ASTON MARTIN V12 VANTAGE GT3 TAKES DUBAI 24 HOURS PODIUM
The Aston Martin V12
Vantage GT3, owned by Aston Martin Racing partner team Strata 21 and run by
preparation team KPM Racing, finished in third place in the highest class of
the Dubai 24 Hours on January 10.
The 6.0-litre V12
machine was piloted by Aston Martin Racing works drivers Stefan Mücke and Jonny
Adam, and experienced endurance racer Paul White. Together, they qualified in
sixth place and the team, which had never run the car before this week,
completed 596 laps of the circuit, setting the fastest lap of the race in the
process.
After 24 hours of
totally reliable running, at times leading the race, the car crossed the line
in fourth place overall and third in the PRO class.
“We’re really pleased
to have been on the PRO class podium,” commented Mücke. “The car has felt great
all week and the team did a really good job with set-up to get it spot on. If
we had not had to pit an extra time for damage due to contact, I think we may
have finished higher but, in a race with 95 cars on track, these things
happen.”
Dubai 24 Hours is the
opening round of the 24H Series and this year celebrated its tenth running. The
race, which sees up to 96 GT and touring cars compete in high temperatures and
up to 13 hours of darkness, is regarded as one of the most challenging
endurance races in the world.
“To stand on the
Dubai 24 Hours podium is something I’m very proud of,” commented Adam. “I’ve
driven the Vantage GT3 since the end of 2011 and I’ve been a part of a lot of
its firsts – including its first race win back in 2012 and its first
championship win back in 2013 – so any I take any opportunity I can to add to
its growing tally of successes.
“When we first drove
the car on Wednesday, Stefan, Paul and I were very pleased with it but, after
some pre-qualifying tweaks from the guys at KPM Racing, who did a great job all
week, we were extremely happy.”
White, who was
regularly setting laps as quick as the professional drivers, added: “What a
great result for KPM Racing! They are such hardworking professionals who I have
raced with for more than a year now and they deserve this podium more than
anything.
“I’d also like to
thank Stefan and Jonny for being great team-mates and all at Aston Martin
Racing, especially Luigi our engineer, for helping us achieve this.”
The Aston Martin V12
Vantage GT3 will next race in Daytona 24 Hours with Aston Martin Racing’s North
American partner team TRG-AMR.