GT3 & GT2 entries for Hexis Racing at SilverstoneThe partnership between the reigning European vice-champions and Aston Martin Racing is blossoming. Hexis Racing AMR has announced that it is entering an Aston Martin Vantage GT2 in the FIA GT race due to take place during the Silverstone Tourist Trophy meeting on May 2-3.


Vantage GT2: a step up

Continuing its ascension of the GT pyramid, Hexis Racing, which has its home base on the Lédenon circuit, is taking a crack at the GT2 category. It is entering an Aston Martin Vantage in the upcoming Silverstone Tourist Trophy race, which is the first round of this year's FIA GT championship.

Hexis Racing AMR will be competing with the AMR Vantage GT2 which took part in the Nogaro and Zolder races in 2008. Aston Martin Racing launched this magnificent 4.5-litre V8 model at the start of the 2008 season as the final link in its GT range, which now extends from GT4 to GT1. At the wheel will be two top-class drivers: Stefan Mücke (who was a member of the crew that took the Lola-Aston Martin LMP1 to victory in the Catalunya 1000km Le Mans Series race) and Frédéric Makowiecki. Mücke is a stalwart of Aston Martin Racing and Makowiecki has played a key role in the French team's ascension since it embarked upon its European GT3 adventure in 2007.

Philippe Dumas shared his assessment of the new challenge facing the team: "Having Aston Martin Racing asking us to take on this schedule is proof of our achievements," he said. “What's more, two of their engineers will be with us to strengthen the team, along with two of their technicians. This will be step up for us - we'll be learning new skills, such as refuelling techniques and how to manage two top grade drivers. On the subject of drivers, I'm hoping this operation will enable Fred to gain a good foothold in AMR."


DBRS9 GT3: thorough preparation

Hexis Racing are the current European FIA GT3 vice-champions in both the Team and Driver standings, and no stone has been left unturned to properly prepare for 2009. No fewer than twelve practice days were organised over the winter months. After a limber up at Ledenon, the team's Aston Martin DBRS9's headed off to Adria to inspect the circuit in readiness for the Italian leg of the new season. There followed two day's work on the Paul Ricard circuit, and two more in Monteblanco (Spain) to get the cars properly balanced to FIA standards. Former F1 driver Jean-Marc Gounon and 1993 Le Mans 24-hour race winner Christophe Bouchut test drove all the GT3 cars present, in order to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each. This handicapping system forms the cornerstone of the GT3 category; it has been largely instrumental in the unqualified success of the category. Hexis Racing AMR also took part in FIA GT 'Media Days' on the Paul Ricard circuit, before bringing its winter tour to a close in Portimao, a venue which also features on this year's European championship calendar.

"Our aim was to make the car not only more competitive but also easier to drive," explained Philippe Dumas. "Engineering-wise we have been working hard on testing items such as the front and rear sub-frames so that we make the most of the ground clearance allowance, and on new shock absorbers which give the Aston Martin more neutral handling over rumble strips and better overall handling. A new aerofoil pack is under development and a major engine upgrade is expected for Silverstone. We also focused on pit work. Today I'm very satisfied because we have turned into a properly structured outfit. We have taken on Antoine Penven as a full-time engineer. The team gelled very quickly, with drivers and engineers getting on very well together. Our driver crews were already in place during the break between seasons. Our drivers are team regulars and they all took part in testing, apart from the FIA performance balancing sessions on the Paul Ricard circuit. 2009 has to be payback time."

Julien Rodrigues & Thomas Accary and Manu Rodrigues & Frédéric Makowiecki will be the Hexis Racing AMR standard-bearers in the 2009 European championships. Hexis Racing AMR staff are already hard at work in the Aston Martin Racing workshops in Banbury, putting the finishing touches to the DBRS9 GT3 cars and preparing for team's grand debut in GT2.


Other news

Barthez impresses at wheel of Aston World Football Cup and Euro 2000 gold medallist Fabien Barthez is a motor racing fiend, always keen to take up new challenges at the wheel. Following a meeting with Hexis Racing AMR's Clément Mateu, it was agreed that Fabien Barthez would take the wheel of one of the team’s Aston Martin DBRS9 GT3 cars at the FIA GT Media Days event on the Paul Ricard circuit. He started out as a passenger in the car with Frédéric Makowiecki. Then the two men changed seats and finally Fabien took the car out by himself for a spin on the HTTT (High Tech Test Track). Clément and Philippe were in agreement, saying "he's a lovely guy and he put in some pretty decent lap times, too!"

The Villois Racing Team will start the European Championship International GT Open at the Autodromo ‘Enzo e Dino Ferrari’ in Imola this weekend (18 & 19 April).

The team, who have had a very productive winter break, are looking to build on a very successful 2008 campaign. This season will see them racing in two Aston Martin DBRS9 GT3s .

Spanish driver Lucas Guerrero, in his first season with the team, will share driving duties with Marco Petrini, a member of the team for the third consecutive year. The second car will be driven by Massimiliano Wiser and the 2008 Italian GT Champion Gabriele Lancieri.

This will be the third time that the team have taken part in the GT Open Championship after involvement in 2006 and in 2007 where they fought for the title.

This weekend’s races will be broadcast live in full on Saturday and Sunday on satellite channels Nuvolari (218) and Eurosport.

Villois Racing would to take this opportunity to thank all the people who supported and helped the team during the winter break.

Aston Martin Racing has won the Catalunya 1000 kilometres, on the team’s Le Mans Series debut with its new LMP1 challenger. The 007 car, driven by Jan Charouz (CZ), Tomas Enge (CZ) and Stefan Mücke (DE) finished first after a flawless debut run. Car 009, crewed by Harold Primat (CH), Miguel Ramos (PT) and Darren Turner (GB), ran in the top three until the final 40 minutes of the race, when a spin put the crew out of contention.

An elated David Richards, Chairman of Aston Martin, said: “This momentous victory is a fantastic reward for the many weeks and months of hard work put in by every member of the team. Endurance racing is above all a team sport, and I think that we have proved this once again today.”

Despite a limited pre-season testing programme, neither the 007 nor the 009 car experienced any mechanical problems during the course of the six-hour race, with just six scheduled pit stops for fuel and tyres on the winning Aston Martin. The car also set the fastest race lap of 1m34.089s.

Starting from third on the grid the 007 car showed both speed and reliability throughout the race, which came to a dramatic climax just over half an hour from the finish. Having hounded the leader until the closing stages, the 007 Aston Martin with Mücke at the wheel benefited from a safety car period to close right up to the leader. With a masterful move around the outside, Mücke was able to take advantage of traffic to claim the lead for Aston Martin Racing. He once again demonstrated his impressive speed to pull away in front and claim an emotional victory by just 14.8 seconds.

In the highly-competitive GT2 class, there was further encouragement for Aston Martin with the Drayson Racing Vantage GT2 of Englishmen Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker taking a strong eighth place in class on their first ever European outing.



Driver quotes


007


Jan Charouz (CZ):

“It’s been a really impressive debut, and I’ve had a very good feeling with the car throughout the weekend. I’d like to thank everybody for doing a fantastic job: I think this sets us up really well for a successful continuation to the season. I had no problems at all during my stints, and most importantly we have learnt a lot for the future.”


Tomas Enge (CZ):

“This is the perfect way for us to start our season, and the car has been very good from the beginning. The only problem I’ve experienced is a lack of rear-end grip sometimes, which is what caused my spin. But luckily no harm was done and we did not lose much time. During my stint I tried to keep up with the leading Pescarolo but it was very tricky. In the end though it was a great result for everyone.”


Stefan Mücke (D):

“I’m absolutely delighted with this result, but it was a very close call at the finish. It was so tight at the end that I really did not know which way everything would go. Eventually we were able to take advantage of the safety car to close up, and then we found a gap in the traffic to pass the leader. He went to the inside, we went to the outside and thankfully it worked. Once we were through, I think we proved that we had the pace to win.”


009


Harold Primat (CH):

“It was a tough first stint for me, as my drinks bottle did not work so I got very hot. Physically it was difficult but I’m pleased with the job that we did and the result goes to show that all our hard work has paid off. I’m delighted for the team, the only problem we had with the car was driver comfort: we need to work on our seating position.”


Miguel Ramos (PT):

“I obviously have mixed emotions: I’m very disappointed and sorry for what happened when I was in the car, but I am delighted for the team. I was following behind an LMP2 car during my final stint, when I spun. I tried to control the spin in order not to hit the barrier, but once the car was stopped I could not get it going again.”


Darren Turner (GB):

“My first stint was quite tricky, as it was by far and away the longest time I had spent in the car in one go. Before today, the longest time I had been in the car was probably around 20 minutes; after the start of the race it was nearly an hour and a half. We didn’t change tyres during that time, so our Michelins were definitely having to work hard and did a good job. There was less traffic during our second stint and we were able to hold position without problems.”


THE STORY OF ASTON MARTIN’S FIRST LE MANS SERIES WIN

Despite very little track time prior to the start of the season, Aston Martin Racing was able to overcome serious opposition to record the company’s first ever overall win in the LMP1 category.

During Saturday’s qualifying session, German driver Stefan Mücke overcame a minor gearbox problem and some traffic to end up third on the grid in 007. Britain’s Darren Turner did an excellent job in his very first LMP1 qualifying to place 009 second on the grid.

The same two drivers were chosen to start the race on Sunday. The opening round of the Le Mans Series got underway at 11:30, with a scheduled race distance of 1000 kilometres or 215 laps. By the end of the opening lap, Mücke was in the lead with Turner third, ensuring that the Aston Martin LMP1 car led its very first lap of competition.

Mücke handed over to Jan Charouz after his opening stint, who held second place, while Turner stayed in 009. After nearly an hour and a half, Turner swapped places with Harold Primat, with the Swiss driver keeping 009 well and truly in the hunt for a podium place.

Tomas Enge took the 007 car over from his team mate and compatriot Charouz just after 13:00, and immediately set about hunting down the lead car, reducing the gap to less than a second on the 100th lap of the race. The Czech driver was part of a thrilling three-way battle for the lead, but he was not quite able to make his move after losing grip at the end of a long stint.

Primat did an excellent job in 009 and handed over to Miguel Ramos just after 1pm. The Portuguese driver had no problems during his first stint and maintained fourth until Turner was back in the car just after the halfway point of the race. Shortly afterwards Enge lost a handful of seconds with a spin that luckily had no lasting consequences, meaning that 007 and 009 maintained their second and third places respectively.


During his final stint, Stefan Mücke continued to chase down the leader, catching him lap after lap, but then the race was interrupted by a safety car period caused by a spin for Miguel Ramos in the 009 Aston Martin, 15 minutes into his final stint and less than an hour from the finish. The car was running in third place when Ramos spun, but the Portuguese driver was not able to restart it. This meant that the safety car came out while 009 was recovered, allowing the 007 car driven by Stefan Mücke to close right up to the leader.

Once the safety car came back in, Mücke was able to make use of the traffic to pass the leader with a brilliant move around the outside on lap 193, with just 20 minutes to go. The 007 car was already fuelled to the finish, and once in front Mücke was able to pull away to seal an emotional victory on Aston Martin Racing’s Le Mans Series debut.

Drayson Racing had to dig deep within itself early in the 1,000 Km of Cataluña just to start their first Le Mans Series event today. However, the chequered flag would fall with the No. 87 Drayson Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT2 of Paul Drayson (London/Gloucestershire, UK) and Jonny Cocker (Guisborough, Yorks, UK) solidly within the Top 10 of the LM GT2 class. The Official Partner Team of Aston Martin Racing finished eighth in their Series debut here at Barcelona's Circuit de Cataluña on the shoulders of a nearly flawless race both on track and in the pits.

The race did not start well for Drayson Racing; in fact, it nearly did not start at all. Cocker pulled from pit lane to join the rest of the field on the formation lap just to have the engine stall exiting turn one. Le Mans Series rules - as created by the Automobile Club De L'Ouest (ACO), official sanctioning body of the 24 Heures du Mans - forbid anyone but the driver working on the car outside of the team's pit box. With car chief Rob Boakes and AMR engineer Andrew Jacks advising via radio with Cocker, the young Brit was able isolate and affect a repair on a sensor in the V8's air box.

The penalty for failure to complete the formation lap is to start from pit lane. Once the full field had passed, Cocker joined the race in last place. From starting with a 35 second deficit, Drayson Racing was able to work itself back into the LM GT2 Top 10 quickly. A key moment came early as team manager Dale White (Bozeman, MT, USA) called for "fuel only" on the No. 87's first pit stop. That helped overcame the remaining gap and Cocker, and his double-stinted Michelin tyres, moved into the Top 10 within the first 15 minutes of the race. Drayson, continuing Cocker's work, moved the Vantage GT2 as high as seventh late in the race. However, a final hour stop for fuel dropped the team to their final location on the result sheet. A successful first showing nonetheless for the programme.

The eighth-place finish earns the UK-based team its first point in the LM GT2 championship. For 1,000 Km events, the five-race schedule pays one point to eighth- place in each class.

It was a good day for Aston Martin Racing as the No. 007 LMP1 "works" team scored that programme's first victory in its debut event.

An official Le Mans Series test at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans, France on 25-26 April will be the next destination for Drayson Racing. The second round of the Le Mans Series, the 1,000 Km of Spa- Franchorchamps in Belgium, is scheduled for 10 May.


Quotes


Lady Drayson, Owner:

"We are delighted to finish eighth in our European debut. After the slightly nerve- wracking start to have a relatively event free and smooth race was very gratifying. This builds our confidence and we look forward to moving on to Spa."


Paul Drayson, Driver/Owner:

"The most fun I've had in a race car. Really pleased with our result today. The Team did an excellent job and it was great to have a trouble free race with no contact and no reliability problems which meant I could settle in and enjoy myself reeling off the laps. The car was as good after six hours as it was at the start and this is a massive step forwards towards the Le Mans 24 Hours."


Jonny Cocker, Driver:

"A little bit scary at the start really with the issue. I accelerated out of the pit lane and when I went to get back on the gas out of the first corner there was no throttle. That was a bit of a worry. It would start and then just shut-off straight away. I was trying my best to keep the marshals from pulling me off the circuit and out of the race. I think there were about eight guys at one point trying to pull the car while I was hard on the brakes. I guess it was a sensor in the air box and we got that straightened away. The car was really quite quick. We could run near the pace of the leaders. That's really encouraging. We just need to work on ultimate pace. We have learned a lot with six hours of running in such a close and competitive championship. It was a good race and nice to get a finish. I felt like the car was as strong at the end as it was at the beginning. We are definitely getting there. It feels like now we can take part in a race."


Dale White, Team Manager:

"I guess some teams and drivers would give up if the car stopped before reaching turn two on the formation lap; not our guys. Jonny was doing everything he could to keep the car in the race and he got his hands dirty doing it. Paul showed his legendary determination and kept us in the fight. The crew guys dug in their heels and fought each and every pit stop. You never give up. We'll take these first two races [12 Hours of Sebring and Cataluña] and move on to Spa with a good feeling."

Gaydon, 1 April, 2009. “Barcelona is a really challenging circuit, I’ve completed some Formula 1 testing there in the past and I also took part in one GT race there in 2004, but that’s it, I don’t have too much experience of the track. The last couple of corners have been modified since my last visit, so I will have those to learn when I arrive.

The start-finish straight heads downhill and the first two corners that you get to are a quick right and left. You arrive at them really quickly but there’s plenty of grip so you can brake late and really use the kerbs.

It’s important to get that sequence right, because it sets you up for the long turn three: a right-hander that seems to go on for ages, where you generate quite a lot of G-force; probably up to 3.5G in the Aston Martin LMP1 car.

After a short straight you have another quite long right-hander then you plunge downhill into turn five. The braking here is really tricky, but if you get it right then there’s a good opportunity to overtake.

Back on the throttle as quick as you can, going uphill through turn six – which is more of a flat-out left-hand kink, you keep climbing through turns seven and eight, just carrying the speed, taking loads of momentum into turn nine: a right-hander before the back straight.

This is probably the most tricky corner of the lap, as it is on the brow of the hill so you cannot see the apex at all. You don’t actually even brake there, it’s just a lift, but it’s still a leap of faith. This is also a very important corner strategically, as you need to launch yourself properly into the back straight.

By the time you get to turn 10, you’re really moving and it’s another extremely difficult braking area as it’s downhill. You can line someone up to overtake here, but it’s obviously important not to outbrake yourself and get it wrong. That’s easily done.

With a nice clean exit you can blast through turn 11 – which is just another kink in the LMP1 car – and then you’re into turn 12: another longish right that can be deceptive. It’s a short squirt downhill to turn 13, where you go right, and you’re finally into the last part of the lap, which is completely new to me. Looking at the map it looks like we’ve got a tight left immediately followed by a right, but that’s just something I’m going to have to learn.

The final long right-hand corner has also been re-profiled but it’s still quick and a big challenge, it spits you out onto the start-finish straight and off you go again. Repeat that 200 times or so and you have a Le Mans Series race…

For us at Aston Martin Racing it’s all about learning. I’m looking at this race as more of an extension to our testing programme. Hopefully we can pick up a few points at the end of it, but most importantly of all, I think we’ll be able to use this experience to develop the car further.”