DOUBLE POLE FOR ASTON MARTIN AT SPA

Spa-Francorchamps, 1 May 2015 - Aston Martin Racing’s Spa weekend has kicked off with a double pole position, with the #99 Vantage GTE taking the GTE Pro top spot and the #98 Vantage GTE leading the way in GTE Am.

The #99 Hanergy-liveried Vantage GTE of Fernando Rees (BR) and Richie Stanaway (NZ) stormed to the top of the qualifying table and, in the GTE Am class, the #98 Gulf-liveried NorthWest Vantage GTE, took its second pole of the season with Pedro Lamy (PT) and Paul Dalla Lana (CN).

“That’s our tenth double pole of the WEC,” commented John Gaw. “It’s a great start to the weekend but pole positions alone don’t win championships… race wins do.”

The #97 Vantage GTE took third place in the GTE Pro class with the #95 in fifth. The #96 Vantage GTE qualified in eighth in class.

The Six Hours of Spa starts at 14.30hrs CET on Saturday 2 May. Follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Periscope using #teamAMR.

Driver quotes:

Fernando Rees: “All the set up changes that we made following Silverstone worked perfectly. What is impressive is that, although the Ferrari got the quickest lap, we are on pole, which shows that we managed to work well as a team to get the most of the car.”

Richie Stanaway: “Of course, we’re really happy to be on pole but the main thing is that we've analysed what cost us time at Silverstone. At the last event, we were strong in qualifying but not the race so tomorrow we need to implement what we have learned to get a better end result.”

Pedro Lamy: “After Silverstone we thought that maybe we were quick because it was just a good track for us but we have come here and done it again. It's another point in the bag for the championship and Paul did a great job as the fastest Am.”

Paul Dalla Lana: “Our car likes high-speed tracks so we knew it would be good but this is a real team result. Pedro did a screamer and gave us a good lead. The grip of the track is amazing and the car gives me confidence so I'm looking forward to the race.”

Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps driver line up:

95:  Marco Sørensen, Christoffer Nygaard
96:  Francesco Castellacci, Roald Goethe and Stuart Hall

97:  Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke

98:  Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda

99:  Alex MacDowall, Fernando Rees and Richie Stanaway

Qualifying positions:

GTE Pro
#99 Vantage GTE – P1
#97 Vantage GTE – P3
#95 Vantage GTE – P5

GTE Am
#98 Vantage GTE – P1
#96 Vantage GTE – P8