With a 1991 Formula 3000 in vintage colours and still with a genuine manual gearbox, the Austrian from Vienna has become a crowd favourite in the BOSS GP Racing Series.
Why does it have to be a historic racing car and not a modern one?
STEFAN EISINGER-SEWALD: “I’ve been dealing with historic cars for more than ten years now. To me, the value of a historic vehicle is much higher than that of a modern one. I just like the old stuff – it’s still real racing!”
So you still drive an H-pattern gearbox?
EISINGER-SEWALD: “Exactly, I still drive a very old, ‘empty’ H-gear. Technically, of course, there are already much better things. We have also tried to convert it, but it doesn’t work. So for the moment, we’re running it as it was designed in ’91.”
Your car bears the famous colours of a cigarette manufacturer – what is your relationship to this design?
EISINGER-SEWALD: “As a small child, I always liked the colours on the Williams. Now I’ve kept it, because we also had it on the Pedrazza prototypes before. The whole teamwear is based on this design and, as I’m a thrifty person, I didn’t want to design something new (laughs).”
Where does your technical expertise come from?
EISINGER-SEWALD: “I learnt it from my motocross days in my youth. You quickly learn what you’re interested in. Today, Walter Vorreiter and the Fischer Motorsport team from Mödling support me.”
What is your favourite track?
EISINGER-SEWALD: “Spa, actually. Spa was my most successful race in my Formula Ford 1600 days. We competed there with a small delegation from the Histo Cup. I finished fourth out of 44 cars – that was my biggest success in the four-wheel sector apart from the 2022 championship title in the Histo Cup Austria.”
What can you learn from racing for your professional life or vice versa?
EISINGER-SEWALD: “Ambition and never giving up! Our company specialises in doing projects where others have said: ‘That’s not possible’. That makes it even more exciting for me to look at it in detail.”
As a child, you were a fan of …
EISINGER-SEWALD: “… always Ayrton Senna. The way he approached things and his daredevil attitude impressed me. Similar to a James Hunt, who could go out and have fun the day before and still be invincible the next day!”
Photos: Angelo Poletto/BOSS GP
