Why an all Danish driver line-up?

Jan Strube, team owner of Young Driver No.95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 : "Being Danish, I thought is could be fun to have a all-Danish team with chance of winning - to put Denmark on the map - Tom Kristensen already does this brilliantly in his class, so we would like to do something similar in the GT class. That is our dream, - and we also hope that it can help other Danish motor-sport talents to get sponsors and funding. It's difficult when Denmark doesn't host any car manufactures. If e.g. a German team is to chose between a German and a Danish driver, then they are likely to chose the German. Nothing at Le Mans is however a walk in the park. Sportscar racing and in particular Le Mans is by far the biggest race I know - no Formula One race would ever challenge that in my mind. Formula One remains the top, but it's so difficult to get close to it. Here at Le Mans, you can get much closer to everything."

What about the media attention at Le Mans?

Jan Strube: "We love all the attention we're given, and hope it will pay off in increased interest - which again can be converted into income, when somebody decides they want to be part of this operation - maybe by bringing some of their own people down to experience the race close up and similar events. When I grew up, I always regarded Aston Martin as the coolest of cars. Much later I was in the lucky situation that I could buy one, and hereby I got to know Jac Nelleman (Danish former motor sport hero with a single F1 outing) who is the Danish contact to Aston Martin - he was involved in the Aston Martin GT1 cars and he invited me to some of his races, so when we were looking for somewhere for Christoffer to continue racing, it was natural for me to talk to Aston Martin first. They liked the idea, and this way we became part of the works team."

Tell us about the "Young Driver" team.

Jan Strube: "It would be lovely if we could get some steady sponsors, so we could spend more time on locating and encouraging new talents like Christoffer and help them along the way, and Christoffer could give on some of the knowledge he has picked up along the way. That was also the idea behind the Young Driver team last year, but unfortunately the financial crisis hit, and it became impossible to find substantial sponsors, so there were two options: either I dropped out of the show, or I became the largest sponsor myself, - which is what I chose to do do. I am obviously very happy for the supporters we have today, but it doesn't cover the expenses. My goal for the operation is not to make money, but simply to make it break even, be able to nurse some talents, and have a great time all along."

What about the 24 hours 2013?

Jan Strube: "We're hoping for dry weather for the cars and the fans, - but I must say, I have been here several times where the weather has been appalling, but still the fans are soldiering on."

Interview by Lennart Sorth / ACO

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