Asian Le Mans Series interview with Cyndie Allemann

During the mid to late nineties, Cyndie Allemann was a very successful Kart racer, becoming Swiss Junior Champion twice and winning the European Championship in 1999. However, Cyndie’s career really began to take off with her accomplishments with her string of podium finishes with the Swiss Formula Renault Team and later in the Dallara F306 Mercedes during the German Formula 3 Cup.

I think my experience at Le Mans in 2010 is my best racing experience.

Cyndie Allemann

Indeed, after being awarded ‘Best Female Driver’ at the Formula 3 Euroseries, Cyndie began to partake in Endurance racing, quickly gaining a podium finish at 1000KM of Spa in the LM GT1 class. Since then, Cyndie has been prolific in the endurance racing scene, gaining the laudable honour of being the first female driver to ever win a race in Malaysia and has been a host for the German Auto Television programme ‘Auftrag Auto’.

Q: Could you tell us about your favorite driving experience?

I’ve got so many… It’s actually very difficult for me to point one experience as ‘The’ favorite one. I can name quite a few amazing one:

• Qualifying 8th at Indianapolis back in 2008 for the Indy Lights race
• Podium at Spa in the Le Mans Series 1000KM race
• My whole week at Le Mans in 2010
• Finishing in the points at my very first Super GT race last year at Okayama.

Many great memories, really. And of course, every race win is an awesome memory, too, like last year at Sepang for the Malaysian Super Series race. But all in all, I think my experience at Le Mans in 2010 was the best one. The engine let us down while we were running 4th in class and on our way to a possible podium finish, but otherwise, the whole week with all those fans and media attention was just unbelievable. The track is just unbelievable too with its unique atmosphere. Having to race at 300 km/h in pitch darkness on this super fast straight line is amazing – the faster it goes, the happier I am... It’s the greatest race in the world and when you get to take part in it, it has to be considered has a favorite experience.

I enjoy the technical challenge of setting a car to make it go faster.

Cyndie Allemann

Q: What motivates you on the track?

Even before taking to the track, I enjoy the technical challenge of setting a car to make it go faster. And on track, I really like close racing, so being able to go out on a circuit and race wheel-to-wheel against other competitors is certainly something that motivates me greatly. Measuring ourselves against each other is at the very base of our sport and I’m no different. This is what I enjoy the most. Otherwise, discovering new tracks is something that also motivates me. I had my hands full last year when I had to learn all those new tracks in Japan… Every race weekend was a new discovery for me!

Q: The champions of LMP2, GTE and GTC categories in Asian LMS Series can obtain an entry ticket for 2014 24 Heures Du Mans, What do you think about this opportunity?

Of course, it’s an awesome opportunity for Asian teams and drivers since they have a guaranteed spot at Le Mans. It’s also good for them as they’re certain to be there: they can better prepare and they can go after partners and sponsors while being sure to be part of the show. This is a major benefit for them, for sure. It’s also a good thing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans as it makes this event even more global with a better Asian presence.

Q：If you had the chance, would you take part in Asian LMS 2013？

Absolutely yes! It would be inline with my experience last year in Super GT as well as with my experience at Le Mans. I would be on familiar ground for sure. Also, I think my presence in the Asian LMS would be mutually beneficial for me and the series. I have a huge fan base in Japan and South East Asia. Ever since my Super GT program, my Facebook fan page has exploded and most of the new fans were from Asia. Finally, I became to first woman to win a major auto race last year at Sepang in the MSS and I would really enjoy following this with a win in the Asian LMS. I may have opportunities, so who knows… I’m now officially working as instructor for the AMG Driving Academy so I would of course like to be on an SLS AMG GT3, which is accepted in Asian LMS. So this is still very much possible for me, through a customer racing team.

Asian LMS