by Russell Atkins

TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN FULL: CLICK HERE

Karl Wendlinger is confident that Aston Martin Racing is 'in good shape' to retain its GT1 class crown in the 2008 edition of the annual Le Mans 24 Hours round-the-clock classic, even if he acknowledges the pace will be relentless and the competition fierce.

The Austrian is an experienced hand at La Sarthe, with no fewer than eight previous participations in what has become dubbed 'the toughest race in the world' – including GTS class victory with Viper Team Oreca back in 2000.

Linking up with former Sauber Formula 1 team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen – with whom he also competed back in his pre-F1 sportscar days for Sauber-Mercedes as one of the celebrated Mercedes Juniors – and fellow FIA GT Championship front-runner Andrea Piccini behind the wheel of the Gulf-liveried #007 machine, Wendlinger is clearly revved up for the task that lays ahead.

“I'm very happy to have joined the team for Le Mans,” the 39-year-old told Crash.net Radio. “I think it's the highlight of the year in endurance racing, and I'm very proud to be going there with the factory Aston Martin Racing team.

“It's a long time since we [he and Frentzen] spent time together in a team. He stopped racing for a year, so it was good to see him back again, and it was a good experience working with him at the Le Castellet test. The three of us have a very good and very relaxed relationship, and I think we all fit very well inside the team.

“The testing we did together at Le Castellet was our first experience together, and it worked very well. The car felt very good too. The set-up was very good and the car was very fast and very efficient.

“Of course Le Mans is a little bit different to all the other circuits, but Aston Martin Racing has a lot of experience of Le Mans and has already been very successful there, so I think we are in very good shape for the race.”

Indeed, as the reigning class champion the pressure is on AMR to defend its hard-fought laurels, after the British marque finally got the better of traditional rival Corvette last year. It is likely to be another nip-and-tuck battle between the two legendary manufacturers next month, Wendlinger acknowledged, which will push both to the absolute limit.