Xavier Maassen prepares for his debut FIA GT season
Dutch driver Xavier Maassen successfully launched his FIA GT career in Maastricht on April 4th, with a well-attended press conference followed by a party for sponsors and friends. The young driver will be making his debut in GT racing this season in the SRT Corvette C6R, alongside triple FIA GT Champion Christophe Bouchut.
Last season, Maassen competed in the World Series by Renault, with Italian team Prema Power Team, the culmination of a ten-year career in single-seaters which saw him claim titles in Formula Ford and numerous wins in Formula Renault througout Europe. He will now make a major change by moving into GT cars. However, the first indications are that this could be a very successful change of direction, the SRT Corvette having set the best time in pre-season testing at Monza.
"I am very pleased to be driving in the FIA GT Championship this year," Maassen explained. "This prestigious endurance Championship comes highly recommended. The combination of a Corvette C6R, SRT and Bouchut is extremely strong, and gives me an excellent opportunity to shine. As a team, we are convinced that we can win races. The test sessions were very promising. I am really looking forward to my first race in the FIA GT Championship."
Bouchut commented : "I thnk that with Xavier we will form a good duo. In Monza, he drove the Corvette for the first time, and was immediately fast. Xavier comes straight from the World Series by Renault and therefore has a lot to learn. The cars in the FIA GT Championship require a totally different driving style. Xavier picked up the technique for driving the Corvette extremely quickly, and showed that he is ready to compete. My aim for this year is to win races with Xavier."