After his title win in the Asian Le Mans Series, Rene Binder will race with DUQUEINE Engineering for the first time, starting next week. New main sponsors from the Captura Group will also be in place as the eagerly anticipated private ELMS test sessions get under way at the Circuito de Catalunya near Barcelona.
For some three years now, Rene Binder has had a ‘partnership’ with the Captura Group which is one of Austria’s leading companies in the buy-to-let sector with its ImmoPension product: “As one of Captura’s satisfied customers and owner of a small buy-to-let apartment in Graz, the opportunity came my way last year to mention the existence of our motor racing project to Captura’s management, never thinking for one moment that they would first become official partners and then main sponsors within a few months, which of course, all goes to show their faith in me. I intend to repay that trust in the best possible way. I would also like to just take a moment to thank Herr Tilg, the Captura Group’s CEO, and his team once again.”
Georg Tilg, CEO: “We think it a great honour to be associated with Rene Binder but also see it as part of our plans to grow the company. Fortune favours the brave, as evidenced by Rene’s incredible start to the season. It’s also confirmation for us that we’ve backed the right horse! We look forward to seeing how the rest of the season develops and want to wish Rene continued success with his racing – and no crashes!”
As regards his first outing with DUQUEINE Engineering, Rene hopes he can continue to enjoy the success that has recently come his way: “First the title in the ALMS and then a new main sponsor from Austria, my homeland, this is something that will inspire me to achieve great things and release plenty of positive energy, for sure. I’m really looking forward to our first couple of days together, working as a new team. I’m also really keen to get started with my two very experienced team-mates, Tristan Gommendy and Memo Rojas, and want to see what ideas our new race engineer, Greg Wheeler, can bring to the table. DUQUEINE Engineering have made a conscious decision to stick with the tried and trusted this season and I personally am certain that they are on the right track.”
Although the 29-year-old Tyrolean does not see himself by any means as being an old hand in motor sport, he was always very focused previously in his approach to formula racing and regards the way some of his younger colleagues go about things as being very counterproductive, particularly where endurance races are concerned: “If there’s a young driver in your team whose only interest is to be the fastest over a single lap, then in the worst-case scenario, everyone in the team loses focus on what’s essential. It’s like a long-distance race, in which a sprinter tries to impress with a starting pace that is far too high. Ultimately, it’s all about being as far out in front as possible after four hours or after 24 hours in the case of Le Mans and not to put too many stresses and strains on the car. At DUQUEINE Engineering, we’re all singing from the same song-sheet before we even get started, which I see as being very positive.”