by Russell Atkins

TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN FULL: 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:CLICK HERE

Heinz-Harald Frentzen - a man who began more than 150 grands prix in the top flight and triumphed in three of them - is returning to his sportscar roots in 2008, having signed up to compete for Aston Mar♍tin Racing in the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours, his first appearance in the legendary round-the-clock French classic since 1992.

Not only that, but the highly-experienced German will have the honour of racing the British marque's GT1 class-winning DBR9 decked out in the original Gulf livery, celebrating the oil company's 40th debut at La Sarthe. The 40-year-old spoke exclusively to mahbx.com Radio about how he is feeling about taking on 'the greatest race in tꦦhe world' for a second time 16 years on...

Q:
Heinz-Harald, you're racing with A꧙ston Martin in the Le Mans 24 Hours this year, but it's been a while since you♌r sportscar days, hasn't it?

Heinz-Harald Frentzen:
Yeah, actually my last experience in sp♛ortscars was in 1993 in Japan, and then I had a similar experience to this kind of car in the DTM, where I drove from 2004 to 2006.

Q:
Do you think it may take you a wꦑhile to get back to grips with sportscars again, or not?

H-HF:
Well actually, the Aston Martin is similar in terms of speed to the DTM car, ♓so that's not too different.

Q:
You left the DTM at the end of 2006, since when you've had a year away from racing. Ar💜e you feeling refreshed now, ready to go again and eager to get back on-t﷽rack?

H-HF:
Yꦚes, I had a good, relaxing year after 2006, and slowly since the beginning of this year I've been getting ready to get back into motorsport. I won't be competing that often - just a few long races. I will also take part in the 24-hour race at the N?rburgring, as well as the Le Mans 24 Hours, which is obviously a very competitive event.

Q:
The car in its Gulf livery looks fantastic; how much are you lookinဣg forward to dri⛎ving it?

H-HF:
When I saw the car I found it really special. It 🙈has a fantastic paint scheme and a very traditional design. It's a really cool-looking car.

Q:
Have you had much time to work alongside your team-mates yet? Obviously you know Karl Wendlinger from your Formula 1 and sportscar d🐟ays together at Sauber, and there's also Andrea Piccini...

H-HF:
I know Karl from my early days in Formula 3 and I drove with him in sportscars too in 1989 and 1990, so I know him quite well. Andrea Piccini is for me a new guy, but we have quite a few opportunities to get to know each other b🦂efore the race.

Q:
The race is about a month꧑-and-a-half away now. How much time arಞe you likely to have in the car between now and then?

H-HF:
There will be ꧟a few opportunities, but I can't say yet exactly when we will be able to test.

Q:
People refer to Le Mans as the hardest race in the world. What in your o🧸p🍨inion makes it so special?

H-HF:
First of all it's a very cruc🍎ial race in terms of reliability - to extend a racing car's life to 24 hours is quite✱ a big technical achievement. Also for the drivers and mechanics, it's quite challenging in terms of concentration. It's a big challenge.

Q:
How competitive do you expect the GT1 class to be this🌳 year?

H-HF:
This is my first race in this category at Le Mans after 16 years, and I think it will be very competitive - that's what I🃏 have been told! From what I understand it's just about going flat-out each lap. It's going to be a very tough pace this year, because we have very close contenders in the class. That means it's important that we get the❀ maximum out of the car whilst also being reliable - that's the big challenge and we are very concentrated on that.

Q:
Aston Martin obviously won t🔯he GT1 class in Le Mans last y💙ear and finished fifth overall. Do you think a similar result is possible again this year?

H-HF:
Of course we are aiming to win our class again, but we know that in the Corvette we have very tough competition, like the team had last year and🧸 also in the past. I've been told the pace w𒈔as very, very high last year, so the pressure is pretty full-on.

TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN FULL: 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:CLICK HERE