A quick chat with Attempto Racing team owner Arkin Aka
Attempto Racing has been running Lamborghini Huracan GT3s in the 2017 Blancpain GT Series. Round four of this year’s Sprint Cup sees them add further diversity to the grid in fielding the #67 Porsche 991 GT3 R for Kevin Estre and Klaus Bachler. We caught up with team owner Arkin Aka to hear his thoughts about the endeavour.
How did you end up becoming the first Porsche entry in the Sprint Cup this year?
I was very impressed with the Porsche’s performance at the Total 24 Hours of Spa, where they nearly went on to finish on the podium (with the #117 KÜS Team75 Bernhard entry). It crossed my mind that I had two Porsches, so I asked [Vice President Motorsport & GT cars of Porsche AG] Frank Walliser if I could have one of their factory drivers and that’s how the deal was made. I already knew Kevin [Estre] very well. We had a good time together in 2011 when he raced for us and then Attempto had its best year in 2013, winning the Teams and Drivers’ titles in that year’s Porsche Supercup. Kevin was a major factor in bringing the team to the position where it could fight for both championships.
What’s the target for this weekend?
We want to show our potential as a team so everybody can see we are a competent organisation. Attempto has a long history with Porsche, tracing all the way back to 2005. After Spa, we really envisioned a possibility to race with a Porsche in the Sprint Cup and took it.
Does it make it more challenging to race two different models on the same event?
The challenge is always the same. The Blancpain GT Series is like the Champions’ League of motorsport so we can’t afford any mistakes. Everybody must do a perfect job, starting with myself, the drivers, the mechanics. That’s the key.