Aston Martin Racing Driver Harold Primat competes in debut race at the Nordschleife

Aston Martin Racing driver Harold Primat this weekend competed in the ninth round of the prestigious 2011 VLN series at the Nordschleife.

For the first time in his racing career, Aston Martin Racing factory driver Harold Primat raced on the mighty Nordschleife circuit.  The Swiss driver paired up with Nürburgring Test Centre Director; Wolfgang Schuhbauer in the Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage for the SP8 class.

From P9 in class on the grid, Wolfgang made a flying start to the race; overtaking almost twenty cars in the opening laps of the race.  Making steady progress through the field of 190 cars; the car was up to 4th in class by the time Harold came in to take over for his double stint.

Known within the motorsport world as one of the most challenging circuits in the world, Harold spent the first part of his stint racing hard but cleanly, and successfully kept the #112 car out of trouble, moving up through the field to lead his class.

Midway through Primat’s stint, the Aston Martin car suffered a slight electronic issue and Harold was forced to pit.  The team were able to locate and rectify the problem immediately but unfortunately lost time in the pits which put an end to their challenge for a podium finish.  After four hours of racing; Primat took the chequered flag sixth in class.

Aston Martin Head of Motorsport, David King said; “Our works driver Harold Primat has completed his first race miles on the Nordschleife with great success.  It is one of the world’s toughest race tracks and, despite being new to the track, Harold was able to race consistently and competitively.”

Harold Primat commented; “It’s been a great experience racing on the Nordschleife for the first time.  It is a really tough and challenging track but we made progress throughout the weekend and I was able to push much harder as the race progressed.”

Harold continued; “The whole team have made it a fantastic weekend and I have really enjoyed racing with them.  Although we didn’t achieve the result we wanted it has been a strong weekend all round and now I look forward to the next race which will be in China next month.” 

haroldprimat.com