With another enthralling American Le Mans Series set to draw to a close this weekend at Petit Le Mans, Aston Martin Racing will start the legendary endurance race from 8th (3rd in the unofficial petrol class) in the highly competitive grid of 58 prototype and GT racers.

Fresh from the factory team’s popular victory at Laguna Seca two weeks ago, the 007 DBR1-2 will begin its fight from the fourth row of the grid. Stefan Mücke (D) set a fastest time of 1:10.485, just three tenths of a second behind the fastest petrol competitor around the 2.54 mile Road Atlanta circuit in the Lowe’s sponsored LMP1 car.

A second V12-powered DBR1-2 – run by official partner team Muscle Milk Racing – will start the 10 hour or 1,000 mile race from 11th after Klaus Graf set a time of 1:10.948 in a frantic qualifying session.

Petit Le Mans also forms the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, and so plays host to a fleet of diesel-powered LMP1 racers.

Team Principal, George Howard-Chappell said: “I am happy with our position today; it is a long race tomorrow and we’ve had a good amount of running to acclimatise ourselves to this circuit.
“The drivers are reporting that the car’s setup is about optimum at the moment, and we will aim to stay out of trouble on what will be a very busy circuit.”

Mücke who qualified the car said: “I had a bit of traffic during the qualifying period, but no surprises there. The car ran really well, it was perfectly balanced and I have to say thanks to the team as they have done a brilliant job.

“I think we have to be happy with P3 in the ‘petrol’ class, we are not far off the pole petrol. It’s a long race and I am really looking forward to it.”

Drivers, Adrian Fernandez (MEX), Harold Primat (CH) and Mücke completed an initial practice session on Wednesday afternoon ahead of three further sessions on Thursday. The final session of the day gave the team an opportunity to test the DBR1-2 in night conditions, part of which, was an obligatory 3-lap qualifying stint for each driver.

A final opportunity to perfect the car’s set-up came five hours before qualifying. The Gulf-liveried V12 coupe and its Muscle Milk Racing sister car both completed each practice session within the top 11.

Aston Martin Racing was also represented in the GTE AM category by official team partner Gulf AMR Middle East. The outfit qualified its Vantage GT2 6th in class.

The 10 Hours of Petit Le Mans gets underway at 11.30 (EDT) on Saturday 1 October and will draw to a close when the leading car completes 1,000 miles (approximately 394 laps), or when 10 hours has passed. Television coverage of the race will be shown live on ESPN 3.

Aston Martin Racing

After a welcomed win at Laguna Seca, just two weeks ago, the Aston Martin Racing team will return to the track this weekend in the final round of the American Le Mans Series: The ten hours of Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.


Factory drivers, Adrian Fernandez (MEX), Stefan Mücke (D) and Harold Primat (CH) will be taking the wheel of the DBR1-2 V12-powered LMP1 racer on the famous 2.54 mile circuit. The race will be very different to Laguna Seca due to a strong entry of faster diesel powered cars; however the team aim to be competitive within the unofficial petrol class.

Aston Martin Racing Team Principal, George Howard-Chappell said: “We enter the final race for the American Le Mans Series in good spirits after our win at Laguna. It will be a very different race for us with the diesels back, but once again I am confident we’ll put on a strong show for our sponsors and fans.
“The testing last weekend has gone well and we are confident of our set-up for the race week.”
Stefan Mücke, who drove the DBR1-2 across the line at Laguna, said: “After such a fantastic race on the west coast, I am hoping we can run as well in Atlanta. The car felt as good as it ever did last time round, and if we can continue to make the successful set-up changes required for the track at Petit Le Mans, then I think we’re on for a great weekend.”

The Lowes sponsored DBR1-2 will first test on Wednesday 28 September at 14.45 (EDT) with further practice sessions throughout Thursday and Friday. Qualifying begins at 15.30 (EDT) on Friday with the ten hour race commencing at 11.30 (EDT) on Saturday.

Live coverage will be shown on ESPN 3 and Aston Martin updates can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/astonmartinracing and on twitter: www.twitter.com/amr_official

The Muscle Milk team will be putting an end to its winningest season yet at this weekend's American Le Mans Series finale at Road Atlanta.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing, who has scored four wins this season, - the most of the prototype teams - is looking to Petit Le Mans to end the season on a high note after a run of bad luck in the past couple of rounds ended their hopes of winning the LMP1 Championship.

Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr will be facing even tougher competition than usual with the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup entries making the trip overseas to take part in the famous 1000-mile/10-hour race this week.

The LMP1 class will feature 13 car and driver combinations including the diesel-powered factory teams of Peugeot and Audi, who are the favorites to take top honors.

Knowing that they will be at a disadvantage to the diesel-powered cars, the Muscle Milk squad is aiming to be the 'best of the rest' and, most importantly, hoping for their luck to turnaround as the season comes to a close.

Graf and Luhr will be on track starting Wednesday, September 28 for a two-hour test session in which they will be joined by team owner Greg Pickett who has decided to get back behind the wheel and turn a few more laps aboard the team's Aston Martin LMP1 car during the test day.

The German duo will then be back on track for the start of official practice on Thursday, September 29th. Qualifying for the season finale will take place on Friday afternoon with the race going green at 11:30 am ET on Saturday, October 1.

The race will be streamed live in its entirety on ESPN3.com starting at 11:15 am ET and will be broadcast on tape-delay on ABC, Sunday, October 2 at 4:00 pm ET.

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"Petit Le Mans has become one of the biggest sports car races in the world and I'm really looking forward to it. The teams from Europe will meet with the regular ALMS participants and that should make for some great racing.
"I think the circuit suits our Muscle Milk Aston Martin car and we had some very productive test days there earlier in the year. I like the track a lot as I called Atlanta my home town for three years during my early days in sports car racing in the United States and it's always great to return there.
"With the championship already decided, it's all about winning this one within the ALMS competitors and with a little bit of luck we could maybe even sneak up on the overall podium. That's what we'll be pushing for."


Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"After our strong performance at Laguna Seca but the bad luck that consequently ended our championship hopes, we just want to have a good result at Petit Le Mans and end the season with a happy ending.
"Road Atlanta is a good track but with the diesel cars coming in for this race it will be tough. That said, if we can be the best of the non-diesel cars, I think that would be like a win for us.
"The Muscle Milk team has done a great job all year long and I hope we can give them a good result before we head into the off-season."

On a sun-drenched Estoril circuit, Jota Sport AMR took to their last outing of the year. The 4.182km track played host to an eventful final Le Mans Series round for the British team, where they finished 5th in class.

The #79 car of Simon Dolan and Sam Hancock has experienced a year of highs and lows; and today’s race was no different. The team and drivers were dealt a handful of bad luck; including a stop-and-go penalty and a spin into the gravel following an over-ambitious move from the class-leading Ferrari. Despite all this, the stunning pace of both drivers and faultless reliability of the Jota-prepared car resulted in a well-deserved 5th in class finish, matching the previous best result of the year.

Simon Dolan: ‘It’s a great end to the season; I had two of my best stints in the car to date and 5th in class is very satisfying. We have improved race on race throughout the season, which can only be positive for next year. A heartfelt thanks to all the team, who have been consistently faultless, I cannot wait for next year.’

Sam Hancock: ‘I had an eventful race that’s for sure. As the warm-up lap started I had an issue with my belts so was late to get going, as a result we started the race from the very back of the pack. Fortunately, within the first two laps we were back up to our rightful
position. Then later in the same stint we suffered a stop-and-go penalty for unintentional contact with the #66 Ferrari, which was frustrating. During my second stint we were then hit from behind, both cars spun but unfortunately we ended up in the gravel, this cost us a lot of time as I had to wait to be towed back onto the tarmac.’

‘My third and final stint however, was the most enjoyable of the season. The balance of the car was the best it had been and we were fast enough to catch and pass some of the faster cars in our class. This is a testimony to the team; the pace of the car was great and it remained great despite suffering several set backs during the race. The team deserve huge praise for this. When I look back at our first race in Paul Ricard, I can see that we have made huge progress and everyone should be extremely proud.’

Sam Hignett, Team Principal: ‘A stunning performance from the entire team today. Both drivers drove the best stints of the year, the performance of the pit crew at each stop was the fastest in the pit lane, and the guys prepared a supremely reliable car. A great way to end the season. Finally, thanks to our suppliers and sponsors without whose support none of this would have been possible.’

5th in class was the best we could have hoped for and was a good result for the last race of the season. It’s been a fantastic Le Mans Series and I would like to thank the team and drivers for all their hard work throughout. I would also like to thank all our sponsors for their valued support over the year.

Jota Sport

Image Richard Leach

Jota Sport AMR attacked the last round of the 2011 Le Mans Series with full force; British driver Sam Hancock qualifying the Aston Martin GT2 car in 8^th position.

After fluctuating lap times across the three practice sessions, both team and drivers were unsure what today’s qualifying would bring. In the end the GT Pro class proved as competitive as ever, with Hancock lapping just 1.4 seconds slower than the pole-winning Ferrari.

With Dolan and Hancock’s consistent race pace, Jota Sport AMR are hopeful of moving up through the field and ending the season on a high in tomorrow’s 6 Hours of Estoril.

Sam Hancock: ‘It was a difficult qualifying session today. We have struggled with the balance of the car throughout the weekend and haven’t been able to get as much grip out of the new tyres as we would normally expect. The car and team were as reliable as ever and during yesterday’s practice sessions we were running as high as P3. If we can regain the grip that we had then, we will be much more competitive in tomorrow’s race.’

Sam Hignett, Team Principal: ‘It would be great to finish the season on a high. There’s a good feeling among the team about this weekend and the drivers are on top form as usual. We haven’t yet been able to consistently match the pace of the faster GT Pro cars but let’s see what tomorrow brings. The team deserve a good result after all the hard work they’ve put in.’

The six-hour race takes place tomorrow from 13:00 BST. Follow the action live with radiolemans.com.

Aston Martin has won the annual Laguna Seca American Le Mans Series Race. Under sunny skies, in a race dominated by yellow flags, the team ran faultlessly for 6 hours to take the top spot on the podium. Drivers Adrian Fernandez (MEX), Stefan Mücke (D) and Harold Primat (CH) drove the Aston Martin DBR1-2 consistently in the top three, and in the final hour remained dominant in first position.

Official partner team Muscle Milk Racing was also running perfectly in the top three until lap 146 when a fuel pump problem brought the car back into the garage for an hour. The car went on to finish the race crossing the line fifth in class.

In qualifying the day before, Fernandez put in a 1:14.621 lap in the factory entered Lowes-sponsored DBR1-2, which successfully gained the team third on the grid for today’s race.

Klaus Graf (D) qualified the V12 powered Aston Martin LMP1 machine of Official Partner Team, Muscle Milk Racing achieving a time of 1:15.564 which earned them fourth on the grid.

Mücke started the race and within five laps he’d moved up to second position after a smart overtaking manoeuvre. By the seventh lap he was leading the race and making good progress. The remaining five hours, the blue and orange Gulf Oil liveried DBR1-2 stayed in the top three throughout.


Aston Martin Racing Team Principal, George Howard Chappell said: “I am obviously extremely pleased with the result. It is a great shame to see the Muscle Milk car drop out when it did, as we could have been on for an Aston 1-2, but nevertheless we have an Aston Martin victory which is fantastic.

“I am delighted for the team who have achieved this result on our return to the States after a difficult year – they’ve all worked hard for this, so it is a just reward.”

Mücke who brought the Aston Martin DBR1-2 across the finish line said: “It’s a great result for us all; the team did a perfect job, as did the drivers.

“Nobody made a mistake and she [the car] was fast today. It’s our first win in the American Le Mans Series, and the race started well, but then we had contact twice and after that, we never thought we could win. I am really happy and thanks to everybody.”

Primat said: “This is an absolutely fantastic result for the whole team.  It is a great feeling to be standing back on the top step of the podium and the whole team should be proud of today’s result.  Everyone has worked extremely hard to keep improving the car step by step and today’s victory is testimony to all that effort.”

Aston Martin Racing will return to the American Le Mans Series in two weeks time at the final round; Petit Le Mans.

Aston Martin Racing

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing saw their American Le Mans Series championship hopes disappear on Saturday at Laguna Seca when they crossed the finish line fifth in class, despite another great effort by the team.

The Benicia, California-based crew was faced with many adversities throughout the race, starting with a 60-second stop and go penalty given to Lucas Luhr for what was considered avoidable contact between the sister Aston Martin Racing factory car and the Muscle Milk car just over an hour into the race.

Although the German wasn't responsible for the contact, he served the penalty and unfortunately found himself one-lap down upon exiting the pits. As has been the team spirit since the beginning, Luhr didn't give up and just pushed harder to get back on the lead lap only eight laps later.

Luhr then went on to reduce the gap from over one minute 25 seconds to just over 25 seconds before a full course caution came out 10 minutes later. The team took advantage of the caution period to pit for fuel and tires and do a driver change.
When the race went back to green, Klaus Graf found himself in second place fighting for the lead with Guy Smith in the #16 Dyson Racing car. The two continued to battle for another hour and a half but just when Graf was closing in on Smith, the German encountered problems with the oil pump that sent him to the team's paddock area for repairs.

While it initially looked like the team was not going to make it back out, the Muscle Milk team once again prevailed, never giving up, and headed back on track one hour and 13 minutes later.

Even if the team was 50 laps down to first place, Graf kept on pushing and running laps faster than the leaders, but the damage was done and they had to settle for fifth in class.

The team's position at the finish combined with Dyson Racing allowing their #16 car to pick up first place points, meant that the Muscle Milk team would see their class rivals take home the Championship honors.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing will be back on track in two weeks time for the season finale at Road Atlanta.

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing 

"Tough day. Once again, it is what it is. What can you say, it just wasn't meant to be. I think we had a strong package, certainly strong enough to win today, even with some hiccups and a stop and go and all kinds of stuff going on. We fought back and we were looking very strong at the point when the problem occurred.
"Honestly, I didn't think that we would make it back out, I thought that was it. But hats off to the guys, again. John Ogden, our Aston Martin engineer, he's a great guy and he said we could probably fix it and we did and got back out.
"That shows the spirit of the team and that's important. It's obviously a disappointing day for us but we look forward to the final race at Petit Le Mans. It's a fun place and I love it there.
"Finally, congrats to Dyson Racing, they've run very consistent this year, and that's what you have to do to win a championship, we had some problems and yes it's disappointing but at the same time it probably means that Greg (Pickett) might be driving at Petit Le Mans and that would be great."

Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing will be starting Saturday's six-hour event at Laguna Seca from the second row after qualifying fourth today.

Klaus Graf who was aboard the Aston Martin for the 15-minute session initially took over the top spot on his first fast lap but despite constantly improving his lap times, he was relegated to fourth by the time the checkered flag fell on qualifying.

The German registered a fastest lap of one minute 15.564 seconds but struggled with a lack of grip and was unable to catch the turbo-powered Mazdas of Dyson Racing.

Starting next to the Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing LMP1 car, in third, will be its sister car of the factory Aston Martin Racing team.

Graf and Lucas Luhr will have a 20-minute warm-up on Saturday morning to make final adjustments to the car ahead of the main event later that day.

The ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey race will go green on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on ESPN3.com. The event will also be broadcast on tape delay on ESPN2 Sunday, September 18 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing 
"It wasn't our best qualifying effort, but at the end of the day it's a long race and I'm sure we'll have a better race car tomorrow. "It was tough in qualifying today. I struggled with grip and couldn't do the things I wanted to do out there. That makes it obviously a bit difficult and frustrating as well. But on the other hand, I know it's such a long race and it doesn't really matter where we start. "I'm confident for tomorrow's race, we had good sessions in the practices and in the long runs I think we were the most consistent and that's important."

In the penultimate round of the American Le Mans Series, Aston Martin Racing will start from third and fourth position in tomorrow’s six hour endurance race on the famous 2.238 mile Monterey circuit.
Under typically sunny skies, Adrian Fernandez (MEX) put in a 1:14.621 lap in the factory entered Lowes-sponsored DBR1-2, which successfully gained the team third on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
Klaus Graf (D) drove the V12 powered Aston Martin LMP1 machine of Official Partner Team, Muscle Milk Racing in the half-hour qualifying session, achieving a time of 1:15.564 which earned them fourth on the grid.
On the team’s expectations for the race tomorrow, Team Principal, George Howard-Chappell said: “I think we’ll run well in the race. I expect our race pace compared to our qualifying pace against our competitors will be slightly better.
“To come to the US after such a long break and to get third on the grid – I’m pretty please with that. We’re looking forward to racing along with our team mates at Muscle Milk tomorrow.”
Fernandez said: “I was a little surprised how quick the others were, I knew we were strong, but we need to make a few minor setup changes for the race.
“I am confident for tomorrow; I think we have been consistent and have made good progress with the setup since yesterday. Harold, Stefan and I are happy – we just need to avoid mistakes tomorrow and I am just pleased to race here for Lowes.”
The Lowes sponsored Aston Martin DBR1-2 was shipped out of Silverstone, England immediately after the Autosport 6 Hours last Sunday and was flown air-freight arriving in California on Tuesday evening after clearing customs giving the team just enough time to set it up for the Californian race.
Klaus Graf, co-driver the number 6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1 said: “It wasn’t our best qualifying effort, but at the end of the day it’s a long race and I’m sure we’ll have a better race car tomorrow.
“It was tough in qualifying today. I struggled with grip and couldn’t do the things I wanted to do out there. That makes it obviously a bit difficult and frustrating as well. But on the other hand, I know it’s such a long race and it doesn’t really matter where we start.
“I’m confident for tomorrow’s race, we had good sessions in the practices and in the long runs I think we were the most consistent and that’s important.”
The American Le Mans Series six hour race starts at 13:30 (PDT) on Saturday 17 September 2011 and is televised live on ESPN 3.

Aston Martin Racing

HEXIS AMR was on the podium in Ordos and it looked like the team was going to score its third victory of the season in the rain in Peking. But with only six minutes to go to the chequered flag, the team’s hopes were brutally dashed. The French squad still has a chance of winning the world title in Argentina. It will go for bust on the circuit where it made its mark on the grand touring scene in 2010.

The FIA GT1 World Championship played its role as ambassador for motor racing in China to the hilt. It began in Ordos in Inner Mongolia, and then continued in Goldenport Park in Peking finishing in the streets in the capital of the Popular Chinese Republic around the site of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Ordos, no. 3 P3, No. 4 P4

20.000 spectators massed on the new Ordos circuit 50 kilometers from the mausoleum of Gengis Khan. They saw the two HEXIS AMR cars fighting their way to the front in the championship event after an excellent performance in the qualifying race. Piccione-Dusseldorp and Hohenadel-Piccini finished in third and fourth places bagging a big haul of points in the teams’ championship title chase. The stunning performances on the track were matched in the pits as no. 4 had the best pit stop time in the qualifying race, and the team then set the two fastest times in the championship round.

Hopes brutally dashed in Peking

The GTI TV commentators were right when they said that the short Goldenport Park layout was a circuit of the old school. After the brilliant sunshine of the first day, the two races on Saturday were run in persistent rain. The two HEXIS AMR Aston Martin DBRS9s adapted to the conditions without problems. Clivio Piccione and Stef Dusseldorp used the 60-minute qualification race to fight their way up from seventeenth to fifth place. Andrea Piccini and Christian Hohenadel jumped from tenth on the grid to third at the chequered flag. In the pits, the mechanics performed another miracle - the tyre change on no. 4 was 2.7s quicker than all its rivals! The team lost one of its cars at the start of the championship race, when Dusseldorp ended up in the gravel trap in corner number one. Hohenadel did a superb stint in third place. The best pit stop of the whole field put Piccini into the lead, and the Italian proved that the HEXIS AMR Aston Martin was the fastest car in the very wet conditions by pulling out a lead of more than three seconds over his rivals. Unfortunately, he went off five laps from the finish just when two corners further on, the safety car was preparing to neutralize the race until the end.

Philippe Dumas: “the best team in the world”

On the evening of the event, Philippe Dumas, the team manger, stressed the excellent quality of the performance of his troops, and refused to lay the blame on the drivers who were caught out on the Chinese skating rink. “I think we again showed that we’re the best team in the world no matter what the conditions. I’m just very sad for us all and for my four drivers. Life sometimes springs unexpected surprises but that’s what sport’s all about. Although we’ve just taken a whack on the head, that doesn’t mean that we won’t continue fighting till the end. We still have a slight chance of being world champions, and all together we’ll battle against the forces of destiny until the last lap, the last corner on the San Luis circuit!”

For the honour…

On Sunday evening, the FIA GTI World Championship teams put on a nighttime demonstration race between the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube where the Olympic events took place in 2008. The teams also took part in a tyre changing competition – and guess who won? Rendezvous in Argentina on 5th-6th November for the final round of what has been a thrilling world championship so far.

Level on 52 points at the top of the table after eight rounds, Nicholas Mee Racing scored its fifth win of the season in the ninth and final round of the 2011 AM GT4 Challenge to take first place in this year’s series. This follows Karsten Le Blanc and NMR’s victory in the inaugural AM Vantage GT4 Challenge series of 2009.

Le Blanc – NMR’s sole driver for the 80-minute race at the Dijon-Prennois circuit on 11th September – survived a late downpour while on slick tyres to take the chequered flag over one lap ahead of series rival Vantage Racing, and so secured first place in the race and the 2011 Challenge in which NMR scored 62 points out of a possible 80*.

Competing at the French venue for the first time, Le Blanc quickly found favour with the undulating track during Friday morning’s 2hr practice session, while Sunday’s 30min qualifying session saw NMR settle for third on the grid, two spots behind pole-sitter Vantage Racing.

With the forecast threatening heavy rain for Sunday’s race, Le Blanc made a terrific start by slotting straight into second position, and then took the lead from Vantage Racing while still on the first lap. He then settled into a steady, faultless rhythm for the first half of the race, and gradually extended his leading margin to 50secs before the compulsory pit-stop.

With the overall title at stake, the atmosphere in the pit lane was tense. Vantage Racing pitted first for its first driver, Tom Black, to hand over to teammate Alan Bonner, who had earlier set the pole position time. On his exit from the pit lane, Bonner crossed the white line for the circuit before the end of the pit lane and so incurred a drive-through penalty. This lessened the pressure on NMR as it would mean that the team would now have a one-lap advantage over its main rival. However, the NMR crew lost no focus when it was Le Blanc’s turn to pit.

Le Blanc subsequently took on new tyres plus a splash of fuel for his V8 Vantage GT4 and rejoined the race still with a comfortable lead. But there would be more tension as, 30 minutes before the end of the race, the predicted heavy shower finally arrived and competitors were forced to dive into the pits for treaded tyres.

Having missed the pit lane entry, Le Blanc used his next lap to gauge whether he’d be able to continue on slicks without pitting. Although his lap times did drop off, he was able to stay out on the now slippery track to run without incident to victory in the last AM Challenge race of 2011 with over a lap in hand on close rivals Vantage Racing.

After the race a beaming Karsten Le Blanc said, “I’m absolutely delighted with our win here and our clinching the Challenge. We were determined to take the title this year in memory of our dear friend and former Team Manager Craig Dawson, who passed away late last year. We've had to work hard all season to fend off our always competitive and consistent rivals and friends Tom Black and Alan Bonner of Vantage Racing, and, with both of us on equal points at the start of the race, the race and the series really could have gone either way.

“I wish to thank Giles Dawson for stepping into his late brother's shoes and for being a superb Team Manager. Big thanks also to all the other NMR crew members, to the management of Nicholas Mee & Co and to my co-drivers this season: Dan de Zille and my very good friend Christiaen van Lanschot. They have been perfect teammates – both quick and reliable.

“Finally, I would like to thank our fellow Challenge competitors who are a terrific bunch of people, plus Jamie Wall and Belinda Edwards for organising this year’s Challenge. All of us in NMR really hope it will continue to attract more entrants to the series which shares the best elements of both modern and historic competition; competitive racing between great cars and all combined with the wonderful camaraderie usually only found in historic motorsport circles."

Nicholas Mee Racing is now preparing for its final race of 2011 – the Britcar 24hr at Silverstone on 1-2 October where Karsten Le Blanc will be partnered by regular team-mates Christiaen van Lanschot and Dan de Zille, along with newcomer Robert Nimkoff from the USA.

Aston Martin Racing will be back on US soil to compete in their first American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race of the year at Laguna Seca on 17 and 18 September.
The team will be making the trans-Atlantic trip from Silverstone, UK where they competed in the fifth round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup race only the weekend before.

Returning to the Mazda Raceway, factory drivers Adrian Fernandez (MX), Stefan Mücke (D) and Harold Primat (CH) will be piloting the Lowes sponsored DBR1-2 on the famous circuit featuring one of the most challenging corners of the American Le Mans Series: The Corkscrew. The six hour race which starts in daylight and ends in darkness will push the drivers to the limit as the sun sets over Monterey.

The familiar blue and orange Gulf Oil liveried factory DBR1-2 will be joined by official partner team Muscle Milk who are currently second in the championship only 24 points behind the leading team. The Muscle Milk Aston Martin LMP1 will be driven by Lucas Luhr (D) and Klaus Graf (D).

Aston Martin Racing Team Principal, George Howard-Chappell said: “I am delighted to be returning to the U.S. to compete in the final rounds of the ALMS. We have had considerable success there in the past, and we’ll be aiming to put in a strong performance in front of our US fans and sponsors.

“Laguna Seca is not necessarily ideal for a LMP1 car, owing to its tight and twisting corners, but we will be making setup changes during free practice to find the optimum balance for the circuit.”

Adrian Fernandez who will be racing in front of his home crowd in the 007 car said: “I am really looking forward to racing in the U.S. again and seeing a lot of friends and fans in the ALMS paddock. Laguna Seca is one of my favorite tracks. We will have some tough competition on the grid with the other teams having had many races under their belt, but I am confident we can deliver a good result. The fans love the sound of the V12, and we look forward to putting on a good show.”
The 38-car grid will cross the start line at 13.30 (PDT) on Saturday 18 September with practice and qualifying on the Friday from 10:35 (PDT). Live coverage of the race will be shown on ESPN 3.

The Muscle Milk team is looking to their home event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend to return to their winning ways after a difficult previous round on the east coast.

After spending the last couple of months working out of the Mark 1 Composites shop in Indianapolis, the team returned last week to their headquarters in Benicia, California, located only a couple of hours from the Monterey, CA race track.

Although the American Le Mans Series race at Laguna Seca is considered its home event, it's never really been a lucky circuit for the California-based crew.

The team has finished on the podium in its last two visits to the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course, but it hasn't been without difficulty.

In 2009, the team failed to complete the full race distance due to suspension damage and last season, they came back to finish second, after going seven laps down because a pebble had lodged itself behind the shift paddle.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing is hoping to change that this time around in the six-hour endurance race at Laguna Seca while looking to score maximum points and remain in the Championship hunt.

The team currently sits 24-points behind Dyson Racing in the points standings with only two races remaining.

Helping the team out and returning to his co-driving duties alongside Klaus Graf at Mazda Raceway will be Lucas Luhr, who missed out on the last round due to his racing commitment in the FIA GT1 World Championship where he continues to lead the driver's standings.

The Muscle Milk squad will not be the only team fielding an Aston Martin LMP1 car at Laguna Seca as the factory Aston Martin Racing team will be returning to the American Le Mans Series for the first time this year with their familiar blue and orange Gulf Oil liveried V12 powered DBR1-2.

The ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey race will go green on Saturday, September 17th at 1:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on ESPN3.com. Round 8 of the season will be broadcast on tape delay on ESPN2 Sunday, September 18 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Klaus Graf, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"Going to Laguna Seca is like coming home for the Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team. Our race shop and the CytoSport company are just two hours north of the track and so we call this our home race on the ALMS calendar.
"With the race being a six hour event this will ask for a lot from both the drivers and team. We will do the race with just Lucas and I driving but I'm sure we'll perform at the same level as usual and push hard all the way.
"The layout of the Laguna Seca track is a very challenging one and the conditions change a lot with dirt coming on the race track and the temperature differences racing into the dark are quite dramatic. But I'm confident that our partner Michelin will have the right tires for the difficult conditions.
"I personally always look forward to this race as I like this part of the world very much."

Lucas Luhr, co-driver Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
"I missed being with Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing at Baltimore and I'm looking forward to getting back to the United States after spending two weeks in China for a couple of GT1 races.
"Laguna Seca is one of the best tracks in what is a great part of the country. With the circuit being so close to the team's shop and CytoSport's head office, this will be a home race for the team. They had a tough weekend at the last race so I hope we can turn things around in front of the home crowd and do well to keep Klaus in the chase for the driver's championship.
"Once again, it won't be easy as Laguna Seca i

The Gulf Racing GTE-Am entry today recorded its first classified finish in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, despite battling with a slight clutch problem throughout the six-hour race, to the delight of driver/owners Roald Goethe and Mike Wainwright and their professional team mate Fabien Giroix.  The team has battled against technical woes in the previous endurance rounds of the ILMC.


The Gulf AMR Middle East Aston Martin Vantage finished 8th in the GTE-Am category of the 6 Hours of Silverstone, and the class was won by the IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche of Raymond Narac and Nicolas Armindo.

Frenchman Fabien Giroix took the start of the race, and brought the No. 60 Gulf Oil International liveried car into the top six in class, dodging rain showers along the way, until handing over to Roald Goethe at just under the hour mark and during the only official safety car period.  Goethe survived a brief off-track excursion and duly passed the wheel of the Aston Martin to Mike Wainwright, the Swiss-based British driver enjoying the company of family and friends at the iconic British track.

Wainwright did a solid job to complete his double stint – the only double of the race for the Gulf Racing team – and got into a good rhythm amongst the multi-class field.  Before the end of the race both Goethe and Giroix, both Dubai, UAE residents, cycled through the car one more time before the chequered flag.
Roald Goethe said afterwards:  “To be classified at the same time as all our competitors, which we weren’t in Spa despite crossing the finish line, feels really good.  It can only get better from here.  In my first stint, it started well and I was happy with my times but I had a bit of a spin in one of the hairpins which lost us a few laps.  In my second stint I was much more comfortable and I think my times reflected that.”

Mike Wainwright:  “I’ve got to say it was good to start and good to finish!  We’ve got things to learn and lots of work to do on the car but it was okay.”  When asked about the busy 39-car field, and how much that might have affected his own race, he commented:  “To be honest I didn’t find the traffic that bad.  I used the mirrors and looked left and right and generally thought the traffic was sensible.  If I saw a car behind me that I thought could pass, I let them go and wasn’t stupid; it was quite manageable.  Silverstone is a long circuit and you see them coming and you can plan accordingly.  It was enjoyable and nice to drive at my ‘home’ circuit…again, to start and finish was great.”

Fabien Giroix:  “The team did a great job in the pit stops but we had a lot of problems with the car during the weekend and we have to work really hard before the next race.    We haven’t got much time because the car has to leave quickly for the United States.  I hope we can improve the car because there’s a lot to do on the chassis handling.”
The team’s next race will be the penultimate round of the ILMC, Petit Le Mans, at the Road Atlanta track in Georgia USA on Saturday, 1st October.

Image  - R Leach

In the penultimate race of the 2011 Le Mans Series, Jota Sport AMR has finished the Autosport 1000km of Silverstone 11th in class at the hands of Simon Dolan, Sam Hancock and Chris Buncombe. The 79 car of the three British drivers has run seamlessly throughout the six hours, which is a testamony to how well the Jota Sport team prepared and engineered the car.

From the onset of the weekend things were looking promising for the British team with strong pace throughout the free practice sessions. However, despite such quick pace Sam Hancock was unfortunately unable to qualify the car any higher than P11 due to traffic caused by a yellow flag.
Sam Hancock started the race for Jota Sport AMR with a two-hour double stint; producing some of the best lap times ever enjoyed by the British team whilst running the Aston Martin Vantage GT2.
Sam Hancock: “I am really happy with the pace that we have shown, it’s our strongest performance of the year, and certainly in my first stint we were matching the pace of the cars at the top of our class. Half way through my second stint I was hit by a Ferrari on the right side of the car just coming out of turn 3, which consequently affected the steering. After taking a cautious subsequent lap I was forced to continue to drive with a margin of safety. Then to add insult to injury I was hit on the other side by a Formula Le Mans car. It’s an aggressive race today, it is the nature of the series as we know and the prototypes expect all other cars to move out of their way. Overall I am really pleased with how today has gone and hope that wherever Andy is watching from we have managed to do him proud.”

After two hours Sam handed the car over to Simon Dolan for his double stint. Simon immediately got into a good rhythm producing some of his best lap times of the season.

Simon Dolan: “I experienced a little bit of traffic when I first got in the car but overall my first of the two consecutive stints was great, I was really pleased with the speed of the car and fortunately could only feel a minor affect on the steering from the earlier incident. However, by the second stint the tyres were well worn and we consequently dropped a few places on the grid, which was very frustrating as I pretty much had a trouble-free run. It has been superb driving here in front of the home crowd and having all my friends and family supporting from the paddock.”

At the fourth round of pit stops Simon handed the reigns of 79 to Chris Buncombe for the final double stint of the race.

Aston Martin Racing has successfully completed the Autosport 6 Hours of Silverstone, round five of this year’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and round four of the Le Mans Series.

The #007 DBR1-2 LMP1-class prototype, driven by Adrian Fernandez (MEX), Christian Klien (A) and Harold Primat (CH), finished ninth overall with no major problems during this afternoon’s enduro at the Northamptonshire venue.

The V12 petrol-engined car suffered a brief spin which resulted in losing a rear tyre close to the four-hour mark in the hands of Primat after contact with a GT-class car, but otherwise there were no issues.

Aston Martin Racing Team Principal George Howard-Chappell said: “We did exactly what we set out to do today – we ran a consistent, close to drama-free race and enjoyed running the Gulf-liveried DBR1-2 in front of our home crowd again at Silverstone.

“We now turn our attention to next weekend’s American Le Mans Series race at Laguna Seca, where Stefan Mücke will join Adrian and Harold.”

In the GTE-Pro battle, the Jota Sport V8 Vantage of British trio Chris Buncombe, Simon Dolan and Sam Hancock took 11th place in class in a trouble-free race.

It was a similar story in the GTE-Am class for the Gulf AMR Middle East V8 Vantage of Fabien Giroix (F), Roald Goethe (D) and Michael Wainwright (GB) which, apart from Goethe being briefly stuck on a kerb after a spin early in the race, completed the six-hour marathon in eighth place with no further dramas.

Aston Martin Racing

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The British-based Jota Sport AMR squad will start 11th in the LM GTE Pro class for tomorrow's Autosport 1000km of Silverstone. Sam Hancock lapped the 5.141Km (3.195 mile) Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit with a lap of 2:03.433 seconds. Chris Buncombe will join Sam Hancock and Simon Dolan behind the wheel in front of the team's home crowd for Sunday's penultimate round of the Le Mans Series.

The Silverstone race is the fourth of the five-race series which started at the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit, Le Castellet, France on 3 April. Since, Jota Sport AMR has participated in each event with a best finish of 5th in class at the 1000km of Spa in May. A recent string of mechanical maladies have thwarted top-five runs for the British team. The strong qualifying position and quick race pace shown by Hancock, Dolan and Buncombe promise better things for Sunday's showdown.

The Autosport 1000km of Silverstone will begin at 11:35 (GMT) on Sunday, 11 September. The race will run for 1000km or six hours, whichever comes first. Radio coverage is available at www.radiolemans.com.

Aston Martin Racing will start the Autosport 6 Hours, round five of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, from 12th on the grid after difficult and changeable weather conditions in today’s qualifying session. The team’s Gulf-liveried DBR1-2 LMP1 clocked a best time of 1m52.151s in the hands of Mexican Adrian Fernandez, who will share the #007 car with Austrian Christian Klien and Swiss Harold Primat in tomorrow’s event.

With the 25-minute session beginning in damp conditions, Fernandez started on slick tyres to give the team the best chance with changeable weather looming but opted to pit with seven minutes remaining. The team decided against sending the car out due to worsening conditions.

Fernandez said: “We went out early because we thought that was our best chance. It started raining so to get a lap in it was better to do it early. My tyres were very cold and I really struggled in the first few laps to get them up to temperature. It was really a short margin because it started to rain harder towards the end. The main thing for us is to drive tomorrow – it’s practice for everybody and hopefully we can have a solid race, be at the end and have a good result.”

In the closely-fought GT classes, the Jota Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 of Brits Chris Buncombe, Simon Dolan and Sam Hancock qualified 11th in GT-Pro, with a best time of 2m03.433s, while the Gulf AMR Middle East Vantage GT2 of Fabien Giroix (F), Roald Goethe (D) and Michael Wainwright (GB) took seventh in GT-Am with a 2m06.976s.

Meanwhile, in the GT1 World Championship, Young Driver AMR experienced the biggest success in the team’s history at the inaugural race in Beijing. The German Aston Martin team took a double victory in the qualifying race and again in the championship race in very difficult wet conditions. Stefan Mücke (D) and Darren Turner (GB) claimed their first win of the season in a championship race in their Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 and came second in the qualifying race, while Alex Müller (D) and Tomas Enge (CZ) won the qualifying race and finished second in the championship race in the Gulf-liveried Aston Martin DBR9. With the dominant performance in China, Young Driver AMR leads the teams’ championship with the final round to come in Argentina.

The Autosport 6 Hours of Silverstone starts at 1135 BST tomorrow (Sunday). Radio Le Mans will be broadcasting live race coverage at www.radiolemans.com and Aston Martin updates can be found at www.astonmartinracing.com with additional behind the scenes updates on Facebook; www.facebook.com/astonmartin and through Twitter at www.twitter.com/astonmartin.

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The Aston Martin GT4 Challenge will journey to Dijon, France for the final round of the one-make challenge this weekend.

In a year that has shown this one-make challenge to be one of the most action-packed, exciting and atmospheric in the racing calendar; the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge has featured more races this year than ever before and has visited such iconic venues as: Silverstone, Snetterton, Donington, Spa Francorchamps, Oulton Park and Brands Hatch.  Almost every race has featured close driving, unexpected results and fantastic sportsmanship among the like-minded competitors.

The GT4 Challenge has inspired several individuals to take their first venture into GT4 racing including the BBC’s Chris Partridge who hosted a four part series of features on becoming a GT4 racing driver that focused on the Aston Martin one-make Challenge.

Commencing at Silverstone in April the series of races saw the Generation AMR car of Mark Poole and Richard Abra take the inaugural first place victory after a hard-won battle against Aston Martin guest driver; Red Bull Team Principal, Christian Horner. The series then travelled to Snetterton and, after an incident packed session the race was re-started with the Nicholas Mee Racing entry crossing the line to take first place at the hands of Karsten le Blanc and Dan De Zille.

A tense battle at Donington resulted in the first win for Chris Kemp, Stuart Hall and Tiffany Chittenden of Stratton Motorsport which led on to rounds five and six in Spa Francorchamps where Karsten le Blanc and Dan de Zille of Nicholas Mee Racing took two further victories. Oulton Park saw Tom Black and Alan Bonner in the Vantage Racing car take their first win of the series while last month, Brands Hatch offered up further excitement with Dan de Zille taking another win.

Earning further endorsement as a thoroughbred sports car, the V8 Vantage in both N24 and GT4 guise, has spent another year demonstrating its on-track capability and reliability.  The series has continued to offer an exciting first step onto the GT4 ladder.

Practice and qualifying at Dijon begin at 09:10 (CET) and are due to conclude at 9:40 (CET) with the 80 minute race beginning at 13:00 (CET) on Sunday 11 September

Aston Martin

The first day of the penultimate round of the GT1 World Championship in Beijing ended very successful for Young Driver AMR. After a promising free practise, both Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 were among the quickest cars in the Qualifying session. Stefan Mücke (GER) and Darren Turner (GBR)  secured a front row starting position and will start from second position of the grid. Alex Müller (GER) and Tomas Enge (CZE) will start in the Gulf liveried DBR9 one spot behind from third position into Saturdays Qualifying Race.

The schedule is tight at the inaugural GT1 World Championship race in Beijing, as the whole event at the Goldenport Track near the Beijing international airport takes place on only two days. For Young Driver AMR, things on the tiny and twisty, 2,4 km short track went very well. Both Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin didn’t have any problems to make it into the final third Qualifying session of the three-parted qualifying, held in the evening of the first day of the event. Stefan Mücke even set the quickest time in the Q1 session. In Q2 and in Q3, Mücke/Turner and Müller/Enge finished in second and third position, meaning both Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin will start from the first two rows.

“I’m very happy with the result, I couldn’t ask for more”, Hardy Fischer, Young Driver AMR-team principal, said. “We are somehow much faster then expected on this track. Both cars are running perfect so far, now we hope for a good result in the two races on Saturday.”

Ford-GT driver Maxime Martin took the Pole Position, only 0,097 seconds ahead of Stefan Mücke.

Young Driver AMR is currently fourth in the team championship of the GT1 World Championship. Stefan Mücke/Darren Turner are fourth in the drivers championship, while Alex Müller and Tomas Enge are eight.

Driver quotes after the Qualifying:

Alex Müller (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “Until now it’s really going well for us here in Beijing. The track is not very quick, but fluent, and that helps us here. We overcame the problems we had at the last weekend and the car is running fine. It will be very interesting tomorrow in the races, as it might be raining.”

Tomáš Enge (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “It’s not a bad start into the event in Beijing. The track is slippery and bumpy, but for some reasons, it suits our car. And also the engine is running fine again. We made good progress today and with starting from the second row, we couldn’t ask for more.”

Stefan Mücke (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “The Qualifying 1 has been very difficult, as we had two red flags. Surprisingly, the track is not as bad as expected for us. It was a very positive first day here, we are very satisfied with the front row starting position. I made a small mistake on my fastest lap in Q3, but considering we also have 20kg of success ballast on board, it’s very good.”

Darren Turner (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “Second and third on the grid is a great result for the team. In the beginning of Q2, I tried something new in terms of driving style. But couldn’t make it work and returned to my old driving style. I set the second quickest time in Q2 and used only one set of tires, which is pretty important for our race strategy. It might be raining tomorrow, which will make things very difficult. The track is difficult in the dry, so it will be really hard when it rains. But the event has been good for us so far and I hope we can carry that momentum.”