Stefan Mucke was widely acknowledged as the driving bench mark in this season's Le Mans Series and the eventual 2009 drivers champion certainly backed that up with results this season. Driving the Aston Martin Racing 007 Lola B09/60 LMP1 car, Mucke and his team mates enjoyed victories at Barcelona and Nurburgring on their way to the title. At the Le Mans 24 Hours in June, Mucke was on superb form and one of the very fastest drivers during the small hours. The Gulf liveried Lola eventually finished in 4th position, the best overall result for a Lola at Le Mans since 1977.

We catch up with Stefan in Berlin as he ponders his options for the 2010 campaign.

Looking at the season as a whole, how satisfied were you with what you achieved in 2009?

"It was a great season and I was very satisfied with my performance. We finished every race on the podium which was for sure on of the key targets for us in the championchip. It was not easy this season and we had a lot of good fights on the track, especially with the ORECA and Pescarolo guys."

How impressed were you with the Lola-Aston Martin this season?

"For me it was a big pleasure in every race to drive the car. The Aston V12 sound is great and gives you a big smile if you are in the car. We had maybe not the fastest car on every track but we had the most reliable one and the results came to us throughout the season."

You were phenomenally quick at Le Mans through traffic in the night. What's the secret?

"I don’t know, it's somehow the feeling you must have when you are concentrating on what is going on in front of you. It's very difficult to see the speed difference in the night between all the cars but you have to find a fast and safe way through the traffic in the night. I really enjoy it and love the feeling of driving in the dark, especially around the back of the track at Indianapolis and on the way to the Porsche Curves."

You have driven Lola built cars for the last 3 seasons. What are the key strengths in the design?

"The Lola is a great chassis all around. Its not specialy built for one track, it suits all circuits and its easy to handle and is very adapatable to different configurations."

What are the current plans for the 2010 season?

"I really like sportscar racing and want to stay there for 2010. In which series or team I am not sure yet but I just love this type of endurance racing."

All pictures Lola Heritage.

Stefan at the Lola factory.



Stefan in action at the 2009...



...Nürburgring 1000Kms.