AG Press
June 22 2214

CLARA MANDEL TO REPLACE MORELLI AT TECH DE RA

Austrian Clara Mandel will take Liana Morelli's place at Triakis in the next round of the 2214 FX400 at Tech de Ra.

Morelli injured herself in an accident at the previous round in Japan, from which she will be unable to race for an undisclosed period of time.

Mandel is Triakis' test pilot, having been signed onto the team at the start of 2213.

"Being able to race at the top tier of AG racing is always a honour and a privilege for any new pilot. I'm just surprised I've been called up so soon," Mandel said. "In return, I will providing an excellent performance to support the team, but also show how I am most suitable for this team."

"Being so closely linked with Triakis' testing schedule and paying close attention to the feedback given by Liana and Jason (Colonomos), I have a good idea what to expect out there, and I'm not expecting any spectacular performances out there. But on a track like Tech De Ra, there nothing stopping me from mixing it up with the best."

Team principal Samuel McNaughton said: "Mandel shows the type of spirit and determination that we are seeing in these new crop of racers. Naturally, we are very intrigued by this. So we wanted to see how she would go in a proper race environment, and with Liana recovering from her accident, it's provided up with a great opportunity."

McNaughton also announced that Mandel will only cover for one race only. The team's FX350 pilot Jason Colonomos will be filling in for Morelli from the Amphiseum onwards with Mandel racing in Colonomos' FX350 seat until Morelli is fit to race again.

"This arrangement allows us to both keep a good presence in both leagues, but to also evaluate the skill of the pilots as we approach the second half of the season and to consider our options for next year."