Image courtesy of Porsche
STUTTGART, Ger. — Preparations for the 2007 motorsport season are in full swing. In addition to their personal sports programme the Porsche works drivers met up for an intensive ten-day fitness training on Cyprus. Under the direction of sports physician Prof. Dr. Frank Mayer from the University of Potsdam, factory drivers Timo Bernhard (26), Sascha Maassen (37), Romain Dumas (29), Ryan Briscoe (25), Emmanuel Collard (35), Patrick Long (25), Jörg Bergmeister (31), Marc Lieb (26) and Richard Lietz (23) focus on strength and endurance in preparation for races in international sportscar and GT racing series. Also taking part in the Porsche Fitness Camp were UPS-Porsche juniors Lance David Arnold (20) and Martin Ragginger (18).
Aside from exercises to increase strength and endurance, also on the comprehensive training schedule were workouts to enhance coordination, speed and flexibility. The pilots train between five and seven hours daily. “I feel that the muscles in my torso have improved considerably and this is particularly important for a race driver,” reports Timo Bernhard, who shares the cockpit of an almost 500 hp Porsche RS Sypder with Romain Dumas for the Penske Motorsports team in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS).
Image courtesy of Porsche
Sascha Maassen, the reigning ALMS champion in the P2 class, made the most of this chance to get to know his new teammate Ryan Briscoe whilst also further improving his fitness. “The ten days of training on Cyprus were a great chance for us to get used to each other. In long-distance racing it’s crucial for race drivers who are usually lone-rangers to think as a team,” said Maassen. “The camp has really helped the whole driver squad to weld together. Not once did we experience cabin fever. The new drivers also fitted in really well,” added Timo Bernhard, who has competed for Porsche since 1999.
For their race events the works drivers will also be under the care of a medical team, to which at least one doctor belongs. Porsche race physician Dr. Georg Huber has accompanied the sportsmen since 1973. His colleague, Dr. Jürgen Lindemann, has also spent a good two decades traveling to race tracks all over the world. At particularly long events like the Sebring 12 hour race, the Le Mans 24 Hours or the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, the squad also has Prof. Mayer and his team of physiotherapists at hand.
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