Jani Not Impressed with IndyCar Duo

Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick making their debut inside the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport this weekend doesn’t seem to have the same effect on their fellow drivers as it did to their American fans. Even if they are regarded as some of the most talented drivers in the IndyCar Series, the pair doesn’t seem to frighten anyone in the new series.

Neel Jani, the man who practically brought last year’s title in Team Switzerland’s back yard insisted that neither Andretti nor Patrick will be treated any differently during the Chinese weekend at Chengdu. The Swiss driver argued that everyone will have equal chances in the race and, if anything, the US drivers should worry racing him at Chengdu and not vice-versa.

“Even though they are big where they come from, that doesn’t change anything and they are still competitors. When I was a Friday driver in Formula 1, I was on the track with Michael Schumacher at the same time - it doesn’t change your perception of a competitor. Human beings are human beings, whatever. If anything, as last year’s champion, they should be thinking ‘I’m on the track with Neel Jani.’”

“It’s great for A1GP obviously because they are very big names in the USA but it’s also great for them because in A1GP you get real, hard European-style racing all on road courses. There are no fuel saving to think of and it’s flat out all the way. It will be hard for them, but nothing is impossible and at some stage we will have to count with them as real competitors,” A1GP.com quoted Jani as saying earlier this week.

Andretti is set to race on both Feature and Sprint races this weekend, with Patrick likely to take over two weeks later, at Sepang. Both Patrick and Andretti have scored at least one win in the IndyCar Series last season. However, Jani is not such a stranger from North American open-wheel racing either, as the Swiss finished the 2007 season 9th place overall in the ChampCar classification (4th in the Rookie of the Year standings).