Two Astons - three races at IMSA Mid-Ohio
With both Championships having ran endurance rounds last time out at Road Atlanta two weeks ago, this round sees the multi class Weather Championship runners race a two hours forty minute race on Sunday whilst the GT4 runners within the Michelin Pilot Challenge will have two – two hour races over both Saturday and Sunday as they play catch up with events missed so far due to Covid.
Whilst the sole Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GTD from the Heart of Racing Team again enters the WeatherTech race with drivers Ian James and Roman de Angelis, the Michelin Pilot Challenge races will feature just one AMR Vantage GT4 from Kohr Motorsport for Championship contenders and AMR Academy driver Nate Stacey and driver coach Kyle Marcelli.
Having started from pole position at for the four hour race at Road Atlanta, the #60 AMR struggled after the first pit stop to then fall foul of the pit stop regulations in moving whilst the car was being refilled with fuel to earn Marcelli and the team a race damaging drive through penalty which dropped them down to P7 at the end of the race.
That result leaves the #60 crew just one point behind the Championship leading Autobahn Audi crew going into the race weekend.
Florida based Automatic Racing will this time not be entering any of their AMR race cars for reasons (we understand) to be no more than clashing with prior commitments seeing that Mid-Ohio is a post Covid organised race date.
The Heart of Racing team have been testing earlier this week at Sebring having come away from Road Atlanta with a season best P6 finish with the help of AMR factory driver Darren Turner.
Photo credits – MPC / IMSA / HoRT / CSJ Motorsport
International GT Open at Monza this weekend - but not in a form we know!
Not the only crew mate to be racing again this weekend sees the remaining two thirds of TF Sports Le Mans 24hr GTE Am winning team of Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood also get back down to business this weekend – this time back in the International GT Open Series with their Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT3.
With Jonny Adam racing with Garage 59 in their new Vantage GT8R over at the ADAC Total 24 Hour at the Nordschleife, Yoluc Eastwood and crew have made their way back down to Monza in Italy for the fourth round of six of the GT3 series which will this time feature GT4 cars as well.
Being another series hit by the early issues of budgets and travel accessibility from the ongoing global pandemic, the event supporting GT Cup Open Series has not been able to muster entry numbers this year that they enjoyed last year to a point where their last round at Paul Ricard featured a grid of just ten cars. With further withdrawals going into their third round at Monza has forced race organisers to merge the few GT4’s that will be there in with the GT3 cars to form slightly larger and multi class races – a tried and trusted formula that will add a little bit of uncertainty for some in the larger cars.
Whilst we don’t know if Team Virage will be there at all with their Vantage GT4 and its two drivers of Robert Hefler and Phillippe Valenza, we do know that the team in red will be there with their #34 AMR Vantage GT3, still high from the spoils of success from Le Mans no doubt but still with a job to do if they want to secure the Series top GT3 accolades.
Featuring again a two race, pit stop punctuated programme over the course of the weekend, TF Sport lay just eight points behind the Championship leading team with six races still to come.
As usual, both races will be streamed live via their Series website.
Photo credits – TF Sport / GT Open
Watch the heart of Racing team in action in New Zealand
As their sister car gets ready for action at the next round of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship over at Mid-Ohio this weekend, take a look back at their racing from last weekends first round of the Golden Homes North Island Endurance Racing Series from Hampton Park.
With racers Darren Kelly and Alex Riberas again behind the wheel of the #52. Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT3 after their debut win at the opening round of the South Island Endurance Racing Series only the week before, early technical issues within the car hampered their efforts at Hampton Park where they eventually finished P3 overall.
In New Zealand, the #52 car runs in aid of the Starlight Foundation raising vital funds for children's medical facilities in the country.
Photo credits - HoRT
New AMR Vantage GT8R to debut at ADAC Total N24
The new Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT8R will make its debut in the ADAC Total Nürburgring 24 Hours on the world-famous Nordschleife in Germany this weekend, with partner racing team Garage 59.The Aston Martin Vantage GT8R, based on the same chassis that has proved successful in its GTE, GT3 and GT4 variants around the world, is set to compete in the SP8T class. It will be raced by works drivers Darren Turner (GB), and Jonny Adam (GB) – who won the GTE Am class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans last weekend – as well as Aston Martin test driver Chris Goodwin (GB) and GT World Challenge class race winner Alexander West (SWE).
Sitting between the GT3 and GT4 Vantages, the GT8R’s performance has been optimised around the race’s SP8T regulations, with reduced weight, increased power and improved aerodynamics compared to its GT4 counterpart. The aerodynamics package includes a larger rear wing, as well as new dive planes and splitter, whilst power and weight are targeted at the SP8T class limits of 549hp and 1450kg
An early concept of the GT8R actually won the SP8T class at the Nürburgring 24 Hours last year, in the hands of British trio Alex Brundle, Pete Cate, and Jamie Chadwick. Since then the production specification has been comprehensively developed and recently completed its sign-off testing at Aragon in Spain before making its race debut last month in round five of the Nürburgring Langstrecken Series (NLS).
Aimed primarily at customers wishing to race in the NLS and the Nürburgring 24 Hours, it is also eligible for the GT Cup in the UK, Super Taikyu in Japan, America’s Transam Series and the New Zealand Endurance Championship, as well as being an ideal candidate for a track day car. A run of 50 will go on sale at a list price of £225,000, while kits will be made available for existing Vantage GT4 customers to upgrade their cars.
Aston Martin Racing works driver Turner said: “The GT8R is such a fun car to race – it’s really easy to drive and gives the driver so much confidence. The car performed extremely well on its debut at the Nürburgring, and once we’ve applied the lessons we learned during the six-hour race – where it ran faultlessly – I expect it to be able to allow us to fight for class victory in the 24-hour event. You can really feel the step up in performance, but it remains a far less demanding car to race than a high downforce GT3 or GTE. I’ve loved driving it around the Nordschleife and I can’t wait to return there this weekend.”
Aston Martin Racing President David King added: “This car was borne out of a desire from our existing customers who wanted to step up to a faster machine than the Vantage GT4, and from our desire to have a truly competitive car in the increasingly important SP8T class at the Nürburgring. The GT8R exploits a gap in the market that allows drivers to experience the user-friendly accessibility of the entry-level Vantage, while delivering a significant step-up in performance.”
The 2020 Nürburgring 24 Hours starts at 1530 CEST on Saturday 26 September. More than 100 cars in 21 classes will battle it out in what is regarded as one of the toughest endurance races in the world.
AGS Events Racing looking to bolster Championship positions at Zandvoort
Three rounds complete - three rounds to go for the GT4 European Series teams as they make their respective journeys over to the infamous coastal circuit of Zandvoort to the west of Amsterdam for this weekends two hour long races.
Having run last time out at the Nurburgring at the beginning of the month, French team AGS Event Racing continue to be the sole Aston Martin Racing representatives in the Series, running an AMR Vantage GT4 in both the Am class for Nicolas Gomar and Gilles Vannelet and in the Silver Cup for AMR Academy drivers Theo Nouet and Valentin Hasse-Clot.
Germany was again fair to the #89 Am car with both a class win and a further class P3 over the course of that weekend whilst the #27 car was robbed of a sure podium going into the final lap of race one before they replied in the best manner possible in race 2 with both a class win and second overall in the race.
These results leave the #89 in the lead of the Am class with just one race result with them not on the podium so far blotting their copybook whilst in Silver Cup, the #27 car remains a close second in the Championship despite their unkind loss of points at the Nurburgring due to the puncture. Their results also place the team at the top of the Team Championship table although each is still open to the effects of underperformance between now and the end of the season at Paul Ricard in mid November.
Eighteen cars are again scheduled to compete at the weekend with officially timed Free Practice on Friday before Qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday and Race 2 on Sunday.
Photo credits - GT4 European / AGS Events Racing
Adam joins Garage 59's ADAC Total N24 line up
"Fresh" from his class winning exploits at last weekends 24 Hours of Le Mans, one third of the 2020 Le Mans 24 GTE Am Class winning team that is Jonny Adam has today been confirmed as the fourth driver within Garage 59 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT8R at this weekends Nordschleife endurance.
Featuring an already declared line up that includes fellow AMR factory driver Darren Turner, Adam will be joining up again. with co team owners of Chris Goodwin and Alex West aboard their revised #59 SP8T class car for the start of this years event which in itself has also been severely affected by the ongoing global pandemic.
First moved from its usually mid summer date to this weekend, the race was at first business as usual with fans in attendance before then being from behind closed doors to now, where fans are again welcome in the circuits grandstands only.
One small outstanding consideration going into the event was Alex West's fitness to drive this weekend after his sizeable accident and collision with the circuit barriers at Le Mans in his AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE but he has since confirmed with us that all is well and the driver line up remains as now stated.
They join the the #71 PROsport Racing AMR Vantage GT4 of Nico Verdonck, Guido Dumarey, Alex Walker and Michael Hess aboard their GT4 (SP10) class car.
Verdonck, the resident professional driver coach of the team has been supporting all three gentleman drivers through earlier Nordschleife Langstrecken Serie races as many step up from lower classes within the former VLN Series of racing to the full SRO homologated GT4 racer.
Unfortunately, early weather indications show a distinct drop in ambient temperatures over the race weekend plus a high possibility of - guess what? That’s right - rain!!!
Awesome!
Photo credits - Garage 59 / VLN
TF Sport enters LM24 history books with dominant GTE Am win
A flawless performance by British team TF Sport, saw them crowned GTE Am winners at the most iconic endurance race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, last weekend. Salih Yoluc, Charlie Eastwood and Jonny Adam started the day-long battle in fifth position and took the flag to claim the win after a faultless, incident-free 24 hours.
Following a tough time at the previous WEC race at Spa Francorchamps, where the car struggled for overall race pace, the team completely stripped the #90 to a bare shell to diagnose the issue. Confident that all had been done to prepare for ‘the big one’, the crew were ready for the toughest week of their season.
Strong pace was shown early on from the #90 entry, and Eastwood set the second-fastest time in the GTE Am class during qualifying, to secure a spot in the first-ever Le Mans Hyperpole session. With 22 cars entered in class and only the top six going into the shootout, it was a tremendous achievement by the TF Pro to give the team the best possible start to the endurance race.
The team lined up P5 for the start of the 88th Edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Eastwood at the wheel. The Northern Irish youngster wasted no time in getting the Vantage to the sharp end and was up to P2 within the first few corners of the opening lap. Salih took to the wheel and drove faultlessly throughout, before handing back over to Charlie and Jonny, who split the night shifts between them.
A combination of impeccable driving by all three racers, and inch-perfect pitstops by the crew saw the TF Aston Martin drop no lower than fifth throughout the entire race. Some great battles for position were had between the #90 and the Aston Martin Racing GTE Am entry, until the #98 had to box due to a mechanical failure.
Once the TF GTE had taken back the lead in the latter half of the race, there was no letting it slip. With every stint and every pit stop, the gap to P2 grew and at one point they had a five-minute race lead. But, after what seemed like the longest stint of his, and the team’s, life, Eastwood crossed the line 49 seconds ahead of Campbell in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche, to take TF Sport’s first-ever Le Mans victory.
The result was filled with ‘first time’ achievements for the team. Salih Yoluc became the first ever Turkish driver to win Le Mans and Jonny Adam became the first WEC driver to take both GTE PRO and GTE Am honours. It was the first time an Aston Martin customer team had ever won the Le Mans 24H and it was the first European GTE Am win for the Vantage AMR.
TF Sport’s victory, alongside the first and third place finishes from Aston Martin Racing, has secured the Manufacturers’ title for Aston Martin with a race remaining in the season.
GTE Am Championship honours will be decided in Bahrain, the final round of the 2019/2020 season. The team have an eight-point lead ahead of the #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Perrodo, Collard and Nielsen and with x1.5 points to be won at the eight-hour finale, it’s going to be a close fight to the flag.
World Endurance Championship finale at Bahrain - 14 November.
More prizes and a Championship win for AMR teams in GT4 America
As the 'heads' of the Aston Martin Racing family were busy (winning as it turns out) in their Vantage GTE’s over at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, their American relatives were also out doing likewise as the SRO sanctioned GT4 America Series revisited the Circuit of the America’s in Austin, Texas.
Still running to a heavily revised and ‘catch up’ programme, this penultimate round of the GT4 America Series would eventually see not only more AMR Customer and Partner teams take various class accolades but also Flying Lizard Motorsport Gentleman driver Michael Dinan secure the Sprint Am Class Drivers title.
In a meeting of three fifty minute Sprint races but just two hour long Sprint X races, the challenges of multiple race meetings in quick succession again proved problematic with (this time) the #15 BSport Racing AMR Vantage GT4 of Bryan Putt and Kenton Koch suffering from heavy front end damage to their car during the events wet Free Practice sessions.
Rebuilt overnight by the team and with the help of CSJ Motorsports, that loss of track time and Qualifying opportunity affected the Pro-Am duo from their more recent string of race results with a DNF in race 1 before recovering the situation somewhat with a P6 overall / P4 in class in race 2.
Rearden Racing’s two car entry for Paul Terry in Sprint and Jeff Burton in both Sprint and Sprint X gave that duo four podium finishes between them after capitalising on Dinan’s absence from the events on Saturdays securing themselves a class 1-2 in Sprint Race 2 before Dinan redressed the balance on Sunday with a class win that secured his Sprint Series Am Class Championship.
That still leaves plenty of titles to be decided at the season finale from Indianapolis at the end of the month with the available 50 points for two race wins making all the difference in who wins the Sprint X Pro-Am Team, Sprint X Pro-Am Drivers as well as the runners up position in Sprint Am Class Championships.
Flying Lizard Motorsport and Michael Dinan secure GT4 America Sprint crown
“This has really been an amazing season for us,” said Program Manager Darren Law. “Focusing on not only good results every weekend but also keeping the big picture of the Championships in mind has been a priority for us and to have already clinched the Drivers Championship with Michael Dinan in the Sprint class with one weekend to go is a testament to the entire effort.
The SRO GT4 class is so competitive and there are a lot of great teams and drivers. With all of the changes in the series schedule a lot of pressure was put on the team and drivers this year. Michael has come a long way in a short time as a driver and Robby Foley has been a very big part of this. They work well together and Robby’s mentoring of Michael is really showing.
Sprint Race One
Knowing he would only be able to participate in two of the three races in the weekend, Dinan and Flying Lizard Motorsport entered Sprint race one with the goal to maximize as much as possible. He started third overall, and got shuffled back a few positions as the field aggressively made it through the opening turns. Holding second in class with a comfortable gap ahead and behind, he charged from fourth overall. He made quick work of his gap to the #91 of Jeff Burton, the Am class leader. With 22 minutes remaining, he made the pass and easily pulled away, with no pressure from behind, taking his first win of the weekend.
Sprint Race Three
Due to a family commitment, Michael Dinan missed Saturday’s race activities, tightening the battle for the Sprint and SprintX driver and team championships. The absence forced Dinan to start the No. 210 Aston Martin from the rear of the field, though as soon as the green flag waved, he charged forward, passing two cars by the exit of turn two. The following lap, he gained another position, executing every corner to get closer to Paul Terry. Terry did everything he could to keep the Rearden Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 as far ahead from Dinan as possible, but with every lap, Dinan continued to inch closer. With less than 20 minutes remaining, Dinan had made it to the front pack, engaging in a three way battle for the Am class lead. He made it to the front just before a full course caution came out, resulting in the field being brought back together for a sprint to the finish line. Dinan stayed cool and collected, quickly creating a comfortable gap over his competitors. He finished third overall and first in class, unofficially taking the Sprint Am driver title.
SprintX Race One
Michael Dinan and Robby Foley began SprintX race standing second in the driver points with Flying Lizard leading the team championship. With just one of two races to earn points, the pressure was on to earn the best result possible. Dinan started the race in the No. 21 Aston Martin from fifth place over all. Again, shenanigans in turn one shuffled the Aston Martin back two positions in the opening turns, but an early caution period brought the field back together and Dinan close to the competition. Dinan had a good battle with the No. 63 of Ben Anderson, eventually taking fifth place overall and the class lead as they reached the halfway point. Foley took over the driving duties just past the halfway point, immediately joining a three way battle for fourth place overall, and advanced to fight the No. 36 of Colin Mullan for second place. At the end of the 60 minutes, Foley had secured the Am class lead, finishing second overall. The result brought the pair within three points of the SprintX pro/Am class leaders.
Remaining Championship Battles
Although Dinan clinched the Sprint Am driver championship, Flying Lizard’s battle for the Am team title continues heading into the next race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In the SprintX Pro/Am championship, Dinan and Foley remain in the fight, standing just three points behind NOLASPORT’s Jason Hart and Matt Travis. In the SprintX Team championship, Flying Lizard leads NOLSASPORT by 13 points.
“With more championships to be decided, we still have a lot on the line at the final race of the year at Indianapolis in two weeks,” concluded Law. “We are very close in points for the Sprint-X Driver and Team Championships, as well as the Team Championship in Sprint. We are also still looking for Erin to continue her run to a podium finish with Michael Cooper in Sprint-X. She has had a difficult season as far as tough luck with car issues but we had a solid run this past weekend and look to close out the year with another good run at Indianapolis.”
The final rounds of the Sprint and SprintX Championships will take place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), October 2-4. Each series will hold two final race events, and the race weekend will also be open to fans, a first for IMS this season.
Aston Martin Racing wins 24 Hours of Le Mans and Manufacturers title
Aston Martin has won the 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans. The British manufacturer, which was last victorious in the world famous event in 2017, recorded its best ever result at the Circuit de la Sarthe by winning both GT classes and with three crews standing on the podium. The result means that Aston Martin scored enough points to secure the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) manufacturers’ title with one round remaining.
It was works drivers Alex Lynn (GB) and Maxime Martin (BEL), along with former Le Mans class-winner Harry Tincknell (GB), who took the most coveted win in endurance racing after a flawless performance in the #97 Vantage GTE and a thrilling and nail-biting 24-hour battle with the works team Ferraris.
Lynn, who set the fastest lap of the GTE classes at 03.10 on Sunday said: “I won’t lie, that was emotional… I had a few tears on the last lap. I have driven this exact car for the last three years and so much hard work and sweat has gone into it. It honestly feels incredible.”
TF Sport’s Vantage GTE took class-winning honours in GTE Am with works driver Jonny Adam (GB) and Charlie Eastwood (GB), and team-mate Salih Yoluç (TUR) and, with it, the lead of the WEC GTE Am drivers’ title going into the season finale at Bahrain International Circuit. The British outfit is the first privateer team to win Le Mans with the Vantage GTE.
Nicki Thiim (DEN) and Marco Sørensen (DEN), who were joined this weekend by Richard Westbrook (GB), will also take the WEC pro-class drivers’ title to the wire – they now lead team-mates Lynn and Martin by just 15 points after taking third place in the GTE Pro class.
In the GTE Am class, huge disappointment came for long-standing Aston Martin Racing driver Paul Dalla Lana (CAN), who had high hopes for his eighth Le Mans. Outstanding pace from the Canadian and his team-mates Augusto Farfus (BR) and works driver Ross Gunn (GB) proved fruitless after an extended pitstop put a halt to their race-leading charge.
The trio of podiums at the double-point-scoring event was enough for Aston Martin to take the WEC Manufacturers’ title for the first time – the British manufacturer crossed the line 76 points ahead of Porsche and 97 ahead of Ferrari.
Tobias Moers, Aston Martin CEO, commented: “I am extremely proud of everyone who has played a part in this momentous victory today. To win both GTE classes and the WEC Manufacturer’s title is testimony to the quality of both the team, the Vantage GTE and the Vantage road car that is the basis of the race car.”
TF Sport's recovery drive secures another podium in British GT
Having Qualified in P5 with the #95 Connor O’Brien/Patrick Kibble car and P7 for the #97 Jamie Caroline/Dan Vaughan car, the race was thrown into immediate confusion with two spinning GT3 cars at Turn 1-lap 1 which brought out the Safety Car. Two of only a handful of cars that elected to pit straight away to swap over to their ‘faster’ drivers it did appear that that was a bad call as they found themselves being held back at the pit exit as the race went back to green.
For the next two and a half hours, it was simply a case of each driver pushing as hard as they could to make up for a longer fuel stop that they would ultimately have to make to cover off their first stop. Kibble was the faster of the two as he broke the gap to Caroline to a tune of about 10 seconds at the halfway mark.
Having not had to serve any additional pit stop penalty beyond that of their Silver Cup status, the #95 car would still come out behind the Academy Ford Mustang and the #58 HHC McLaren to claim the final step of the GT4 podium. The #97 crew would also recover some decent points towards their Championship aspirations with a distant P4 finish – one lap down to the top three.
The Championship now moves onto Snetterton next month where we should be again seeing the Beechdean AMR Vantage GT3 of Andrew Howard and Valentin Hasse-Clot.
TF Sport fightback needed after issues in Qualifying
Having not had the best of race endings last time out at Brands Hatch when the #95 and #97 cars made contact with each of going into the final lap of the race left both the #95 in the gravel at Paddock Hill Bend and the #97 demoted down from a podium position for that earlier contact, both crews will be looking to make amends for that situation as Championship standings become all too important.
By the end of Free Practice, the #95 car of Connor O’Brien and Patrick Kibble was the highest placed AMR in P3 in class with the #97 car of Jamie Caroline and Dan Vaughan four places further back.
Despite his fastest lap in his Qualifying session for Kibble to add to the earlier lap time of O’Brien would see that #95 Qualify in P3 and behind the Academy Ford Mustang and the HHC McLaren.
Deletion of his fastest laps for Caroline due to track limits and an untimely excursion off circuit and into the gravel due to someone else’s oil left the #97 with a little bit more to do on Sunday as they will be starting the three-hour race from P5.
In GT3, the Ultimate Speed AMR Vantage GT3 of Matt Manderson and Mike Brown would see them start their first BGT race aboard their brand-new AMR car from P14 overall having only entered one competitive lap time from the two drivers.
The race shall begin at 12:45.
Photo credits – TF Sport / Jacob Ebrey
