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Giedo van der Garde interview

Published: Tuesday 30 September 2008

Giedo, you have won the World Series by Renault 2008. What does this title mean to you?
This championship means a lot to me. In the past few years I was on the pace but I was also often followed by bad luck. In Formula 3 things didn't always worked out that well for me but this year all the pieces of the puzzle fell at the right spot and that is just great. I am really proud to have this title on my resume.

At the first race weekend of the season in Monza you scored the maximum number of points with pole position and winning both races. Did that make you realise you could win the championship?
Before the season even started I already said I want this championship title. After my year in Formula Renault, three years in Formula three and a moderate year in the World Series last year I came at an important stage in my career as a racing driver. I had to win the championship and if I didn't I seriously had to think about my future as a racing driver. In Monza we soon showed we had the package to win the championship but I did take it one race at a time.

What was your best victory this season?
Monza was a great weekend, a great start of the season. The best race though waas probably at Le Mans. After my pitstop I really had to fight hard to keep the others behind me but I managed to win the race. It is obviously great to start a race from pole and dominate a race, but winning after fighting hard for it is even better so my victory in Le Mans was definitely the best one!

Last season you raced with Victory Engineering with a fourth place as a best finish. This season you were a regular visitor to the podium. What is the biggest difference between those two teams?
The difference is huge to be honest. P1 Motorsport is extremely professional and every team member knows what the team expects from him. They work extremely hard and you see what kind of results it can bring. It is also important that the team knows when it is time to relax and grab a beer. Those kind of things are very important to keep a great team spirit.

Now you have claimed the championship it is time to move on. What are your plans for next season?
Unfortunately I can not reveal my exact plans just yet but I can reveal we are working hard to race in GP2. I would love to race in the GP2 series and hopefully we can sort out a good contract there.

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