Motorsport: Neel Jani's third year of success
The sports car world championship title, including victory in Le Mans, is not the first major success for Neel Jani. Eight years ago, the Biel native won the A1 GP World Cup of Nations, the importance of which was underestimated by some. Neel Jani has been back in Switzerland since Tuesday. The new endurance world champion does not have much time to celebrate with family and friends. [...]
Neel Jani has been back in Switzerland since Tuesday. The new endurance world champion doesn't have much time to celebrate with family and friends. On Thursday, he will be the star guest at the premiere of the documentary film about the dramatic 24-hour race last June. Afterwards, the film will be released on DVD. A trailer (see link below) gives a foretaste.
This is the third title win for the son of an Indian father and a Swiss mother, who was born in Romanshorn on December 8, 1983, grew up in Jens and now lives in Port near Biel with his wife Lauren. As a 16-year-old, Jani dominated the Swiss Formula A/Lista Junior in 2000. He then battled with opponents such as Lewis Hamilton, Robert Kubica and Christian Klien in the Formula Renault (2nd European Cup), scored further victories in the Formula Renault V6 and GP2 - only in Formula 1 was Neel Jani never allowed to put his talent to the test, except as a test driver.
Career from World Cup winner to FIA World Champion
However, his greatest success to date was winning the A1 GP World Cup of Nations in the 2007/08 season. The team's boss and owner was former Sauber team director and Porsche race director Max Welti, who was always an important mentor in Neel Jani's career: "This title means a lot to me, because the A1 races were very competitive. Unfortunately, only insiders really appreciate that." Neel Jani has now gone from World Cup winner to official FIA World Champion with Porsche: "I have achieved what I always wanted: victory, pole position and lap record at Le Mans plus the world championship title. The best thing is that we did it under our own steam and without a stable order in the strongest year of manufacturer participation." Neel Jani will certainly defend the 2017 World Championship title with Porsche, but probably with new partners, as the squad will be reshuffled following the retirement of Mark Webber.
https://www.dailymotion.com/lemans-tv
www.neel-jani.com
Photos: Adrenal Media, Peter Wyss
