Aston Martin Wins In Japan

With the recent victory at COTA in Austin, Aston Martins are becoming a force in international road racing. After dominating qualifying and testing, Aston Martin Racing won the FIA World Endurance Championship Six Hours of Fuji with its #95 V8 Vantage GTE Am class car on Oct. 12, 2014. The #98 sister-car finished close behind in second place and the #99 took third place in the GTE Pro class in a race that was action-packed from the start.

At 11 am local time, the green flag waved and the #99 and #97 Vantage GTEs started side-by-side on the front row, following a successful qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. However, a chaotic start damaged the #97 and it was forced to return to the pits for an eight-minute stop it could never recover from.

The #99 (piloted by Fernando Rees, Alex MacDowall and Darryl O’Young) continued on and spent the next six hours in a wheel-to-wheel battle with the two AF Corse Ferraris. A clever pit strategy, consistently quick lap times and a reliable car all contributed to the #99 Craft-Bamboo Racing team taking its first WEC podium in only its fifth Championship race.

“When you start from the front of the GTE Pro class you are in the thick of it,” commented Rees. “You have to make sure that you don’t get caught up in any of the chaos and I did that well. I lost a place to Bruni but quickly recovered it and we led the race for a long time. To get our first podium as a new team in just our fifth race is fantastic. We have to stay focused now and try and do the same in Shanghai and beyond.”

Meanwhile, the pair of Aston Martin Racing GTE Am cars spent the race swapping places at the front of the class with the Danish trio of Kristian Poulsen, David Heinemeier Hansson and Nicki Thiim, at one point, leading the entire GTE field. 

Despite challenges from Christoffer Nygaard, Pedro Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana in the NorthWest-liveried #98, it was the #95 Young Driver AMR car that crossed the line first to take its third race win of the 2014 season and extend its lead at the top of the Championship.

“It’s great to be leading the Championship,” commented Heinemeier Hansson. “The Vantage GTE makes it easy for gentlemen drivers like Kristian and I to be mixing it up with the professional drivers. If a car is easy to drive, like the Aston Martin is, the difference between the Am and Pro is smaller and that’s what wins Pro-Am races.”

Despite setting the fastest GTE lap of the race, the #97 of Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke crossed the line in fifth place due to time in the pits early on in the race.

“I’m really pleased for the #95 team for extending its lead at the top of the Championship,” commented Team Principal John Gaw. “And, it’s good to see our two GTE Am cars so competitive at the front of every race.

 

“The #99 team has done a good job all weekend and it thoroughly deserves its first podium. Of course, it was disappointing for the #97 crew but the start of the race often takes victims and this time it was us.

“We always do well in Shanghai, we took our first WEC race win there in 2012 and then repeated it in 2013, so we must look forward and focus on keeping our strong record there.”

The FIA WEC Six Hours of Shanghai starts at 1100hrs local time on Sunday 2 November. For more information, go to www.fiawec.com.

Aston Martin Locks Out The Front Row In Fuji

Aston Martin Racing’s FIA World Endurance Championship Six Hours of Fuji challenge got off to a flying start on Saturday, Oct. 11, as its four identical V8 Vantage GTEs locked out the front row in the GTE Pro class and took pole and third in the GTE Am class in this afternoon’s qualifying session.

It was a maiden pole in the GTE Pro class for the #99 Craft-Bamboo Racing team, which only joined the WEC at the start of this year. The car was piloted by Fernando Rees, who was also fastest in free practice three, and Alex MacDowall, who was delighted at the result.

“It’s quite a shock,” explained the 23-year old. “It’s my first time here so I had a lot to learn in the practice sessions but it just seemed to come together for qualifying. It’s our first pole and Fernando did an amazing job. We’re looking forward to the race tomorrow.”

In the #97 sister-car, Darren Turner (GB) and Stefan Mücke (DE) were close behind and will start the race from second place on the grid of 13 GTE cars.

In the GTE Am class, the #98 NorthWest Vantage GTE of Pedro Lamy (PT) and Christoffer Nygaard (DN) clinched pole position after swapping places with the #95 Young Driver AMR car at the top of the table throughout the session. 

Nygaard commented: “It’s great to be on pole! We won the Six Hours of Austin last month after qualifying in seventh, so to be starting from the front gives us every chance of winning again. Pedro did a great job, as usual. Let’s see what happens tomorrow!”

In the #95 Young Driver AMR Vantage GTE, David Heinemeier Hansson (DN) and Nikki Thiim (DN), who set the fastest GTE Am qualifying lap, were in second place until the final moments of the session when they were just pushed into third by a hundredth of a second.

“That was a great start to our race weekend here in Fuji for all of our cars,” commented Team Principal John Gaw. “The #99 team has done a fantastic job to take pole in the GTE Pro class. It’s incredibly tough to do and they should be really pleased – they now need to convert that into a strong result tomorrow.”

The Six Hours of Fuji starts at 11am (Fuji time) on Sunday October 12.

TRG-ASTON MARTIN RACING 007 V12 VANTAGE GT3 TAKES 4th CONSECUTIVE POLE POSITION

TRG-AMR team driver James Davison has placed the No. 007 Royal Purple/PassTime USA/Orion Energy Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 in pole position for the fourth time in as many races during the final rounds of the 2014 IMSA TUDOR United Sportscar Championship. Davison was able to push the limits and bring home the pole with a blazing 1:22.254 lap time around the historic circuit.

“What a lap!” said James Davison, TRG-AMR North America Team Driver. “We’ve been able to put on a really good show during qualifying these last few events, mostly because of the speed and grip that this Aston Martin V12 GT3 is capable of. While we’ve had great luck in qualifying we’ve had fairly rotten luck during the races - I’m hoping that this changes for Petit and we’re able to fight for the top step of the podium. We’ve got a strong lineup for the 10-hour race, hopefully we can keep it clean and quick and bring home the win for the team, for the partners and sponsors, and for Aston Martin.”

Davison and the TRG-AMR team will be competing in a 10 hour event that tests human and machine more than some 24-hour races ever will. The Petit Le Mans is the final round in both the North American Endurance Championship and the regular IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season of competition. This grueling enduro will pit all 54 entries against the rolling hills and high-speed bends that make up the historic 12-turn, 2.54-mile Road Atlanta circuit. Getting a strong start to the race the weekend is critical to the team.

That Kevin Buckler, CEO, TRG-AMR North America was so impressed with Davison’s success.

“Four in a row!,” said Buckler. “I’m not sure that any other team has done that for a while. We have been on our game this year in qualifying and making all the right decisions. We’ve always had good luck here at Road Atlanta - multiple podiums and the win back in 2010 - but this car works well here and comes alive on tracks that are high-speed “flow” tracks. Thanks to all our partners, especially Royal Purple, PassTime USA, and Orion Energy Systems as well as this awesome Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage GT3 - the car is formidable. With the inquiries from other teams and drivers for next year, this is the best way to show our capabilities with this cars and program. Now it is time to go win the race. We are ready…”