doing things,” she acknowledged, speaking to Crash.net Radio, “and that takes a bit of adapting to. I was very happy at my old team Mücke, but I was switched over to Persson and I’m very happy there also. They had Bruno Spengler and Jamie Green before they moved up to the factory team. They try to nurture the young drivers and help them to develop, which is a great situation for me to be in.
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Motorsport Interview with Susie Stoddart

MOTORSPORT aktuell Interview - “It won’t work by force!”

In an interview with swiss motorsports magazine “MOTORSPORT aktuell” Susie speaks about the difficulties in getting rid of the prejudice of just being a marketing tool and of being accepted in DTM for her driving abilities.

Q: In the third year woman drivers in DTM as a PR gag are exhausted. Why is it apparently so difficult for you to get rid of the status of a dash of coulour though?
A: I don’t even see that question. Of course you must be honest to yourself and realize that when two manufacturers indenture a woman at the same time it has got something to do with marketing. But if I hadn’t performed well I would have been out right after the first year. Norbert Haug and Gerhard Ungar place high expectations in their drivers. They provide them with the best car, the AMG Mercedes C-Class – and they expect the best from them. This is why I want to be taken serious as a racing driver.

Q: So for you this means – score as many points as possible in 2008.
A: Sure – but I had the same goal last year. I am not proud having to confess I couldn’t achieve that goal. I improved a lot, was quite close to the points on several occasions and have learned where I still have to get better. This makes me believe I am in a much better position for 2008.

Q: You got to grips with your qualifying weakness quite well.
A: Yes, and that made me happy. Now I have to sort out my other weaknesses and that should bring me into a position to score points. But I won’t put any additional pressure on myself because it’s so hard in DTM to move up into the top eight positions. But something tells me it is going to happen this year.

Q: Your problem was having to be measured up to Paul di Restas results.
A: For me it was no problem. I have never been shy of competition. Paul did a brillant rookie season in DTM and I don’t feel ashamed to admit that his results were better than mine. But honestly I did not really look at his situation because I had to concentrated on my own one. And as long as I give my best I am happy.

Q: You were quite close to him though so we are talking about details only. Which details?
A: It’s only a few tenths of a second. But those few tenths mean a lot in DTM concerning track position. Paul just got the whole package together. He was quick in qualifying as well as in race and managed to implement that into podium positions. I can learn a lot from him. But actually I know quite well where I have to work on.

Q: The last two tenths are the hardest to find. What’s the way to find them?
A: You need to develop the feeling of getting the car to the absolute limit and of how to take maximum grip out of the new tyres. Moreover you have to work hard with your engineer to make sure you know how quick the car will be on new tyres. It’s a combination of many factors. If you manage to get them sorted out the speed will come by itself. Trying to find those two tenths by force won’t work.

Q: Peter Mücke says you sometimes seem to be too determined. Is the right extent between ambition and serenity a key to success?
A: You won’t get far with serenity in DTM especially as long as you are not where you want to be. Possibly I will be more relaxed once I have scored my first points. But to get there means nothing but never stop fighting and giving hundred percent.

Q: On the other hand Jamie Green is a good example how things can work out once the knot has cracked.
A: Sure. But that also requires some luck. Jamie could have won at Lausitzring and Oschersleben already. But it did not work out, and for sure it hadn’t got anything to do with too much determination or a lack of talent.

Q: During the 2007 season all drivers in the old cars had to subordinate their own strategy to the one of their manufacturer on several occasions. Are you looking forward to the pitstop windows?
A: Yes, I do – but mainly from the point of view of the specators. For people who maybe don’t follow the series intensely some races might have been hard to follow due to the different race strategies. So the pitstop windows will mean an improvement for the whole series. I didn’t feel disadvantaged during last season.

Q: You say you’re prepared better than prior to any other season before. What do we have to expect from you?
A: I had a great winter so far. I did a lot of training, feel physically fit and relaxed and look forward to the upcoming season. Something tells me it will be a good year for me. Let’s wait and see what it will bring …

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