Press Release October 17, 2010 No

Press Release October 17, 2010 No. M 143/10 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland – Portrait of the champion Nicolas Armindo “I’m not an egoist” Stuttgart. Nicolas Armindo can hardly believe it. At his sixth attempt, the Frenchman has finally won the driver’s title of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. “I’m totally ecstatic,” says the 28-year-old. “Winning the title is the logical conclusion after many years of hard work. I’m convinced that I could have managed it earlier but I simply didn’t get it all together then.” He is also delighted that his Hermes Attempto Racing squad takes home the coveted trophy for the team classification. “I’m the sort of per- son who finds sharing enormously important. I’m not an egoist!” Since its inaugura- tion in 1990, Armindo is the first non-German to win the championship. Right up until the final round, Nicolas Armindo was left to wait on tenterhooks for the prestigious title in Germany’s fastest brand trophy series. For the Alsace man, the season began with a disappointment. Taking off from second on the grid, he was running a safe second when a defect threw him back to eleventh leaving the path clear for Nick Tandy to go on to victory. In Valencia Armindo finished on the podium in second but again the Briton was ahead. Tandy seemed unbeatable until the Frenchman turned the tables. Clearly inspired, he dominated the races on the Nür- burgring, the Norisring and the EuroSpeedway Lausitz with three pole positions and three straight wins, planting himself firmly at the head of the points’ table. “It was never so simple, so easy for me, everything ran perfectly,” he says. In Zandvoort came the low point. Armindo struggled with the race track on which he had experienced a serious roll two years earlier, and finished a lowly tenth. Tandy won. Observers wondered if the Carrera Cup specialist had lost his nerve to the new- Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft 1 of 4 Public Relations and Press Porscheplatz 1 Motorsport 70435 Stuttgart Oliver Hilger Tel +49 (0) 7 11 9 11 – 2 65 09 e-mail [email protected] Press Release October 17, 2010 No. M 143/10 comer from Great Britain. Is he throwing his chances away? Armindo provided the answer in Brands Hatch, where he wasn’t able to beat Tandy on his home ground, but with second managed to put his disappointment from Zandvoort behind him. For the last two races of the season the tactic of the track-wise Frenchman allowed no risks. He finished the Oschersleben race in second behind Tandy – giving him a five- point lead over his pursuer heading to the finale. “I’m totally relaxed,” said Armindo with his charming French accent. “Nick has more pressure than I have.” With a fifth place in the final race, Nicolas Armindo finally secured the title. The 28-year-old, who lives in the tranquil village of Horbourg-Wihr in Alsace, is a down-to-earth man. During the week he works at his profession in construction – with the same striving for perfection that he uses at the wheel of his 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. “I’m a perfectionist,” explains Armindo. “It doesn’t matter what area of my life it is, I want to do it as best as I can. Otherwise I might as well just stay at home.” Perfectionism, however, should not be confused with dry earnestness. “Ultimately it comes down to doing something that is fun.” He thoroughly enjoys the driving days that he has organised for quite some time on the Hockenheimring two to three times a month. Thirty participants are permitted to drive around the Grand Prix circuit in fast sports cars under the direction of the experienced trainer. “I take a day’s leave from my work, drive there in the morning and return that evening,” says Armindo, and smiles: “I love to race and I love to share this passion with others. When the people climb out of the car with their eyes bright and shiny and they thank me because their dream has been fulfilled, that makes it all worthwhile. It makes me truly happy.” In racing, Nicolas Armindo is regarded as a late starter. “I skied until I was 20. But I’m too short and too light to really keep up with the best,” says the slight, 1.70 metre Frenchman. “I had no chance against a 120 kilo man. So in 1998 I started karting.” Various junior Formula classes followed and in 2004 he made the switch to the well- known German Porsche makes cup series. In just his second season, Armindo dem- Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft 2 of 4 Public Relations and Press Porscheplatz 1 Motorsport 70435 Stuttgart Oliver Hilger Tel +49 (0) 7 11 9 11 – 2 65 09 e-mail [email protected] Press Release October 17, 2010 No. M 143/10 onstrated his exceptional talent by winning vice-championship honours, and claiming third at the end of the 2007 season he became firmly entrenched amongst the top drivers. “The Carrera Cup is ideal for me,” summarises the 28-year-old. “It’s a wonderful combination of sport, fun, hobby and work. Obviously I’ve experienced stress- ful times in my six years of competing here and most of the time it simply requires hard slog. But this year I’ve been rewarded. Now all the efforts have been relegated to the past.” Nicolas Armindo about… …the key to his success in the 2010 season: “For the first time everything came together. On the one hand I have a great deal of race experience up my sleeve, and I also have a very good basic speed. The second cornerstone to my success is my young team - it has developed fabulously and is very professional. Our mechanics and engineers are top notch, but they are also very warm and friendly. We’re all friends! Under such circumstances you’re even more motivated as a driver and of course it gives you wings to fly. And the minimum that you can give back is by doing the best job possible.” ... his most wonderful victory: “To be honest, posting pole position is the best, because the result comes from totally focussed hard work. You have to pull everything together for this one lap. When I manage this I’m particularly proud of myself and I find it’s more emotional than winning.” … his dream car: “When I was a young boy my dream car was a Beetle! I loved the Beetle film more than any other and when I was old enough to buy a car I naturally chose the Beetle. So, in a certain way, I came into the Porsche family at a very early age... But I also said to my father when I was young: At some point I’ll buy myself a Porsche. This Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft 3 of 4 Public Relations and Press Porscheplatz 1 Motorsport 70435 Stuttgart Oliver Hilger Tel +49 (0) 7 11 9 11 – 2 65 09 e-mail [email protected] Press Release October 17, 2010 No. M 143/10 was rather bold because we weren’t a family of much means. We’ve always worked very hard in my family.” … his strengths: “I’m able to familiarise myself very quickly to new race tracks and new situations. This is probably because I was never in the financial position to do a lot of testing. I come to the track, jump in the car, put my foot down – and simply have to adjust immedi- ately to all the new things. For this reason I was particularly thrilled with my perform- ance in Brands Hatch: Many teams had tested prior to the race, but we hadn’t. But I arrived and was right up there from the start. In qualifying I was a fraction slower than Tandy who knew the track like the back of his hand. And I was faster than all the others.” … his plans and dreams: “Naturally after such a wonderful season it goes without saying that I’d like to con- tinue in the Carrera Cup. Looking back at the year I can be more than satisfied with the result. In every series I’ve competed I’ve won at least one race. It’s a bit of a shame that I’ve never been approached by a factory or a works team and invited to a test. And now I’m 28-years-old, so that path is probably closed to me. But all in all, I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved.” GO Please note: Photos of Nicolas Armindo’s championship-winning season are available for accredited journalists on the Porsche press database under the internet address https://presse.porsche.de Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft 4 of 4 Public Relations and Press Porscheplatz 1 Motorsport 70435 Stuttgart Oliver Hilger Tel +49 (0) 7 11 9 11 – 2 65 09 e-mail [email protected] .

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