Aston Martin Takes Dominant Class Win at Le Mans
The all-Danish crewed #95 Young Driver AMR V8 Vantage GTE raced
to victory in the GTE Am class at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans. The
Gulf-liveried car finished two laps ahead of its nearest rival in what was the
largest class of the famous endurance race with 15 competitive GT cars.
Aston Martin Racing works drivers Nicki Thiim, Kristian Poulsen
and David Heinemeier Hansson will return to Denmark as 24 Hours of Le Mans
champions after leading the world’s most famous endurance event for the
majority of the race, finishing two laps ahead of their nearest rival.
“We have achieved what we were aiming for last year but didn't
succeed,” commented Young Driver Team Owner Jan Struve. “We have now fulfilled
it and we know that Allan has been cheering for us and smiling down on us and,
of course, he has been in our thoughts. This win is extremely important to us
and I'm proud of all of the team and drivers. They are all Le Mans winners.”
The GTE Am race win has captured the hearts of millions of fans
watching the race around the world as they reflect on the tragic loss of the
team’s Danish driver Allan Simonsen here at Le Mans last year.
“The key to this race is reliability,” said David Heinemeier Hansson. “We've not pushed very hard but had a
decent pace and made sure nothing bad happened. We had a two-lap lead because
we've not been in the pits and that's how you win Le Mans. To win is magical.
It's my third time here. The first time I tasted leading, the second time I
finished second and finally I've stood on the top of the podium.”
In contrast to the joy of the Am class victory, the team's
race-long challenge with the #97 GTE Pro car finished with bitter
disappointment as a power steering leak cost them five laps on track and left
them in sixth place.
According to Darren Turner, “It was an up and down sort of race.
At the start, the showers made it difficult to predict what tires to be on.
It’s a shame we had a technical failure that cost us any chance of a podium
spot. But, Le Mans isn’t supposed to be easy. We’ll come back stronger next
year.”
The #97 GTE and its drivers Darren Turner (GB), Stefan Mücke
(DE) and Bruno Senna (BR) showcased a fine display of GT racing, battling it
out with the works Ferraris, Porsches and Corvettes in 18-hours of
wheel-to-wheel action before a power steering pipe came loose.
“We led the class on and off for the majority of the race,”
commented twice-Le Mans GT class-winner and long-standing Aston Martin Racing
works driver Darren Turner. “Early on in the race, Corvette showed their pace
but the plan was to stay close but out of trouble and to use a triple stint
strategy to jump them in the pits. However, the rain came and interrupted our
plans and we were left with a new plan – to pick them off one-by-one and take
the race lead.
“The Corvettes had troubles and the Porsches dropped back
leaving us and the #51 Ferrari swapping places at the front numerous times. We
were leading and Bruno was on a charge when the power steering issue brought us
into the pits.”
Despite the #97 car’s misfortune, the team didn’t miss out on a
Champagne celebration this weekend. The pit crew has won an award for the best
technical assistance team and presentation.
“We’ve seen both sides of motor racing this weekend,” comments
Team Principal John Gaw. “The #95 team has long deserved this win and there is
a real sense of poetic justice. On the other hand, with cars #97 and #99, we
have seen how a very small issue can end the race for the teams that have shown
they have everything required to win this race, it just didn’t happen on the
day.
“The #99 car drivers have tasted the cruelest side but have
dealt with it well and have shown real sporting spirit throughout the weekend.
“Now we move on and focus on the second half of the World
Endurance Championship and look to take as many points from each round as we
can.”
The next FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) round takes
place on 20 September 2014 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
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