DTC: Siffert will race at Ring Djursland as Westwood's teammate

Touringcar Racing -- August 5th 2001 -- Danish Touringcar Championship:

Philippe Siffert enters DTC at Ring Djursland

The Swiss will race an Renault Megane Estate in round 5 of the series British Renault Megane Estate driver Julian Westwood will be having a new team mate for next weekend's round 5 of the Danish Touringcar Championship, which takes place at Ring Djursland. Last month Norwegian Thomas Faraas split with the Renault Motorsport Danmark team, who has now made a deal with Swiss driver Philippe Siffert, who will thus get his DTC debut on Sunday.

" For us the deal with Philippe is a natural continuation of our previous co-operation," Ole Ingemann explains. Ingemann is the team manager of High Class Racing, who is responsible for Renault's participation in the Danish Touringcar Championship.

" Philippe has raced for us previously in the European Spider and Clio series, and thus it has been very obvious to make a deal, now that we have a vacant car and Philippe has got the time. He has shown interest in the Danish series for a long time, so it has merely been a question of the things falling into place. He is a gifted driver and a nice guy, and it is lovely when that can be combined."

On the split between the team and its former driver, Thomas Faraas, Ole Ingemann says:

" Thomas had some expectation that he could win, but we have never given him or any other driver a guarantee on that, and no racing team will ever do that. Thomas felt that things were not satisfying, so he choose to quite. If both parts of a team work do not identify themselves with a cause, it won't work. That is the great thing about our other driver, Julian Westwood, because he is committed, and at the last race at Ring Knutstorp, we got a good result."

The new Renault driver in the Danish Touringcar Championship is of course best known as the son of legendary Swiss driver, Jo Siffert, who won two Grands Prix and several sports car races, before being killed in an accident at Brands Hatch on October 24th 1971. At that time son Philippe was just nine months old, but twenty years later he made his debut as a racing driver in Formula Ford. Later he entered the GM Lotus series as well as the American Barber Dodge Pro Series, and he has also contested Le Mans and other sports car races, while latterly he has been a regular participant in the various Renault European series. Now, the Danish Touringcar Championship will be his next challenge.

" For the time being we have only made a deal for the next race at Ring Djursland," Ole Ingemann explains." We would very much like to continue with him for the rest of the year, and it is also the easiest thing to have the same driver for all races, but Philippe also need a fair chance to evaluate the series. One thing is sitting in Switzerland and hear about a Renault Estate. Reality is another thing, so it is only fair that he comes to Denmark to sample the car and the series, and then we have to work from there."

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