Marcel fässler drives Audi R10 TDI in America

[Aslak Vind]

Have just received the news on a SMS text, more to come!

[Aslak Vind]

2008/07/29
Marcel Fässler drives Audi R10 TDI in America

# Two races in the American Le Mans Series
# First start on 9 August at Road America (USA)


Audi driver Marcel Fässler (CH)

Date of birth: 27 May 1976
Place of birth: Einsiedeln (CH)
Domicile: Gross (CH)
Marital status: Married with Isabel, three daughters (Shana, Elin, Yael)
Height / weight: 1.78 m / 78 kg
Motorsport since: 1985 (Audi driver since 2008)

Career
1985–1994 Karting, 1st in IcA-European Championship round
1993 3rd in Winfield Racing Drivers School, France
1995 3rd in Formula Renault Campus France
1996 3rd in French Formula Renault, "Rookie of the Year”
1997 11th in French Formula 3 Championship,
1st in Formula Campus Invitation Race, Macau
1998 4th in French Formula 3 Championship
1999 2nd in German Formula 3 Championship
2000 4th in DTM
2001 4th in DTM
2002 4th in DTM
2003 3rd in DTM
2004 9th in DTM
2005 11th in DTM
2006 4th in ELMS, 2nd in Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hour race
2007 A1 GP series, ELMS,
1st in Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hour race
2008 FIA GT Championship

www.marcel-faessler.ch

- Ends -

[ger80]

Oh, he cant do boys?
Seems like Audi starts to select the LM drivers for next year

[gwyllion]

Full press release: http://www.endurance-info.com/static...dex.txt&npds=1

[Speed-King]

Nice career move for him.
I wonder if this will bring him back to DTM as well if all works out. He raced for Merc and Opel in DTM, but never for Audi.

[Aslak Vind]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

Full press release: http://www.endurance-info.com/static...dex.txt&npds=1

Yes, sadly I am not allowed to publish press releases in full on BBS.

Sorry for that.

[Aslak Vind]

That was it for Dindo Capello..!

He has been making far to many mistakes, and I know that there has been an internal pressure on Ullrich to solve it. And also, Dindo has himself been talking about hanging the helmet..

Kind of sad, I like the Itlian. But Marcel is a good bett, however I think there is a couple of Audi youngsters who had anticipated to take over the seat instead of the brave Swiss.

Who I am sure will do a greta job.

[cmk]

As seems to be the norm these days, gotta agree with Aslak. Dindo is one of the most likable drivers in the paddock (along, incidentally, with Pirro) but something has not been quite right over the past year. He's been making marginal moves and not showing the requisite patience, and one gets the feeling it's been his friendship with TK and Nishy that has helped him hold on this far. If this is Capello's swansong, well, he went out with a bang at LM! I would not be surprised if he too felt that winning the big one with his two friends was all that he wanted from this career.

Fassler is a superb choice - he's impressed in every car he has driven since appearing on the sportscar scene. Remember his out-of-nowhere qualifying performance at Spa in the Swiss Spirit Courage...and of course his runs for Phoenix in the Aston and Vette, and even his success in the Trottet Racing 430 this year. Great job subbing at Oreca til the crash as well. He should adapt very well to the Audi. If anything, he lacks the American experience though. Having never been, he's gonna have a lot to learn about racetracks over here, about ALMS procedure, etc. Probably why they're getting him a couple of races here this year...

So, million dollar question: who partners Pirro at Mosport? My money is on a certain Scotsman, but we'll see...

[dxk1]

Originally Posted by cmk

Fassler is a superb choice - he's impressed in every car he has driven since appearing on the sportscar scene. Remember his out-of-nowhere qualifying performance at Spa in the Swiss Spirit Courage...and of course his runs for Phoenix in the Aston and Vette, and even his success in the Trottet Racing 430 this year. Great job subbing at Oreca til the crash as well. He should adapt very well to the Audi...So, million dollar question: who partners Pirro at Mosport? My money is on a certain Scotsman, but we'll see...

I agree, Fassler is a terrific choice for the Audi R10. He drove extremely impressive laps at Spa in the rain during the 24 hours last year. Also, I'd love to see him paired with McNish at Mosport. Wouldn't that be fun?

DK

[TWK]

Are there two better drives in memory than Dindo's final stints at Petit Le Mans and Laguna Seca last season? That's only months ago.

Anything wrong with his performance at Le Mans?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it's nonsense to imply that Capello has been driving the R10 for any other reason than he was the best driver available.

[Dauer 962]

Originally Posted by Aslak Vind

That was it for Dindo Capello..!

I wouldn’t bet any money on that. Capello will most likely be in the R10 at Mosport.

[minimangler]

Originally Posted by TWK

Are there two better drives in memory than Dindo's final stints at Petit Le Mans and Laguna Seca last season? That's only months ago.

Anything wrong with his performance at Le Mans?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it's nonsense to imply that Capello has been driving the R10 for any other reason than he was the best driver available.

Kristensen's at Le Mans, in the night

[chernaudi]

Originally Posted by cmk

As seems to be the norm these days, gotta agree with Aslak. Dindo is one of the most likable drivers in the paddock (along, incidentally, with Pirro) but something has not been quite right over the past year. He's been making marginal moves and not showing the requisite patience, and one gets the feeling it's been his friendship with TK and Nishy that has helped him hold on this far. If this is Capello's swansong, well, he went out with a bang at LM! I would not be surprised if he too felt that winning the big one with his two friends was all that he wanted from this career.

Fassler is a superb choice - he's impressed in every car he has driven since appearing on the sportscar scene. Remember his out-of-nowhere qualifying performance at Spa in the Swiss Spirit Courage...and of course his runs for Phoenix in the Aston and Vette, and even his success in the Trottet Racing 430 this year. Great job subbing at Oreca til the crash as well. He should adapt very well to the Audi. If anything, he lacks the American experience though. Having never been, he's gonna have a lot to learn about racetracks over here, about ALMS procedure, etc. Probably why they're getting him a couple of races here this year...

So, million dollar question: who partners Pirro at Mosport? My money is on a certain Scotsman, but we'll see...

I kinda doubt that Audi will let Dindo go so easily...after all, a certian German driver(Frank Biela) is the one who's rumored to be retiring, at least if Audi doesn't keep him in their sportscar program.

Yes, Dindo had made more mistakes this year in the LMS, but could it be that Dindo feels better in the ALMS? Could Audi just be saving McNish and Capello for the remainder of Audi's LMS assault against Peugeot(based on Spa, Audi is close to upseting Pug's apple cart, if Allan and Dindo get some luck on their side, for once)?

Maybe well see Allan and Dindo at Mosport and Laguna Seca, and perhaps teaming with Pirro at PLM(or just going at it themselves).

Audi does need a new driver(s), but I doubt that the affiable Italians(Capello and Pirro) will be going anywhere very soon-Marcel is probably replacing Frankie. Allan and Dindo are probably better fits in the ALMS anyways.

[HORNDAWG]

Ya, t'was my thought also that Fässsler was Biela's replacement. And that we might see Allen and Dindo in the ALMS after the LMS closes out for the season.


L.P.

[chernaudi]

Off topic: So we finally agree on something! You may want to check the temp in the Netherworld.

On topic: Biela is more than likely done as a full time Audi driver for sure-Audi may very well keep him as a test driver(Frank developed the R8 and R10), and as a spokesperson/ambassador for the brand, but his driving days are definently numbered.

Allan and Dindo are(at least from my point of view) a better fit for Audi in the ALMS, and only date clashes kept them from running a full ALMS season, where they would've likely given Marco and Lucas a run for their money.

This isn't a knock against Pirro, who has done a very good job for Audi all year in the ALMS(just look at Lime Rock), but the #1 only really shined when he was teamed with Dindo. Fassler hasn't done any major racing for Audi, but it seems that Audi has had Marcel under their wing for quite a while(at least several months, if not dating back to the spring of last year), and his GT experience(like with Werner and Luhr) should be an added advantage, in addition to his pace and speed.

Wish Marcel luck, and hopefully he'll find a home with Audi in the DTM, or(preferably) the ALMS or LMS.

[Hugewally]

I'm beginning to think we won't see Allan back in the US for the rest of the year...

[Aslak Vind]

I am told, that Marcel Fässler could possibly take over Tom Kristensen´s DTM workscar next year. Tom has had some problems getting over his crash at Hockenheim, and it would leave the Le Mans champ to focus his last active years at Audi on endurance racing.

Some of the Audi youngsters has not performed as hoped in the DTM series, and could see Fässler overtake them on the Audi ladder.

I hope the best for Tom, he is one of the greatest outthere!

[rich07]

So what does this mean for Marcel Fassler's drive in FIA GT??

[cmk]

Aslak usually seems to have an idea what is going on the halls at Audi, and if says there is some consternation from upper levels about Capello, well, I think I could see where it would come from.

Tom, I totally agree with you about Dindo's performances last year. I don't think he's suddenly a bad driver, but it is true that there is a time to step away, and it's not always over a huge incident. James Weaver mentioned deterioration of eyesight as a factor in his decision, and the elder Audi statesmen are all starting to reach that age, to be fair.

[The Badger]

I think a lot of Capello's accidents are down to being in the wrong place at the wrong time , and not all down to him . He has nothing to prove , brilliant driver , imo .

I wasnt aware that Kristensen is still having trouble from his accident ?

[Aslak Vind]

My personal opinion is, that Dindo in the last few years has been very impatient and taking far to many chances. Especially when he had to collect time on the leader. He seems to have lost that elegant edge he used to have, where he could tango around the GT cars in a sweep.

Just my 1 DKK!

[chernaudi]

I agree that Dindo is getting up there in age, but what does that say about Pirro, who's a couple of years older than Capello, and still seems to have a few years left in him at Audi(granted, everyone is different, but still).

Also, Werner is like 42, isn't he? So he's starting to enter that age group, but it seems that he's faster than ever-probably to the point of challenging McNish, should he ever do a full ALMS season again.

I believe that Dindo most of this year has been a victim of some of his more agressive moves that have only worked about half the time, and simple, pure, un-alloyed bad luck. If he cranks back the agressiveness scale a little sometimes, half of the stuff that happened(Sebring, Monza, Lime Rock) wouldn't have. But luck also makes up a lot of it(Spa, Barcelona, and Mid Ohio). Dindo still has the speed I think, and Mid Ohio shows(by how he was able to keep up with Werner in traffic, and make up ground after he got spun out) shows that his skills are largely beyond redoubt(Mid Ohio, though seems to confirm how I feel about Gentlemen drivers-a pure and simple, un-alloyed boneheaded move caught Dindo out on that one).

Dindo may still have a few years in the ALMS/LMS, but within a few years, he'll scale back or retire completely. The remaining LMS rounds and anymore ALMS races he does(he'll likely run Mosport(but who with-Pirro or Nishy?), PLM, and maybe Laguna Seca) will likely tell the story here.

And it does seem doubtable now that Allan will run any additional ALMS races until next year, save perhaps PLM or if he and Audi change their minds and have run a couple of ALMS events late this year(after all, Audi hasn't made their Mosport intentions known, and it's sandwiched between Road America and Detroit-wouldn't they use Fassler just for continutity?)

That last statement hints at an experinced driver line-up for Mosport: Capello/Pirro, or perhaps(I'm not holding out hope, though) McNish/Capello, maybe even McNish/Pirro.

[cmk]

When you're a victim of your own mistakes, we don't call that being a victim: we call it being at fault.

As you say, everyone is different. Why is it so hard for people to believe that a driver may have lost his edge? Nobody's saying competitive spirit is lacking, or even car control skill. However, if your execution starts to fade in situations like passing GT cars, often because your sensory integration is just not quite what it used to be, then you're going to create accidents by trying to drive as aggressively as you used to. Some of it can come from increased pressure - god knows McNish and Capello can't have taken Penske's 2007 success easily. Some of it, however, can just come down to ineffective judgment.

Remember when James Weaver came piling into T1 at Road America in 2006, leaving his braking way way too late and causing a little stuff-up? It was a very shocking lack of judgment, or lack of proper perception and execution, coming from James. My dad commented at the time that it was extremely un-Weaver-like and wondered if it was a sign. Apparently James thought so too. There is no shame in stepping out of the cockpit with dignity and grace. Nobody would dare say that James was/is not a brilliant driver. Nobody's saying Dindo isn't, either.

[peckadj]

when hear that the car has gone off the track/in an accident its never mcnish who's driving

[cmk]

Hyperbole. McNish was involved in the Audi incident at Indianapolis during LM 2004. Not his fault, I'm not saying that, but it's untrue that Nishy has never been in an Audi off-course. Kristensen is similarly safe but not foolproof.