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A sprint to the top – Porteiro well-prepared for Spanish home event. |
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Friday, 16 May 2008 |
The 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship heralds a new era for Félix
Porteiro (ES). No longer the “greenhorn” in the BMW national team
line-up, the Spaniard is thus increasingly bearing the burden of
expectation. The reason is simple: During his debut 2007 season the BMW
Team Italy-Spain driver was able to deliver good results right from the
start. His hour arrived spectacularly in Brno, where he took pole
position for the first race and promptly converted it into victory.
During the season Porteiro not only earned a reputation as a fast,
young charger, but was also able to impress his fellow BMW drivers with
a further attribute. "As a result of my fitness regime, they call me
Rambo," states the racing driver from Castellón. "The nickname was
coined during our 2007 BMW fitness week. There we completed various
tests, including pull-ups. My colleagues were battling at the 25-mark,
by which time I had pulled well over 50. I also had longer hair back
then, so I guess you could say I resembled Sylvester Stallone
slightly."
It was not coincidental that Porteiro proved fastest during a
unique challenge held at the same training course: the BMW drivers were
required to run up the 22 floors of BMW’s headquarters building in
Munich. Porteiro reached the top first.
The former GP2 driver places a high priority on fitness. “Obviously
in touring cars the loads on neck muscles are not as high as in Formula
One,” he explains, "however, you still need to be extremely fit to
withstand the high cockpit temperatures in touring cars. Therefore I
practice a lot of sport, with running and cycling being on my
programme. Karting is also demanding, and helps keep me fit. I spend a
lot of time in the sauna to help me acclimatise to heat."
At first glance the physical demands placed on WTCC drivers appear
comparatively low. They compete in two sprint races of approximately 50
kilometres each. However, according to Porteiro the drivers cannot
afford to neglect their physical fitness. In order to be able to go on
maximum attack down to the last lap he believes, “you have to have
utmost confidence in your own strength.” Porteiro surely can.
Porteiro’s fitness tip: “I believe jogging offers the best means of
staying in shape. In order to achieve the same level of fitness through
cycling clearly requires more time. To run for 45 minutes three times
per week does the body an enormous amount of good. And the best part
about jogging is that you can practice it whilst travelling. That is
not only important for racing drivers like me, but also for everyone
else who has a tough job.”
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