Young Driver AMR: Hunting for the Tourist Trophy

Home event for Aston Martin in Silverstone

The GT1-World Championship travels to Silverstone this weekend for the fifth round of this year’s championship. On the home track of Aston Martin, the two Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 are not only racing for championship points, but are also hunting for the prestigious ‘Tourist Trophy’. The ‘Tourist Trophy’ is awarded by the British Automobile Club RAC since 1905, and is the oldest and one of the most prestigious trophies in motor racing. This extraordinary trophy adds some extra excitement to Young Driver AMR and it’s driver squad Darren Turner (GBR) / Stefan Mücke (GER) and Alex Müller (GER) / Tomas Enge (CZE) at the British round of the GT1 World Championship.

In recent races, Young Driver AMR scored three consecutive podium finishes. A trend, that could continue according to Young Driver AMR team principal Hardy Fischer. „Silverstone is the home race of Aston Martin and of our driver Darren Turner, who lives just down the road from the track. Our racecars were built a few miles away from the track, this brings some extra special motivation to the entire team. We had a very strong weekend in Silverstone last season, but a very small detail eventually cost the victory. The very fast track suits our Aston Martin DBR9 well, so I’m quite optimistic that we will have again all the chances for a good result. But we have also to consider that the competition is fierce and that it will be anything else then easy to score a podium finish.“

After the GT1-World Championship was last year the first championship to use the new “Arena Circuit” track layout in Silverstone, there will be another premiere this year. The GT1-World Championship will be also the first championship, which will use the new state-of-the-art pit building, the recently opened “Wing Complex“.

Driver quotes before the race:

Alex Müller (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “Silverstone is a great track and suits very well to the Aston Martin DBR9. The ‘Tourist Trophy’ is a highlight, and a trophy, every racedriver wants to win. This adds some extra excitement to the weekend. After some bad luck in recent race, Tomas and I will work hard together with the team for a good result. Our goal is to finish on the podium. We already scored a third place this season, but there are two other spots left. We don’t have success ballast in our car, which gives us a relative light car. Together with the team we will work hard to find a perfect set up, and if we will perform some good pit stops, we will be able to finish the race with a good result.”

Tomáš Enge (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “We had a real quick car in Silverstone last year, but have to consider that in this season, we have more weight and less power according to the regulations. We have to see how that will affect our performance in Silverstone this year. Also the competition this season is much stronger, it’s almost impossible to make any predictions. Silverstone is the home track of Aston Martin and we hope that we can score some good points there. In recent races, luck wasn’t on the side of Alex and me. But together with the team, we will work very hard to make the Silverstone weekend a big success.“

Stefan Mücke (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9):
“Silverstone is a very special race for us, many people of Aston Martin and Aston Martin Racing will visit the race and we will certainly not disappoint them. I like the track very much, though I have more experience in Silverstone in a LMP car then in a GT car. After our success in recent races with two consecutive podium finishes, we got some success penalty weight to carry around Silverstone. We will see how that will affect the performance of our car. We will give our best and hope for another podium. In the championship, everything is very tight and we are only six points behind the leader, so our main goal for this weekend is to close that gap.“

Darren Turner (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): „Last season, we came close to win the Tourist Trophy. That we eventually lost the victory was a big disappointment and a turning point in our championship fight. Now we hope for more luck this season. The Silverstone round is a real home race for me, I live only 20 minutes away from the track in Banbury. I’m really happy that the GT1 World Championship is the first championship to use the new, fantastic ‘Wing Complex’ pit building, after we were already the first championship to use the new track layout last year. After our success in the last two rounds, we have some success ballast in the car and have to see how that will affect our car. Our goal is to collect good points and finish in the top-6. If we score another podium finish, that would be a special bonus.“