PETRONAS TOYOTA TEAM TOM'S
Super GT Series
A Driver Feature
5 November 2008
Part 1: An up close and personal encounter with Andre Lotterer
One of three new additions to the PETRONAS Motorsports family in 2008, the partnership with TOM’S to form the PETRONAS TOYOTA TEAM TOM’S was designed to meet the corporation’s aim of pursuing a strategic business objective in the Japanese market. Riding on TOM’S long racing history and impressive racing credentials that extends more than three decades, the PETRONAS TOYOTA TEAM TOM’S competes in the prestigious and highly competitive Japanese Super GT Series.
At the helm of the team's Lexus SC430, the team is served by two drivers, both seemingly a world apart, yet it is a relationship that has seen the duo chalk up impressive results. One half is made up of a lanky and charming German with an impressive racing pedigree; on the other is a Japanese "veteran" whose youthful exuberance belies almost two decades worth of experience racing.
With a legion of fans to boot, Andre Lotterer and teammate Juichi Wakisaka (the subject of the second part of our special interview) already have a championship to their name and have produced consistent results in 2008 that has earned them an outside chance at the championship. At the time of this publication, the PETRONAS TOYOTA TEAM TOM'S currently leads the team championship with 87 points, and in the drivers' ranking, Andre and Juichi are third, 15 points adrift off the No. 23 Xanavi NISMO GTR team and just a point behind the second place No. 18 Honda Takata Dome NSX team.
As the championship heads for a dramatic showdown at the very last round at the Fuji Speedway this weekend, we caught-up with the younger half of the pair, Andre Lotterer. Friendly and unassuming, and only 27 years-old, Andre already possesses a long list of racing accolades that includes his accomplishments in almost all the major single seater championships around the world, including Formula One. Currently plying his trade with the PETRONAS TOYOTA TEAM TOM'S in two major racing series in Japan - the hugely popular Super GT Series and the Formula Nippon championship - Andre Lotterer is as down-to-earth as they come. He talks about the season, the stiff competition, his philosophy and colourful career in an especially candid interview with us.
Teammates in arms - Juichi Wakisaka (left) and Andre Lotterer (right)
PETMOS: Andre, we are nearing the end of the 2008 Super GT season, and it looks like a tight fight for the championship with a few teams gunning for the title. From your perspective,tell us about the season so far and your overall feeling.
Andre Lotterer: "I'm pretty satisfied with how the season has gone so far, because we have been really consistent which is not easy to do in GT, especially with the regulation. The GTR is really strong this season, and though for sure we want to win, it has also been important for us to be consistent. We have been doing that so far, with a few rounds where the weight has been our achilles heel. We have had four podium finishes, so there really isn't much to say, as we have been doing more than the best of what we could do. At the beginning of the season, the changes in the regulation was a concern, but now with the weight handicap performance adjustment in place, we know what to expect. So far, everything has been going as planned, my teammate is great and the team has been very strong. So, we will fight to the end."
PM: You've been with TOM'S for a few seasons now, and what in your opinion, has been the most unique characteristic of this team?
AL: "To be honest, this team has an incredibly long history in racing, which is a great history when you look at what they have done and achieved in the past with sportscar in Group C World Championship in the 1980s and early 1990s; and in Le Mans.They are the best team for Toyota. They would have made it to Formula One were it not for the economic downturn in the late 1980s. They are still very big with a big name, which is one of the most unique thing for a Japanese team, especially having achieved and gone so far in racing."
PM: Based on your experience, what has been the biggest challenge for the team and for you this season?
AL: "I think the challenge is basically always the same, which is to win and to do the best you can. You cannot approach a season without having this challenge. We are a winning team and that's what we want to do every race. We always approach every weekend trying to do our maximum best because there really is no satisfaction with being second or third."
PM: One of the races in the season is the round in Sepang. What is the major differences between this Sepang round and the other rounds in Japan, aside from the weather?
AL: "Unlike the races in Japan, the round in Sepang really has a different atmosphere. It's fun for me and for everybody to go outside of Japan and enjoy our racing on a bit more on an international basis. Personally, I enjoy it a lot because I really love the track as I like high-speed courses. I like the hot weather, and I think everyone on the team enjoys to get out of Japan, they come a few days earlier and enjoy the things they might not get the chance just racing in Japan. The weather is the other big difference but it's OK. Actually, mid summer in Japan is not much different from Malaysia though the humidity is obviously a big factor. I usually come earlier than most of the other drivers, this year I went to Thailand a week earlier, did some training to help adjust to the conditions."
A visit to the PETRONAS Twin Towers
PM: And what was the highlight for the round in Sepang.
AL: "For me, the highlight of the round had to be the fact that we came this year in PETRONAS colours. We came with a completely different support and it became almost like a home race for us, which made the round in Sepang rather special. It was unfortunate that we arrived in Sepang with a lot of handicap weight and we couldn't really shine in the performance and we hope that the fans can understand that. They can see that our ranking is good in the championship. I also really enjoyed visiting the PETRONAS offices this year. I've always been curious. You know, every year we come to Kuala Lumpur and we marvel at the towers from the outside. This year, we got the chance to see it from the inside, which was really nice!"
Andre and Juichi play mind games at PETRONAS' science discovery centre - PETROSAINS
PM: Now let's find out a bit more about you. Obviously people know the Andre Lotterer name, and they know you're a GT driver. Like everyone else, you made your way up from go-karts but what made you decide to become a race car driver?
AL: "Well it all came pretty naturally through my father. He was involved in racing as a part-team owner / team manager and as an engine specialist. They even used to call him the 'magician'! I had a great childhood because although I was born in Germany, I grew up in Belgium where my father had the team. It was a successful team in Europe with touring cars and rallying, and my father always used to take me to the workshop. For me it was a natural environment, similar to like how other parents would take their kids to play baseball or football. So it was my natural environment to be around race cars and to go to the race tracks.
"I would say that since I was born I've heard race engines and race cars around me all the time and it became a part of my blood. The day when a kid starts to think about what they want to grow up to be, for me there was only one answer and that was to be a race-car driver. It was great to grow up like that because there are some drivers that come into racing when they are 16 or 17 and it's hard to articulate and explain what racing is all about. There are so many things about the way things go in the world of racing. In that respect, I was lucky that I had that exposure from early on, even before I started racing go-karts."
PM: Who and what would be your greatest inspiration?
AL: "Because I grew up around racing, my father really gave me a lot exposure on the technical side and I had the advantage of seeing how a team is run. He is a perfectionist, so he always made sure everything was done right. From that point of view, I learned a lot and got very inspired. I really don't like to see things half-done or not well done, so when I see things on the car, I will tell the team to change it because I get bothered by it! But actually, I would say that my biggest inspiration comes more from myself. I always try to extract the most out of my own abilities.
"If there is one person that I admire greatly, that would be the late Ayrton Senna. At that age, he was winning everything and he was 'the man'! I followed every F1 race he raced in and I admired him. He was a great character, had a lot of charisma which even as a 12-year old kid you realise that. It was a shame that he left us in 1994, and I never got the chance to meet him and continue enjoying his racing. I remember his races and even today I still watch some of his races or some of his interviews, because there is so much behind his personality that I find out now more than when I was a kid."
Ayrton Senna
PM: What has been the most defining moment of your career so far?
AL: "I think when I won the Go-Kart World Championship at 13, it made me realise that I have a future in the sport. There were hundreds of drivers from all over the world and I beat them all. I thought to myself that this could become something. I had won a lot of races that year in general, but winning that championship was really a defining moment for me. For sure there are a lot of things to prove afterwards but that win gave me a huge boost and told me that I had what it takes to do it. From then on I had a target.
"But even before that though, when my father bought me my first go-kart he asked me if I really want to do this. And my answer was 'YES!'. He said ok but on one condition. He said, 'from here until Formula One, we don't do things half!' So, everything we did always focused on the one goal. I made it to become a test driver in Formula One but I am grateful that I got that chance as not many drivers get that break."
PM: What was the worst moment in your career?
AL: "I never really like to remember them actually! I think it has to be when I was racing in Formula 3 in my first year in Germany. I had just graduated from Formula BMW and was leading the championship halfway through the season and it was going really well. But by the second half of the season the championship was starting to slip away from me. On the last race, I spun the car on the warm-up lap trying to warm my tyres up. It was the worst and most embarassing moment in my career but probably also a defining moment."
PM: A lot of race car drivers would have given us the same answer prefering not to talk about their worst moments. Why was it a defining moment and how did you move on from a situation as you have shared with us?
AL: "Actually, it's pretty simple. The key is to use the mistakes as part of a learning process. You learn from the mistakes and don't do them again. You go home and for sure you're angry, but there's no point getting angry and banging your head against the wall. Instead, you try to analyse the situation, understand why this moment happened and what you can do to make sure you never make the same mistakes again. At that stage of my career, I was still young and still learning the ropes.
"Sometimes when you're still climbing up that the ladder quickly, you might miss a few steps. Things like this brings you back down to earth. You're learning everytime, whether its about driving or about your own character or even relationships. It's all part of the learning process."
PM: What do you do when you're not racing? What about your family?
AL: "When I'm not racing, I focus on my fitness and do a lot of fitness training. During the season it's a bit tough if there are back-to-back races because you do want to relax for a couple of days. I have a personal trainer and we do lots of training. We went up to Mount Fuji, and we trained around the area surrounding the lake, which is nice. Occasionally I leave the city and spend three or four days to enjoy the countryside. I also play a bit of golf and in the summer I go wakeboarding. I like to travel too.
"If there's a long break, I usually go back to Europe to spend time with my parents. As I am the only child, I am really close to them. My father is a big sportsman as well, and we do a lot of rowing and cycling together. My parents do come over once a year to visit me, though they can't come to all the races since it's very far. To be frank, I am 100% grateful to my parents and thankful for all the sacrifices they have made so that I could achieve my goal to become a race car driver. While my father and I wanted the same goal, my mother was an important balance in our family, which was important especially as I was growing up."
PM: Finally, Andre, there are so many young and upcoming drivers, what would your advise be to these young aspiring race car drivers?
AL: "Of course there are different approaches for all the different categories of racing, whether you're in Japan or in Europe. But the main thing is to work hard on that goal you want to achieve and really live it. Live your sport everyday. It has to be in your head and it has to be your main priority. You might lose friends and stuff, but at some point you have to do everything in your power to achieve that goal. Especially these days as there are so many drivers, talent alone is not going to help you as you have to work your way up. Fitness is also important, you might think that what you do now is enough, but if you climb up the categories and you are given the opportunity to test a more powerful car and if you're not ready for it, you're done. Finally, always be ready for the next step!"
Carlo van Dam (guest driver), Juichi Wakisaka and Andre Lotterer
More on: SUPER GT SERIES / PETRONAS TOYOTA TEAM TOM'S / ANDRE LOTTERER