ASTON MARTIN RACING SEALS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES IN BAHRAIN

Aston Martin Racing drivers Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen have today been crowned world champions after taking victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s season finale in Bahrain.

Heading into the race, the pair led the GT Drivers title battle by 12 points, with the team controlling the GTE Pro championship with a 2-point advantage. While a third place finish would provide the necessary points to take the GT Drivers title, the Danes claimed victory in style by taking their second win of the season, securing the GTE Pro championship for Aston Martin Racing in the process.

After battling hard with the #51 Ferrari in the opening hours, the duo accrued a lead of over 20 seconds by the fifth hour. With their rivals pushing hard in the closing stages to close the gap, Thiim showed true class to maintain the advantage to the checkered flag, finishing 12.695 seconds over second place.

Thiim said, “As I said over and over again. I made a big change to my racing career at the beginning of this season. That was to come to a new team in Aston Martin Racing with a range of new partners in Total and Dunlop.

I told my teammate that it would be amazing to win the championship with this team and with a fellow Dane and I still can’t really believe that we now have our first WEC championship with Aston Martin. I’ve just driven two stints in the car so I need a moment to calm down but I am sure the emotions will come.

He added, “The consistency throughout the season has been amazing, the car has been great and the improvements we’ve made with our partners throughout the year have been incredible. To be up there in our first year with two new partners in Dunlop and Total and to compete against some big teams with their two new cars is really something special. Right now, I’m very happy with what I and the team have achieved”.

Thiim’s teammate Sørensen added, “It’s absolutely amazing to win the championship and I’m going to say it’s even more incredible to win it with a Danish brother like Nicki. When we were 10 years old, we raced against each other in karting but to be here winning a championship with him and Aston Martin Racing is fantastic.

Nobody would have thought we could be here together. I’m so proud of the whole team. We had a lot of new partners at the beginning of this year but it all just came together so well and today has been fantastic. I still can’t really believe it.”

Speaking of today’s success and reflecting on a successful season overall for Aston Martin Racing, Team Principal Paul Howarth said, “What a fantastic day to get to the end of the season and for Marco and Nicki to claim the GT Drivers and GTE Pro titles. Credit to them and the way they drove today and to all the team for helping them deliver these results.

2016 has been an incredible journey for this team and for us to consistently prove ourselves against other world-class outfits is testimony to the professionalism of this team. I’m proud to have led them throughout this season and the team can travel home thoroughly proud of their achievements”.

Aston Martin Racing leaves the Middle East with two world championships to its name, adding to its other recent championship victories in European Le Mans Series with customer team Beechdean AMR and British GT with TF Sport.

With this weekend’s result concluding a successful year for the British marque, the team remains hungrier than ever to return next season and achieve further success on the track.

Aston Martin Racing Achieves Clean Sweep in Bahrain Qualifying

Aston Martin Racing has achieved the perfect start to its race weekend, as the team take a 1-2 in GTE Pro and pole position in GTE Am for the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Bahrain.

"With the sun set in the Bahraini desert, the #97 V8 Vantage GTE of Darren Turner  and Jonny Adam  set identical lap times to clinch pole position for tomorrow’s title deciding round and score a vital pole position championship point," said Sonny Morgan, General Manager of Late European. "The two were soon followed by GTE Pro and GT Drivers championship leaders Nicki Thiim  and Marco Sørensen, who brought their #95 entry home to lock out the front row of the GTE Pro grid."

With the team in contention for all five GT championships on offer - including the overall GT Manufacturers title - the result brings a major boost to the team’s hopes, with the deficit to the championship leaders reduced to nine points.

According to Turner, “We needed to get both cars on the front row of the grid. It was important that one of us took the pole to help the #95 crew for their championship bid and that obviously helps with the GT manufacturers title too. It’s going to be a very tough race tomorrow but we couldn’t have asked for a better qualifying session. Jonny’s jumped in and done a fantastic job and I’m really delighted for all of the #97 boys after working so hard to repair the car after Shanghai”.


“It’s nice to be back here in Bahrain especially after doing my testing work with Dunlop last year,” said Adam. “There were positive signs last year and its clear the tyre has improved drastically throughout 2016. The car’s been getting better and better throughout the weekend and it was ultimately perfect in that session. The car feels really strong, particularly on the longer runs and we’ll be looking to fight for victory tomorrow”.


Nicki Thiim, driver of #95 added, “That was brilliant for Aston Martin. It’s been quite difficult in the past couple of races but the car is working really well here, particularly the tire, and I think that’s where our advantage is. Tomorrow, it’s a long race but I want to win and make sure that we get the team, drivers and GTE Pro championships. I will be taking the start for tomorrow, I want to stay out of trouble and then we’ll see what the race brings”.


In GTE Am, the #98 V8 Vantage GTE of Pedro Lamy, Paul Dalla Lana and Mathias Lauda claimed pole on the final flying lap of the session. After Lamy and Dalla Lana placed the car in second following their initial timed runs, Lamy was sent back out for one final attempt.


After crossing the start/finish in the final minute of the session, a sensational lap brought the pair’s average to 0.02 seconds ahead of their nearest rival, providing them with an essential pole position championship point to keep their title hopes alive.


Paul Dalla Lana said, “That was as much drama as you can have from any qualifying session. We knew Ferrari would throw everything they had at it, including using an additional set of tires to push us off the top step in the final moments of the session. Unfortunately, we had to use three sets of tires too to make sure Pedro could keep us at the top by, but it means we keep fighting. You never know what can happen tomorrow. Stranger things have happened and we may find ourselves fighting for the title at the end”.


Team Principal Paul Howarth added, “That was an absolutely sublime performance right across the team. I was particularly impressed with Jonny’s faultless lap. We rewarded him with a drive here in Bahrain and he’s rewarded us with a pole alongside Darren. The #95 again delivered a highly credible performance to lockout the front row in GTE Pro and we were kept waiting right until the last lap of Am qualifying to deliver their fourth consecutive pole position.


As with previous races, the whole team turns its focus to delivering at the highest level and go into tomorrow’s race with the confidence that they can claim the championships on offer”.


The FIA WEC 6 Hours of Bahrain begins at 16:00 local time on Saturday, November 19. The team is in the running for the GT Manufacturers, GT Drivers, GTE Pro team, GTE Am team and GT Am Driver’s championships.