The second round of the FIA GT1 World Championship takes place at the home of British motor racing, Silverstone this weekend. The FIA GT1 event will be the first world championship race to be held on the newly-adapted circuit layout.

Darren Turner, the Young Driver AMR official driver, gives an exclusive insight into the circuit changes and explains how he will get his Aston Martin No.7 race car round this weekend ...

I was at Silverstone not that long ago running in a half marathon and already the pit straight is completely different because they've moved the grandstands back on what was the old start-finish straight and this has completely opened up this part of the track.

It used to be like a tunnel going down to the first corner, so it's certainly a different feeling now.

The first corner at Copse is a fast corner, with a blind apex because you have to come to the end of the pit wall before you can see where you are going to aim for. There's a 50 metre board on the left which you use as a turn in marker and then just fire the car into corner and hope for the best.

Copse is a great corner because it is so fast and will probably be just a quick flick down to 5th gear, maybe not even a brake, just a lift off and change down one gear.

The run off on the exit has made Copse less of a challenge, where as before if you made a mistake you were probably going to be on the grass and possibly into the wall, which always kept you on your toes. Now the kerb is pretty flat and there is the fake grass and tarmac again, so if you do run wide you can lose time but the consequences aren't as dire as it has been in previous years.

After Copse you come to what is probably my favourite group of corners on any track in the world, the Maggots-Becketts complex. It is a very high speed entry into it and it obviously decreases as you go through the set of corners. It's probably a lift through Maggots - the fast left, right - and then down two gears.

I imagine it will be down one gear to start with for the left in Becketts and then down another for the final part of Becketts before entering the Hanger Straight. It is a lovely set of corners and very challenging, if you get it wrong here you will lose a lot of time.

Then we are onto the Hanger Straight, which is quite long. It's a good place because if someone has made a small error in the last part of Becketts you can get some momentum and get past them on the way down to Stowe.

Stowe is a good corner, the braking is very late because you tend to brake and fire yourself in and slow yourself down throughout the corner because the apex is a long way round. It's over a crest as well so the exit can drop away from you but there is a good supporting kerb which you tend to aim for and use as a way of controlling the car.

Then it's downhill into the Vale, a very tight corner with a tricky kerb. It's flat on the initial part and then it ramps up quite high which can upset the rear of the car but if you don't go high enough on the kerb you lose the grip on the right side of the car which is in the groove.

It's one of those places you try to brake very late but quite often you can just miss the groove and end up losing a lot of time. Club has been re-profiled on the new layout. The old Club was a challenge all the way through and I hope they haven't too much of the old Club because it was a good section through there.

It's then up to Abbey and the new circuit profile into the Arena section. From the circuit map we've all been given I imagine it will be a 4th gear approach into Abbey and up to Ireland, probably back up to 5th.

Arena itself is a section of three corners and I see this as quite slow in and then building the speed up as you exit onto the National Straight, hopefully it is going to be a challenging set of corners. Having moved away from Bridge corner, which is one of my favourite corners, I hope that the new Arena will make up for losing Bridge and make Silverstone as special as it always has been.

Then it's down the National Straight into Brooklands and Luffield. Brooklands is a difficult corner because the apex is very late and there is quite a long braking zone and there is always a compromise between attacking on the way in and being slow on the way out or taking another option because there quite a few lines you can take here. It's a good overtaking opportunity because you can force someone to make a mistake under braking and lose the line for Luffield.

After Luffield you're back onto the start-finish straight again to begin another lap.

PR

The third round of the VLN Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring saw the debut of two new Aston Martin racers naimly the Vantage GT and Rapide. Built and run by Aston Martin the V12 Vantage GT is in fact the mainly the same "Kermit" chassis that raced in 2008 now with a V12 replacing the V8 and a more extensive aero package.

Competing in the SP8 class the Vantage GT will be driven by Chris Porritt, Oliver Mathai, Richard Meaden and Peter Cate.

You can follow the Nürburgring 24h live at Radiolemans.com from May 15th - 16th

During the third round of the VLN Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring, a tragic accident occurred in which 43-year old Leo Löwenstein from Laudenbach (Germany) lost his life.

The fatal accident happened on lap 22 of the 52nd ADAC ACAS H&R Cup, scheduled to last four hours, at the Bergwerk section of the Nürburgring Nordschleife. With his Aston Martin, Löwenstein drove into a gap between the cars with starting number 137 and starting number 511. In the process, the car got airborne following a collision and barrel-rolled. Upon the impact into the Armco barrier, the rear of the Aston Martin was significantly damaged and the car caught fire. Safety measures were started immediately. Löwenstein, who was unable to release himself from the car, succumbed to a smoke intoxication.

The race was stopped with the red flag and wasn’t re-started. In these circumstances, the race result became an insignificant fact.

Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

The FIA GT1 World Championship became reality on the Abu Dhabi Yas Marina Circuit. An incredibly-intense and spectacular reality, in which the French team HEXIS AMR brought themselves out by putting one of their Aston Martin DB9s front row at the end of the qualifying practice.

Arrived at the beginning of the week, the team started by receiving their equipment boxes on Tuesday, before setting up in the pits and paddock of the splendid complex that hosted its first Formula 1 Grand Prix last fall. HEXIS AMR quickly had to cope with the unexpected absence of Jean Denis Delétraz, hold in Switzerland for a professional case of force majeure. The hypothesis of calling speedy Thomas Accary, who is part of HEXIS AMR in the FIA GT3 European Championship, was first envisaged. But the break of air traffic caused by Eyjafföll volcano's ash cloud led the team to call in ... their team manager, Philippe Dumas. We remember the latter did a nice career in single-seater, with several podium finishes in Formula Renault in the early 2000s. His one-off comebacks at the wheel of a Ferrari 550 Maranello in 2008 dit not go unnoticed either. He put Jean Denis Delétraz' helmet on, and brightly fulfilled his work throughout the weekend.

After a short night for the staff, former F1 driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen calibrated all the cars so as to put the finishing touches to the balance of performance, which is one of the basis of this championship's rules. The two Aston Martin DB9s also took part in free practice sessions, marked by electronic problems which disturbed the layout learning and the shakedown work. Indeed, from this season, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) imposes an ECU shared by all participants. Heat? Constraints related to transportation? This part, that had not caused any issue during the close season tests, impeded the smooth running of several cars in Abu Dhabi.

Fortunately, as no running was planned on Thursday, the staff could adapt the technical modifications following from the balance of performance, and set everything in order in the view of an overbooked Friday: free practice, pre-qualifying and qualifying. In fact, the session that had to draw the starting grid, according to the Q1/Q2/Q3 system well known in Formula 1, was reduced to a few minutes, further to Ford GT driver Natacha Gachnang's accident, who suffered a broken leg. The mending of safety fences required several hours of work, and the grid was frozen with ... Frédéric Makowiecki's and Philippe Dumas' Aston Martin, credited with the second time!

"The first two sessions of the day enabled us to have the set-up evolve in the right direction", declared Clément Mateu, who, in the light of the driver suit put on by Philippe Dumas, backed up Antoine Penven to coordinate the technical team work. "We found the good gearbox ratio that Mako could validate before setting an extraterrestrial lap time and getting the 2nd place on the grid. Clivio Piccione found out this new set-up directly in qualifying, and he would have needed a few more laps to fully exploit its efficiency, by seven tenths he was getting in the Top 10."

Philippe Dumas was at the wheel of the Aston #9 for the start of the qualifying race. From the first lap, he had to slow down to avoid a Maserati in distress and got hit and spun round by another car. He restarted last, he began a catching up that Fred Mako finished at an excellent 7th place. In the Aston #10, Jonathan Hirschi succeeded in getting in through the chaos of the first hectometres to win nine places. Clivio Piccione extended this ride towards the final 8th rank.

Because of the penalty of the Corvette gone in pole position, HEXIS AMR's two cars were 6th and 7th on the championship race's grid. Mako immediately slipstreamed the leaders to evolve at the 5th place for a long time. He was 6th when the musical chairs of tyres and drivers changes started, as the mid-race approached. It is at this moment that success left the French camp. "We only have 15 minutes to intervene on the cars between the opening of parc fermé following the arrival of the qualifying race and the championship race's grid procedure", explained Clément Mateu. "We detected a faint oil leak which required a flat floor laying and it may have come that, in the rush, we too strongly tightened a wheel. The nut remained soldered on the rim, which caused the withdrawal of the #9".

Car #10 went through a start of race full of emotion. After a good start, Clivio bogged down in a collision. He cleverly slipped through before getting hit at the right rear wheel level by a competitor. The Monegasque started again but the suspension finally let go a few laps after the mandatory pitstop.

"We would have liked to score a few points, but the appraisal of this first leg is positive", underlined Clément Mateu. "The FIA GT1 World Championship offers a great show, the field is splendid and the concept is very professional. In spite of difficulties, we knew how to put right. The staff and engineers strained themselves to find good solutions. For the "Tom Thumb among the elite" that we still are, it was important to show our professionalism and cohesion. The drivers were exact at this meeting too, they notably performed a perfect qualifying race. But be careful, we will soon have to count on the "youngsters" Clivio and Jonathan, who made a very good job. At last, complications related to flight cancellations tightened even more the good relationship between each member of the team".

Philippe Dumas, who lived a weekend like no others, confided his feeling: "I am very proud of this team, of the accomplished work by everyone to build a GT1 structure only within a few months. The championship shapes up with the media potential we were all expecting. We have so many things to learn that we will not cut corners. We will rise to the challenge when we have to, that is to say sportingly because in the end, only results matter, people only remember this, and it is logical... Motorsport, more than any other sports, is not an exact science and leads to never-ending questioning. For a first, our weekend perfectly went on, despite our motor issues and a cruel lack of performance compared with our competitors. Nevertheless, we have been working with the English for three years, and I fully trust them to be the best at Silverstone, and even better afterwards. Each member of our team is essential in this adventure, which could not be true without Michèle and Michel Mateu, and Frédéric and Yves-Emmanuel Dor."

The cars are expected on Friday in Luxembourg, from where they will be directly conveyed to Silverstone, theatre of the FIA GT1 World Championship second round on May 1st and 2nd. They will be joined by the two GT3 Aston Martin DBRS9s, which will start their European season on the same weekend, same circuit!

PR

A strong World Championship premiere for Young Driver AMR ended up unrewarded. Christoffer Nygaard (DK) began the race in the second row of the grid in third position in this historic event – the first “Championship Race” of the new FIA GT1 World Championship. But on the very first lap the young talented Danish driver in car #8 was forced to retire after two involuntary collisions, which also meant that teammate Stefan Mücke never got to follow up on his most impressive qualifying race earlier. In the other car Darren Turner (UK) and Tomas Enge (CZ) fought valiantly in the #7 Aston Martin but battled with an engine misfire and missed out on points in 11th even though this was the best placed Aston Martin of the day.

Both races of the weekend were actually highlighted by Young Driver AMR being the target of opponents. The “qualifying race” began with the #7 car being rammed by a Corvette in the first corner, followed by the “Championship Race” where Christoffer Nygaard was hit once by two different Nissan GT-Rs on the first lap leading to his exit. “This steering broke so I had to park the car,” said the young Dane, whose teammate Mücke then never got to drive in the actual race.

Darren Turner started the #7 Aston from 16th position and actually won six places on the very first lap. “I got through the traffic with some ease” said the former Formula 1 test driver. “It was very turbulent, but some of our competitors went into the starting phase a bit too aggressive, giving us opportunities in the early stages. Then the car had the engine misfire, which especially hurt us on the straights. The team did a perfect job during the race, as they have the whole week. In both races we had absolutely perfect pit stops, and it was a great performance overall for all involved”.

“As much fun as today I have never had in a sauna before”, Tomas Enge joked, referring to the heat in Abu Dhabi after the race. Even though the race was held at night the thermometer in at Yas Marina Circuit went beyond the 30 degrees mark. “I had some great duels, unfortunately a Maserati blocked most laps. He made some mistakes and I was faster, but he defended his line well and the engine misfiring unfortunately cost us a better position.” “Our first appearance in the GT1 championship was very acceptable,” technical director Hardy Fischer explained after the race. “We had some training problems with defective oil coolers on both cars, and during both races we were victims of collisions. However, we have the fourth place of Nygaard / Mücke in the qualifying race which indicates what we can do. Our mechanics worked hard and did amazing things on the #7 car, to have it ready in the very short time between races. Our drivers did not make any mistakes, and especially our “Young Driver” Christoffer Nygaard gave an impressive performance in his debut in a GT1 sports car.”

Race results:
1st Mutsch / Grosjean Ford GT
2nd Zuber / Hennerici Corvette
3rd Hezemans / Piccini Corvette
4th Bartels / Bertolini Maserati
5th Zonta / Daniel Lamborghini
6th Bernoldi / Ramos Maserati
7th Bobbi / Longin Maserati
8th Kox / Haase Lamborghini
9th Heger / Margaritis Maserati
10th Maassen/ Müller Corvette
11th Turner / Enge Aston Martin AMR-YD

This was the first trial in the European GT championship on the technical track of Valencia “Ricardo Tormo”. At first an unforeseen turn of events characteries the weekenbd. A few days after the official debut, the team composed by Enrico and Gianandrea Crespi, respectively father and son, are forced to raise the white flag because of Enrico’s indisposition. Only 2 cars at the line-up: the Vantage GT2# 12 with the team formed by Max Wiser and Lucas Guerrero and the DBRS9 # 52 with Gabriele Lancieri and Angelo Lancelotti.

It rains during the whole weekend, strange enough for this time and place.
Both free trials and qualifications take place on a wet and dry track and force technicians to hard work in order to be able to change the car setup in due time according to weather conditions.

On Saturday the Pro-am race baptizes the team in the Super GT category where Wiser and Guerrero concentrate as best they can in order to find the right feeling with their new car. The driving style is different from that of the DBRS9 GT3 they know well and lead them to make small mistakes which will take them to end their race in the sand just a few turns from the end and the race results are bad.

Angelo Lancelotti offers an excellent performance, for the first time driving the DBRS9 # 52. They end up fourth, after a great recovery. A questionable penalty at the end of the race sent them back to the seventh placing.

Separate races took place on Sunday. Under a heave rain the GTS reaches the third position from the beginning, driven by Lancieri. An irregular tire wear slowed them down and they finished the race in the seventh position.

In the Super GT race a bitter destiny awaits the Vantage driven by Lucas Guerrero, who was forced to withdraw at the first lap under a scorching sun, because of a technical trouble.

In two weeks’time the Nurburgring will be waiting for us, an entirely new track for the GT Open.

The first round of the new FIA GT1 World Championship took place at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi this weekend. Darren and his team-mate, Tomas Enge, did all they could but had to settle for an 11th place finish in the main race after being hit at the first corner during the preceding qualifying race.

The F1-style qualifying session took place on Friday evening but it didn’t even make it to the end of the first of its three parts as a big accident for one of the Matech Ford GT drivers brought out the red flags and ultimately ended the day’s running when the barriers couldn’t be mended fast enough. Darren was making rapid advances at this point but had to settle for eighth as the session was stopped just as everyone’s times were improving.

Darren’s team-mate, Tomas Enge, was tasked with taking the start of Saturday’s first one-hour race, known as the qualifying race. He got away well at the rolling start but a Maserati spun at the first corner and took a chunk out of the side of the DBR9 and destroyed one of the rear tyres. He was also hit by a Corvette from the other side so it was impressive that Enge managed to limp back to the pits.

“Tomas ended up in a Maserati/Corvette sandwich at the start,” said Darren. “It’s good that he got the car back to the pits as it gave the team time to fix it before the main race. There was a lot of damage so the team did well to get us back on track again.”

Darren took the start of the championship race, which ran late into the evening. Although the Aston Martin was one of the first cars out of the qualifying race he lined up 16th as many cars had received grid penalties for technical infringements.

When the lights went green Darren got away well, making up a few places in the melee at turns two and three. Then, going through the back chicane he made up a few more by avoiding the drama and finding a clear line through.

“It was hard work as we are struggling a bit for pace,” he said. “At one point I had two Corvettes behind me but there was no way I could hold them there as they are two or three seconds a lap faster than us. I had a good scrap with Peter Kox though and managed to keep him behind me until the pit stop.”

The Young Driver AMR team got the car turned around fast and Tomas joined the race to take the DBR9 to the chequered flag, finishing in 11th place.

Darren’s next race is the London Marathon, which he is running on behalf of CLIC Sargent on Sunday 25 April. If you would like to sponsor him in his attempt to break the four-hour mark you can do so here: http://www.justgiving.com/BRDC-marathon-legends/.

The next round of the FIA GT1 World Championship is at Silverstone on 1/2 May. That is of course if the aeroplanes start flying again and everyone gets back from Abu Dhabi in time!


via PR

First FIA GT1 round, which took place on the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, wasn´t quite good for the AMR Young Driver team. Number seven Aston Martin DBR9 was mercilessly shot down from the track by one of his rivals in the first lap of qualifying race. Red and white car No. 8 not finished neither one all lap of main championship race.


This year's GT1 sports cars championship, which has the status of the official world championship for the first time, started his season in Abu Dhabi on the Yas Marina circuit. On the starting grid were also two crews Young Driver AMR Team.

In the initial qualification, which was cancelled due to serious accident of Natacha Gachnang, Tomas Enge - Darren Turner crew claims eighth place, Stefan Mucke - Christoffer Nygaard crew finished at twentieth place.

In the qualifying race, which determinated positions on the main race starting grid, had Tomas Enge bad luck. One of his rivals spun down in the first corner, rotated his car and crashed to Czech driver. His Aston Martin has been seriously damaged, Enge went slowly to the pit for repair.

Fortunately, car with No.7 at the door has been prepared for the main race, so Darren Turner could drive the first half of one hour race by the schedule. He changed the car with his team mate on thirteenth position. Then Tomas Enge, a native of Liberec, moved forward on a few position up to finishing on eleventh place. Mucke - Nygaard crew cancelled from the race immediately in the opening lap.

Tomas Enge: "I had contact with Miguel Ramos in the qualifying race, he braked too late and lost control of his car. He got the spun and when I tried to go around him, he bumped to the right side of my car. Moreover I had contact with one of the Corvettes. So I drove slowly to the pit, where mechanics began repair the car to main race. "

'The race came out pretty good for us, we managed pit stop quite well. But our car is not fast enough yet and the eleventh place is maximum at this moment. During whole weekend no Aston´s speed compared to Maseratti, Corvette and Ford also. We lost two, three seconds on the fastest car on the race. There is a lot of work what we have to do, moreover, we want to ask the organizers to implement some changes which could makes our car more competitive."

Second round of FIA GT1 will be held at the Silverstone circuit in Great Britain in two weeks.

via PR

Long Beach, 17 April 2010. Aston Martin took its third consecutive podium of 2010 at the 36th running of the Grand Prix of Long Beach crossing the line in second place. Drivers Adrian Fernández (MX) and Harold Primat (CH) drove on the limit throughout the 100 minute dash, in a race that was plagued with yellow flags and a brush with the tyre wall. Aston Martin Racing, normally conditioned to compete in long endurance epics, ran the 007 car with maximum down-force to cope with the incredibly tight bends at the 1.968 mile tree-lined circuit.

Starting from pole position, Primat stormed off the start creating a comfortable lead which was then diminished by two safety car periods. Holding first until just after the second safety car, which allowed the pack to catch up, the number 37 LMP got a good exit of the hairpin and took the lead. Shortly after, another LMP car made contact with Primat sending him into the tyres causing damage to the rear end, positioning him in third. The other car was then held for a stop and go penalty for avoidable contact returning Primat back to second. The single pit stop and driver change was made under yet another yellow flag and Fernández returned to the field behind the safety car which remained out for a further 13 minutes.

Just four minutes before the end of the race, Fernández stormed past the second placed LMP car to take the lead and held it until the final lap, but went slightly wide into turn five conceding the lead and the 007 Aston Martin took the chequered flag in second place overall.

Team Principal, George Howard-Chappell said: “We’re very disappointed to have lost first place so close to the end. It was however, a very exciting race and the team had a lot to deal with throughout. Everyone did a great job, but it is a real shame not to win today.”

Adrian Fernández said: “As I took over the car mid way through the race, there were issues with brake fade, but I managed to climb back up to first position before the end by staying as consistent as possible and keeping clear of traffic. It was a real shame to have lost first place on the final lap.”

Harold Primat said: “I had a great start at the beginning of the race, the car was fine and my lap times were good. However, every time I managed to build up a lead, there was a safety car allowing the rest of the field to catch up. It was a really exciting race and the team did a great job.”

Overall Pos Car No Drivers Make
1 1 Brabham/Pagenaud HPD ARX-01c
2 007 Primat/Fernandez Lola B09 60 Aston Martin
3 6 Pickett/Graf Porsche RS Spyder
4 16 Dyson/Smith Lola B09 86 Mazda
5 99 Julian/Jeannette Oreca FLM09

Official Aston Martin customer teams, Hexis Racing AMR and Young Driver AMR, came away from the first round of the new FIA GT World Championship in Abu Dhabi with a great deal of experience after a difficult pair of one hour races.

Race one started with much promise as Frederic Mackowiecki (FR) and Philippe Dumas (FR) started from the front row in their Hexis AMR Aston Martin DBR9. Qualifying was cut short when another competitor suffered a heavy accident, and the grid was set according to times already recorded. That put the Young Driver Aston Martin of Tomas Enge (CZ) and Darren Turner (UK) in eighth position, but Clivio Piccione (MC) and Jonathan Hirschi (CH) were 18th after having had only limited running in the pre-race test, and Christoffer Nygaard (DEN) and Stefan Mücke (GER) started 20th.

The one-hour races were sure to be physical, and so it proved at the first corner. Another competitor lost control at the first corner, and spun across the pack, dropping Mackowiecki down the order from his front-row starting position. “The Maserati braked too late and started to spin,” said Mackowiecki. “It was OK, I lost some positions but then in the next fast corner someone hit me and I spun.”

He recovered from the back of the pack to 15th before handing to Dumas, and the team made up a lot of places in the compulsory pit stop. Dumas brought the car home in seventh, one place ahead of his team mate.

Mücke was already on a charge, and on the first lap had come through the pack to eighth position overall. “After the restart I made up two more positions before I gave it to Christoffer and he did a good job,” said Mücke. “As other cars broke down we moved up, but we were penalised five places for the Championship race for changing an engine, so we have a lot of work to do. Some cars are balanced well in terms of performance, but others are massively faster.”

Enge’s race in the Young Driver Aston Martin DBR9 finished early when he was sandwiched between the spinning Maserati and another competitor. He suffered damage to both sides of his car, to the rear suspension and the refuelling system, and was unable to continue.

The results of the first race decided the starting position of the second race. Even with the penalties, three of the four Aston Martins started in the top eight positions on the revised grid, while Darren Turner started from the back.

“A Nissan went past me, and another one was coming up very fast,” said Nygaard, who started the Young Driver DBR9. “I could see that he was going too fast and stayed right. He braked too late and hit the Nissan that had just passed me. I avoided them, but was hit on the other side of the car and broke a connecting rod or something.”

That was the end of his race, but the contact he had was with the Hexis AMR car of Piccione, which broke a rear rim. “We lost all the ground we had made up and after that we got into a good rhythm,” said Piccione. “I had a problem with the right rear, where I was hit, and after we changed drivers Jonathan had to stop. Maybe there was a problem with the rear suspension.

“My overall impression of the weekend is good. We have had a lot of miles in the car, we know it better and at Silverstone we will have a different sort of a weekend.”

Dumas and Mackowiecki had a problem in the pits changing the tyres at 32 minutes into the race, and so it was left to Turner and Enge to deliver a result for the Young Driver team. “I stayed out of trouble for the first few corners, and then it all kicked off on the back straight,” said Turner. “It is going to be like that all year. I made up places because people got into contact with each other. I had a Corvette and Maserati behind me and they went past, but I was on the tyres we had qualified on, while Tomas had new tyres.”

Enge made up for his earlier disappointment by finishing in 11th position overall, and all of the teams are looking forward to the second round of the championship at Silverstone in two weeks.

Young Driver AMR was very successful in the qualifying race of the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship race at the Yas Marina Circuit at Abu Dhabi. Christoffer Nygaard (DK) and Stefan Mücke (D) delivered an excellent performance and finished fourth after starting the race from 20th position in the grid. The result left Mücke/Nygaard just one place short of our first championship points, as the top three qualifying cars each are awarded points that count in the World Championship.

Tomas Enge (CZ) and Darren Turner (GB) in the #7 DBR9 had bad luck as starting driver Enge was hit by a competitor in the first corner and had to return his GT1-machine to the pit with a blown tyre and damaged bodywork.

At the start of the qualifying race, Stefan Mücke was almost flying in the #8 Aston. Starting in 20th position, he quickly made his way forward and was already in 8th position by lap 4. He subsequently passed two other cars and handed over the Aston Martin to teammate Christoffer Nygaard in the 6th position midway trough the 60-minute race. In the second half of the race, Nygaard showed excellent form and climped another two positions, finally finished fourth in his first ever GT1 race. The World Championship Race will begin today at 19:45 local time/ 17.45 CET/ 4.45 pm GMT.

In the short break between qualifying race and championship race Young Driver AMR mechanics are busy repairing the #7 DBR9 of Darren Turner and Tomas Enge. Actually the two Aston Martin Racing affiliated teams show their strength and team spirit as Young Drivers sister team Hexis Racing have helped the Young Driver AMR squad with a supply of spare parts for the necessary bodywork repairs.

Result qualifying race:

1. Hennerici/Zuber Corvette
2. Mutsch/Grosjean Ford GT
3. Bertolini/Bartels Maserati
4. Nygaard/Mücke YD AMR-Aston Martin DBR9
5. Heger/Margaritis Maserati

Promising start for Young Driver AMR into the new FIA GT1 World Championship at the breath taking Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi (UAE). In the first qualifying ever of the inaugural round of the GT1-World Championship, both Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DBR9s had a good start and qualified 8th (Darren Turner/GB) and 20th (Christoffer Nygaard/DK) for the qualifying race. Qualifying was stopped after just 19 minutes due to a heavy crash by Swiss driver Natacha Gachnang. Due to extensive damage of the armco barriers, qualifying was not concluded, which in turn prevented the Young Driver AMR drivers to further improve their position in the grid.

The new FIA GT1 World Championship uses the same qualifying system as Formula 1. Qualifying is divided
into three 20-minute segments. After each of the first two segments, the slowest eight drivers are knocked out, thus in the third segment only the quickest eight drivers battle for the pole position of the 60-minute „qualifying race“. The „qualifying race“ defines the starting grid of the „championship race“, which is the main race in which full championship point will be awarded.

Darren Turner started qualifying in the #7 car and waited until midway through the session to join the
track. The former Formula 1-testdriver immediately went into the Top 10 and was eight when practise
was halted with the red flag. “We only prepared for the race,“ Turner said after qualifying. “Our plan was
to save tyres and use only one set of tyres during the qualifying, as we have to use the same tyres in the race. I was just on my quickest lap when the red flags were shown. I’m really happy with the car so far and also the team did a brilliant job on their first weekend in GT1-racing. Tomas Enge is the starting driver in the qualifying race, and with eight place on the grid, he has a really promising start position.”

GT1-Newcomer Christoffer Nygaard showed a solid performance in his first qualifying ever in a the 600
hp GT1-racer. The young Dane established himself in the midfield, when he suddenly experienced engine
problems and dropped down the 20. position. “We had a real good strategy, that should have brought us
into the top eight“ said Nygaards teammate Stefan Mücke after qualifying. “I’m the starting driver in the
qualifying race and will undoubtedly have a exciting race from the 20. position.“

Manchester- based racing driver, Michael Bentwood, returned to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship in style, with a third place at his home circuit of Oulton Park.

In the season he celebrates 10 years as a member of the prestigious British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), Bentwood was pleased to be back in British GT with Barwell Racing. After missing part of last season, the super-fit endurance specialist has joined forces with gentleman driver, Paul Whight in a 600 bhp Aston Martin DBRS9 race car.

Qualifying saw Bentwood set the fastest time ever for a DBRS9 round the picturesque Oulton Park circuit, with a time of 1 minute 38.5 seconds. Despite this being almost two seconds quicker than his fastest 2008 time, it was only enough for sixth on the grid, demonstrating the pace of development in British GT. Bentwood’s co-driver Whight managed a time good enough for a very creditable ninth in the other race of the weekend.

Race one saw Whight take the wheel first and get himself embroiled in a battle with experienced gentleman driver Hector Lester. Whight pushed the Irish driver hard throughout his driving stint and brought the 6.0 V12 machine in right behind the Ferrari driver. A superb pit stop from the Barwell-Cadena crew gave Bentwood the opportunity to get out ahead of Lester’s professional driving partner, Allan Simonsen at the driver change point.
Bentwood was quickly aware just how much faster the 2010 Ferrari F430 GT3 car is than the Aston Martin around Oulton Park and yielded to the Danish GT veteran, rather than overwork his tyres in a desperate defence. From here Bentwood kept a gaggle of other professional drivers at bay with an assured performance and benefitted from the Ascari and Porsche cars ahead of him failing to make the finish. The PorscheGT3 RSR dropping out gave the new Barwell-Cadena team of Bentwood and Whight their first taste of podium champagne in 2010, with a hard won third place.

Buoyed by their first race performance, Whight and Bentwood were confident going in to race two and starting sixth were hopeful of another podium at minimum. After a good start, Bentwood was soon alongside long standing rivals the Jones brothers in their British-built Ascari KZ1R. Going into Old Hall side-by-side Bentwood was happy to ride the outside line as he has done many times at his home circuit.

Bentwood was delighted to be back in British GT and racing with Paul Whight, commenting: “I am so happy to be back in British GT and especially as it has meant linking up with Barwell Motorsport again who are an incredibly professional outfit. It has also been a pleasure to link up with Paul who is without doubt the quickest gentleman driver I have been paired with and has performed fantastically this weekend. 2010 is going to be a great season and we are certainly going to be competitive with this combination of team and drivers.”

Unfortunately, the Ascari car got wildly out of shape in the bend and Bentwood was forced to avoid the sliding car. Evasive action took him on to a dirty part of the circuit which led to an excursion onto the grass. As Bentwood coolly attempted to recover from this excursion the ultra-low DBRS9 was thrown up in to the air by a bump and launched in to the tyre wall. Bentwood was unharmed by the spectacular looking crash and the car can easily be repaired with no structural damage having occurred.

With Whight not being a huge fan of the Knockhill circuit in Scotland, the pair have elected to skip this round and will be back in action on the 5th June, at the Spa Francorchamps Formula 1 circuit in Belgium.

PR

Aston Martin Racing put in a stunning performance on the first day of the Grand Prix of Long Beach being the quickest car in the first practice session and qualifying on pole position from a field of 36 cars for tomorrow’s second round of the American Le Mans Series.

Drivers Adrian Fernandez (MX) and Harold Primat (CH) are competing in their third race this year with Aston Martin Racing. In the morning practice, Fernandez (MX) posted the fastest lap time of the session in 1m15.112s, a full 1.370s faster than the second placed LMP1 car.

In qualifying, amongst a comparative field of petrol-powered cars, Fernandez posted the quickest lap time of 1m13.213s in the Lowe’s sponsored 007 car, 0.072 seconds ahead of the second-placed LMP car. In a session that was red flagged once and with plenty of traffic to cope with, the team strategically chose their time for a quick lap. As the pit lane went green close to the end of the session and with a quick exit from the pits, Fernandez was able to negotiate the 1.968 mile circuit free of traffic.

Team Principal, George Howard Chappell said: We’re obviously very pleased with pole position, it was a tough challenge from the second placed car but Adrian did a super job and the Michelin tyres were fantastic.

Fernandez said: It’s awesome to qualify on pole and especially at Long Beach as I have a lot of friends here and this place means so much to me. It’s my first time here with the Aston Martin team and we knew that it would be tough against the LMP2s. I was right on the limit with my quickest lap. We have a tough challenge tomorrow but I hope we can make it our first win of the year.

Primat said: The car felt good straight away but the track is quite bumpy as it is a street circuit, so we are pleased with this result. We made some minor modifications in the second practice and I think we have a good and reliable car for tomorrow’s race.

The Grand Prix of Long Beach commences at 16:40 (PDT) on Saturday 17 April 2010. Live coverage can be found at www.americanlemans.com and through Radio Le Mans at www.radiolemans.com.

The designers at Lola and Aston Martin didn't quite have the historic Long Beach street circuit in mind when they built Aston Martin Racing's sleek closed-top Lola-Aston Martin prototype. Distance-wise, two laps at Long Beach is a little more than one pass down the famed Mulsanne Straight. One of the biggest questions of this weekend's Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series race at Long Beach, therefore, is just how the big prototype will maneuver around Long Beach on its first visit. Adrian Fernandez and Harold Primat gave a promising answer to that question by dominating the opening practice session Friday morning. Fernandez wound up with the fastest lap around the 1.968-mile, 11-turn circuit, at 1:15.112 (94.323mph) with his Aston Martin-powered Lola coupe. His fast lap was 1.082sec faster than the next-fastest car, the Highcroft Acura of Simon Pagenaud, at 1:16.194.

Despite the promising beginning, AMR team principal and manager George Howard-Chappell remained cautious about the team's progress.

"We did street races with the [Ferrari 550 Maranello] GT car at Miami and Trois-Rivieres, so it's not completely new for us,” said Howard-Chappell, who held the same role when Prodrive campaigned the GT1 Ferraris. “Of course, this car isn't suited for a street circuit – it was built for Le Mans. So we'll be running the highest downforce setting we have. The car will be very good on the two long straights and we should be good for the race. But I'd be very surprised if we are on pole or on the front row. The P2 cars are so much better suited for tracks like this. But we'll give it a good and see what happens.”

Fernandez, Primat and Stefan Mucke placed second at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring last month, and the trio also placed second in the Le Mans Series' opening round this past weekend at Paul Ricard, finishing only behind Audi's reworked R15 Plus turbo-diesel.

“Paul Ricard was good. It was fortunate for us that the [ORECA-run] Peugeot had trouble,” Howard-Chappell said. “We didn't have any problems and neither did the Audi. We're still not going to be the diesels; we have to be around to pick up some pieces. That's what happened last weekend.”

Guy Smith was third quickest in the session in the Dyson Racing Lola B09 86/Mazda he shares with Chris Dyson. In the GT class, Jan Magnussen topped the times with his Corvette at 1:21.895, just 0.008sec faster than Jaime Melo in his Ferrari 430 GT.

ALMS

The confines of the historic Long Beach circuit proved friendly again for Adrian Fernandez. The Mexican star and veteran of 16 open-wheel and sports car races turned the fastest time in Friday morning’s opening practice for the Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach. He drove the Aston Martin Racing Lola-Aston Martin prototype coupe to a quick lap of 1:15.112 (94.323 mph) around the 1.968-mile, 11-turn circuit.

Fernandez, last year’s LMP2 race-winner, is driving with Harold Primat in the first Long Beach race for the Lola-Aston Martin. Coming into the weekend, the team was unsure how the big prototype would handle the tight turns; the answer was to run as much downforce as possible.

Fernandez finished 1.082 seconds quicker than Simon Pagenaud in Patrón Highcroft Racing’s HPD ARX-01c. The young Frenchman won last year’s race with Gil de Ferran, who beat David Brabham – now Pagenaud’s teammate.

Aston Martin will be represented across the world this weekend on race tracks on three separate continents. In California, USA, the works Aston Martin Racing team will contest the second round of the American Le Mans Series at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. In Asia, official customer teams, Hexis Racing and Young Driver will be racing their DBR9s at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for the opening round of the new FIA GT1 series. In Valencia, Spain, the Open GT Championship begins with Aston Martin being represented by Villois Racing in two DBRS9s and a Vantage GT2.

Following on from the podium finish at Sebring last month, drivers Adrian Fernandez (MX) and Harold Primat (CH) will be driving the Lowe’s sponsored 009 LMP1 car at the Long Beach circuit which has an illustrious past stretching back to the mid 1970s. It is completely virgin territory for Aston Martin Racing, which has never competed at the Californian venue before. Long Beach is also a very different type of race compared to the kind of event that the team normally contests, being a short sprint rather than a lengthy endurance epic.

The Grand Prix of Long Beach qualifying session takes place on Friday 16 April at 18:10 (PDT) with the 100 minute race starting at 16:40 (PDT) on Saturday.

In Abu Dhabi, the two DBR9s of team Young Driver will be driven by Darren Turner (GB), Tomas Enge (CZ), Stefan Mücke (GER) and Christoffer Nygaard (DEN). Hexis Racing’s double DBR9 entry will be driven by Frédéric Makowiecki (FR), Jean-Denis Deletraz (CH), Clivio Piccione (MC) and Jonathan Hirschi (CH).

The first round in the FIA GT1 series takes place with two one hour races starting at 16:00 and 19:30 (GST) on Saturday 17 April. Live coverage can be found at http://gt1world.com/.

Live coverage of the Grand Prix of Long Beach can be found at www.americanlemans.com and through Radio Le Mans at www.radiolemans.com.

Dunlop 2010 Livery Competition : 24 days to design the factory JMW Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage livery for the Le Mans 24 Hours!

The ultimate winner who will witness the unveiling of his/her design on the Aston Martin in front of the world’s motor racing press at the Le Mans track, a visit to the Pininfarina design center in Turin..., I...taly and a substantial cash prize

To register go to : www.livery-competition.dunlop.eu

Before tackling the 1000km of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans behind the wheel of the Team Signature-Plus Lola-Aston Martin, Vanina Ickx started her season with the first round of the Le Mans Series at the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit. With her two new teammates, Franck Mailleux and Pierre Ragues, she garnered sixth place overall in a race that proved to be a good learning experience and promising for the future. Time for the debrief…

Vanina, how were you before the first event of the season?
“Since Le Mans, I hadn’t run during a whole race weekend, which is quite a bit different from a shakedown or testing. The tension is not the same. The team buzzing, the mechanics working, the sound of the engine warming up… it’s a little something that lights a spark in your eye or in your heart. Friday, before the first practice session, mine is beating fast: I’m excited to get out there. The questions multiply and they will only find their answers when I get in the car.”

Did you answer these questions Friday evening? Saturday evening?
“Oddly enough, I always need two runs to find a rythym. I have to drive once, get out of the car, then get back in to really get the feelings. I drove once on Friday, then Saturday morning with used rubber since our priority was working with tyre wear. By Saturday I had gotten to grips with the track but it wasn’t translating entirely on the time sheet. So yes, there remain a small question mark.”

Then comes race day, and the tension builds.
“On the grid, the tension builds mostly for Franck, who is getting ready to take the start. I’ve still got some time before my stint so I’m alright (laughs)! However when it is time to take the wheel, you have butterflies in your stomach, like an artist before a live performance. It was more intense at the Castellet because I am still discovering a new environment: the Lola-Aston Martin, with Team Signature-Plus, having to perform… Despite more than 10 seasons in auto racing, the power is still impressive. This car is so incredible. To have 700 horsepower at my back gives me chills!”

You then complete a constant double stint at the end of which you are still in the top five. Something the team must be satisfied with..
“That’s the most important thing. I couldn’t always see my lap times and I wasn’t sure if my performance was good. And then, Philippe Sinault smiles and taps me on the shoulder as I get out of the car. It was a good reward. It’s important to me to feel like I can contribute to the team. This feeling, this moment, was the best of the weekend.”

What is the final word on this weekend, the first step toward Le Mans?
“I answers a lot of my questions: the heat, the physical, the tyre wear over a stint, etc. I am therefore satisfied. Everyone was able to gain experience with the car and get to grips with it, me especially. We leave with a clear idea of what needs to be done before the next race: we’re in the big league and the smallest detail counts. After this positive race, I’m even more excited about Spa! At a home race, it will be special, of course…”

Next event for Vanina will be the 1000km of Spa-Francorchamps from May 7-9...

Young Driver AMR is getting ready to race as the countdown to the premier race on Saturday the 17th of April begins.

The FIA GT1 World Championship will host its inaugural race the coming weekend at the spectacular new Yas Marina track in Abu Dhabi.

The team is now in place and preparations on the two cars has begun. A test will be conducted before the race weekend to further balance the performance of the 12 teams abd 6 brands competing in Saturdays race.

Signature Plus driver Franck Mailleux finished today's maiden 8 Hours of Le Castellet in sixth position after a respectable and important debut weekend as an Official Aston Martin Team Partner Driver.

Franck started the race with a triple stint and finished with a double stint, while his team-mates, including fellow Quadra Sports driver Pierre Ragues, both ran consistent double stints. Although it was a useful race in terms of gaining experience, it was far from trouble-free with the need for front and rear end repairs during some of the scheduled pit stops as a result of damaged louvers on their Lola Aston Martin LMP1 car.

Franck made an excellent start from eighth on the grid advancing to fourth position on the opening lap, but the team was unable to match the hot pace of the frontrunners in their first weekend with their all-new package.

The drivers completed 55 laps in Friday's practice sessions and a further 28 laps on Saturday morning as they focussed on car set-up and a thorough analysis of the tyre performance with new tyre supplier Dunlop. The afternoon qualifying session did not yield the expected improvement in lap time as nominated Pierre Ragues suffered from handling problems and could only claim the eighth fastest time.

For Signature, the result marked a continuation of their 100% finish rate in the Le Mans Series after an unbroken run of race finishes in their debut LMS season in 2009, and their first as an official Aston Martin partner team.

Although the weather conditions were largely pleasant for the duration of the weekend, cloud cover started in the early afternoon and led to a late threat of rain which ultimately failed to impact on the closing laps of the race.

The end result is not where Signature aims to be in its second season participating in LMP1, but it has proven a valuable opportunity to gather data in real race conditions with its new car, new tyres and for the first full 8 hour race around Paul Ricard, data that will prove highly beneficial to the team in preparation for round two of this year's championship at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit in one month's time.

Franck Mailleux said: "I am fairly pleased with what we have achieved today, bearing in mind it was our first full race distance with Aston Martin and Dunlop. I got a great start and was inside the top four, but we had some problems during the race which dropped us down the order. We encountered some issues with the louvers during the race which needed fixing, so we had to carry out longer pit stops to enact repairs. In my final stint, the rain was trying hard to come down but it did not amount to much and actually did not really affect us. This weekend has been like an extended test session for us, in that we have been able to gather very important data from the car and the tyres which we can now put to good use for the next race and start to exploit the clear potential of the car. There were a lot of new elements for us this weekend, so all in all a top six result is quite respectable as we look forward to Spa. I'd like to thank all the team for their hard work and to my sponsors Sojasun for their support this weekend."

Pierre Ragues and his Signature Plus team have drawn positives from a sixth-placed finish at today's 8 Hours of Le Castellet at Circuit Paul Ricard in France. For Pierre, it was his 14th consecutive finish in Le Mans Series competition in his first race as an Official Aston Martin Team Partner Driver.

Having qualified the car on Saturday, Pierre's fellow Quadra Sports team-mate Franck Mailleux started the race, but Pierre's consistent double stint in the middle of the race contributed to the team's eventual result. Although it was a useful race in terms of gaining experience, it was far from trouble-free with the need for front and rear end repairs during some of the scheduled pit stops as a result of damaged louvers on their Lola Aston Martin LMP1 car.

The team had advanced as high as fourth position in the early stages, but was unable to match the hot pace of the frontrunners in their first weekend as they continued to acclimatise to their new package.

The drivers completed 55 laps in Friday's practice sessions and a further 28 laps on Saturday morning as they focussed on car set-up and a thorough analysis of the tyre performance with new tyre supplier Dunlop. The afternoon qualifying session did not yield the expected improvement in lap time Pierre suffered from handling problems and could only claim the eighth fastest time.

For Signature, the result marked a continuation of their 100% finish rate in the Le Mans Series after an unbroken run of race finishes in their debut LMS season in 2009, and their first as an official Aston Martin partner team. Although the weather conditions were largely pleasant for the duration of the weekend, cloud cover started in the early afternoon and led to a late threat of rain which ultimately failed to impact on the closing laps of the race.

The end result is not where Signature aims to be in its second season participating in LMP1, but it has been a valuable opportunity to gather data in real race conditions with its new car, new tyres and for the first full 8 hour race around Paul Ricard, data that will prove highly beneficial to the team in preparation for round two of this year's championship at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit in one month's time.

Pierre Ragues said: "It was not really the sort of result that we hope to achieve this season, but considering it was our first race weekend with Aston Martin and Dunlop, and the first eight hour race at Paul Ricard, I think we can be reasonably satisfied. Qualifying was not good for me yesterday and I was struggling with some handling issues. Also in today's race, the car was understeering a lot and getting worse as more rubber went down on the track. This also contributed to our problems with the louvers which forced us to extend our scheduled pit stops for repairs. Nevertheless, we have learned a lot, not only about the car, but about the Dunlop tyres, so it has been a productive weekend and a good baseline for the season. The team worked diligently and professionally all weekend and the fact that we have been able to register another finish is a testament to their hard work. I also appreciate the fantastic support from my sponsor Groupe Auto Union."

JMW Motorsport had a tough start to their 2010 Le Mans Series campaign, which sees them sport the Aston Martin GT2 for the first time. Though their race was to be cut short by a fuel pump issue, the team showed throughout the weekend at Paul Ricard that the pace of their Aston Martin V8 Vantage puts them forward as contenders in an exceptionally competitive GT2 class.

With the new driver pairing of British stars Rob Bell and Darren Turner at the wheel, from the onset of
practice the team were comfortably at the ‘business end’ of the timing sheets. By the third and final practice session the top nine contenders in the class were within three quarters of second of one another, which boded well for a qualifying session which did not disappoint.

Rob took the qualifying duties, and like the majority of his GT2 rivals, waited till the last seven minutes of the session to put in a flying lap. An attacking lap saw Rob put the team 5th on the grid, but with 3rd-5th covered by just 0.074secs the class was looking wide open.

An impressive start from Rob saw him make up places to take 2nd position by the end of lap one, but he was pushed aside (racing incident) which saw him drop to 7th. Fighting back up to 6th, and on to the tail of the lead GT2 group, the Dunlop shod Aston’s pace was once again impressive, posting the best lap time of the class.

However, the JMW Motorsport car was to return to the garage with a high pressure fuel valve problem in the fuel pump. The diligent work by the team saw the car back out, with Darren behind the wheel, after 20 minutes. Darren’s times further echoed ability of the car.

“I joined the track right between the two Porsches that were in first and second place. I was able to
maintain that position throughout my run which illustrates the pace we have” Darren noted.

Handing back to Rob, the run was providing valuable track time when a further fuel pump issue surfaced, sadly this time bringing the team’s day to an end.

“The pace of the car all weekend has been very good” reflected Rob. “I had a great start, and could
comfortably run with the pack in what was a great GT2 battle, it was wonderful out there. Not to finish today is disappointing, but we are coming away with the knowledge we are contenders for this class. We have work to do, but today just sets the determination in further”.

The next race is the 1000kms of Spa taking place 7-9 May 2010.

JMW Motorsport’s progress can be followed on their website at www.jmwmotorsport.com. People can also keep in touch via social networking with the JMW Motorsport Facebook group and on Twitter
(www.twitter.com, @JMWmotorsport).

The Aston Martin 009 LMP1 has crossed the line in second after a faultless eight hour race. As the second successive podium result for the Aston Martin Racing factory team this year, it once again proves the exceptional pace, reliability and durability of the marque’s cars.

Drivers Adrian Fernández (MX), Stefan Mücke (DE) and Harold Primat (CH) drove competitively throughout, driving the production-based Aston Martin V12-powered LMP1 consistently as the fastest car on the circuit behind the first placed diesel. Completing 261 laps and therefore 1,511 km competitively in eight hours, chassis DBR1-2/2 performed immaculately.

Early in the race, Mücke was forced into the pits due to a puncture but second place was held for the remaining six hours. 40 minutes before the chequered flag, another puncture brought Fernandez back into the pits for a tyre change, but the 009 had a concrete lead over third position.

Aston Martin Racing official partner Team Signature Plus finished in sixth place with their 008 LMP1 car, again with a faultless run in their debut race. The Vantage GT2 of JMW Motorsport did not finish but showed exceptional qualifying and race pace for their first outing boding well for their future programme.

The High Tech Test Track at Paul Ricard has provided the team with a good indication as to how the car will perform at Le Mans and the crew will be flying directly to California to contest the next race in the American Le Mans Series: Long Beach next weekend on Saturday 17 April 2010.

Team quotes:

Aston Martin Chairman, David Richards: “Yet another faultless performance by the team consolidating Aston Martin as the leading petrol car in the Le Mans Series. This result bodes very well for the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.”

Team Principal, George Howard-Chappell: “I’m very pleased with the result; we were clearly not going to beat the factory diesels unless they had a problem, so second is very satisfying. All the drivers and the team did a terrific job, we had one or two little issues to deal with but all went smoothly.”

Adrian Fernandez (MX): “I had a good final stint, but suffered a vibration at the back of the car towards the end but we took advantage of the gap we had built up during the race, so it didn’t pose a problem. The crew were brilliant and I have great team mates in Harold and Stefan. It’s a whole joint effort so it‘s nice to get these results.”

Stefan Mücke (DE): “I had a clear second stint, we just had to change the front left tyre during the pit stop where there was a flat spot from braking. My lap times were good and it is useful preparation for Le Mans as the setup is similar.”

Harold Primat (CH): “I didn’t experience any issues in my stint. I’m pleased with my lap times as we were able to increase the gap between us and the third placed car. Stefan and Adrian did a great job too. This helps us prepare for Le Mans by getting the reliability in the car and the team have done a great job with very few issues.”

As the Aston Martin Racing Team prepare for the 8 Heures du Castellet which gets underway at 11:00 CET on Sunday 11 April 2010, driver Harold Primat (CH) talks through a lap of the High Tech Test Track at Paul Ricard:

“You accelerate up the pit straight and then you’re straight into hard braking and down to third gear for the left-right chicane called Verriere. You need to mind the kerbs and get on the power as early as you can while you exit the right-hander.

“After a short straight you brake deep into the corner for the next right-hander, which is followed by quite a long left. It’s all rather tight in this part of the circuit, but it’s about to get a lot tighter as then you’re into the first hairpin, which we take in first gear.

“It’s a quick trip up to through the gears, exiting in second or third, because then we go to what is one of the most crucial corners of the track: l’Ecole. You need a good drive off there in order to launch yourself onto the Mistral straight: I normally short shift to fourth heading into this corner in order to have good stability as I accelerate out of it.

“So we’re onto the legendary Mistral straight where, depending on our set-up, we’ll be hitting a top speed of somewhere between 300 and 320 kph. That’s actually a bit slower than the speeds we will reach on the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans, but it’s the closest we come to it.

“At the end of the straight, we come to Signes: my favourite part of the circuit but a place where you have to be incredibly careful. We keep it in sixth, but lift at the end of the straight before putting the power back on again, to really drive the car round the corner. You need to ensure that your car is as stable as possible round here, as if you bottom out too much that can be enough to make you go off.

“Following a short straight you brake hard into the double Beausset right-hander, which you take in fourth gear. This is a big stop, as you’ve been in sixth for so long at this point, and it’s also a very tricky corner as it tightens all the way, forcing you to apply more and more steering lock. You can really feel the G-forces at work and it helps to have some padding on the left side of your headrest!

“After the Beausset corner there is quite a technical section of track where you really have to get the car to flow properly. Coming out of the Bendor corner it’s fine to use a bit of the kerb, you sweep through a long right-hander in fourth gear, and then it’s down to third or second for La Tour.

“Finally, we have the Virage du Pont at the end of the lap: another tight hairpin that is extremely important as it sets you up for the start-finish straight. You have to approach the Virage du Pont as far to the left as possible, in order to open out the corner, but in our car it’s very hard to see the apex because of the sidepods.

“Do all this exactly right for the next eight hours, and then you’ll have some idea what the 8 Heures du Castellet will be like for us!”

Live timing will be available from www.lemans-series.com and live race coverage with Radio Le Mans at www.radiolemans.com.

Free Practice (1st session 12.40, 2nd session 16.10 CET )

At last the new season was properly upon on us and the whole team were eager to get cracking for Friday’s two, hour long practice sessions. Unlike the pre-season test at the HTTT circuit, which was bitterly cold, Friday saw the colourful French circuit bathed in spring sunshine.

From the onset of practice, with Rob and Darren behind the wheel, the car was showing good pace posting the 4th quickest time in the first session with a 2:00.437. By the second session in the afternoon, the two minute lap time was comfortably broken, putting the team 3rd quickest with a 1:59.024

Saturday 10 April 2010

Free Practice (3rd session 09.45 CET)

The third practice session of the weekend saw the team continue to find time, but what was become clear was just how close the GT2 class was going to be. JMW posted the 7th quickest time of the session with a 1:58.558, but with just over three-quarters of a second covering 1st-9th it became apparent that qualifying was going to be a very close battle.

Qualifying (13.40 CET)

Rob took the wheel for the 20 minute qualifying session but it was to be a mad dash for the line with the majority of GT2 teams waiting until the last 7 minutes to get out and post their flying laps, making for a nail-biting qualifying session. An attacking lap from Rob put the team 5th on the GT2 grid with a 1:58.549 but closer examination of the figures show just how close the top end of the field it. 3rd, 4th and 5th (JMW) were covered by just 0.074secs! What a teaser for the right hour racer ahead…!

After qualifying we took the chance to grab JMW’s Chief Engineer, Steve ‘Doc’ Bunkhall for some words on the team’s performance.

First qualifying with the new car over, how’s the team feeling?

SB: We’re quietly pleased, 5th on the grid means we are in the mix, though of course at JMW we come to be P1! The gap to third is minuscule and we want to take the Aston right up to the front. This is a pretty solid start.

Some people expressed surprise that the JMW Aston Martin was one of the slower straight line cars.

SB: This track is a bit of a strange one in the fact it’s one which is all about playing with the downforce. It has a very long straight, very much akin to Le Mans and for that reason this is why teams like to come and test here, but it also has very fast corners. We have to perform a balancing act. The nature of the Aston is that it makes good downforce but the pay off is drag. It’s all in the downforce tweaks, so don’t be surprised to see us able to take on those ‘top speed’ cars.

Tomorrow is somewhat of an unknown quantity for the team and this Aston Martin GT2, what are your expectations?

SB: This is a new adventure but we head to tomorrow’s grid with the sole aim of winning, it’s what we always set out to do! We are the single Aston Martin out there, the other manufacturer’s have many more ‘car hours’ behind them than we do. We are in the early days, but we are extremely proud to be part of this Aston Martin development programme and we’re determined. We have garnered a lot of support from back home, that feels very special to the team, and we will repay that support by giving it our all.

The father and son partnership of Chris and Anthony Scragg has won the inaugural round of the new Aston Martin British GT4 Challenge at Snetterton. Chris Scragg crossed the finish line of the two hour race just 46 seconds ahead of the second placed pairing of Tom Black and Alan Bonner, with a second father and son pairing of David and James Appleby a lap behind in third.

After qualifying their Vantage GT4 in sixth, Anthony Scragg soon worked his way through the field in the opening laps to take the lead, a position he, and then his father held all the way to the finish after 90 laps of the 1.952 mile circuit.

Pole was set by James Appleby with a time of 1.14.488, nearly 0.9 seconds faster than anyone else. He also set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1.14.686 (94.08mph).

The second of six rounds of the British GT4 Challenge takes place at Silverstone on May 22.

Final positions after 120 minutes

1. Scragg/Scragg 90 laps
2. Black/Bonner +41.784
3. Appleby/Appleby +1 lap
4. Rawe +58.766
5. Hartop +1 lap
6. Metaxa/Sontal +2 laps
7 Goldsmith/Goldsmith +3 laps
8. Miller/Gobal DNF (12 laps)
9. Snowdon/Byrne DNF (5 laps)

Lap length: 1.952 miles