Aston Martin: Nürburgring 24 Hours - Eight Hour Report

Aston Martins running strongly after eight hours at the Nürburgring

Following an eventful start to the ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 Hours, Aston Martin’s four official entries have performed reliably in the second phase of the race, during which the sun set over the 25-kilometre circuit. The pair of V12 Vantage GT3s – competing in the headlining SP9 category – have continued their recovery from early setbacks whilst the #005 V12 Zagato and #85 Vantage GT4 remain on course to finish well for Aston Martin in class SP8.

The #007 V12 Vantage GT3 – which fell 13 laps behind its rivals after collecting a puncture early in the race – now lies 24th in class having run faultlessly since its delay. The #006 V12 Vantage GT3, meanwhile, continues its recovery from an unfortunate clutch-related issue – which cost it 15 laps – as it matches the pace of the race-leading cars and ranks 25thin class.

Aston Martin has won the SP8 category twice since its Nürburgring 24 Hour debut in 2006 and, one third of the way through the race, it remains on course to score strongly in the class. The #005 V12 Zagato lies second in SP8 with the #85 Vantage GT4 close behind in third. Both cars – run by Aston Martin’s engineering team – have performed with impeccable reliability and continue to hit their target lap times.

The strong early showing of the marque’s customer teams has continued into the second phase of the race, with Team Mathol Racing still leading the SP10 class with its Vantage GT4. In the same category, Vantage GT4s also reside in fifth, tenth and 13th positions.

David King, Head of Motorsport at Aston Martin, said: “We can be encouraged by the pace and reliability that the V12 Vantage GT3s have shown in this second part of the race. The #006 car in particular has displayed impressive speed, bettering many of the leading cars in terms of lap times, although it has been tricky to judge the pace given the yellow flag interruptions.

“Our SP8 runners have continued with the form they showed in the opening four hours, running with strong pace and avoiding costly errors. With the night well and truly set in, we’ll concentrate on making it through the darkness unscathed and protecting both Aston Martin’s 100 per cent finishing record in this race and our podium positions in SP8 and SP10.”

Aston Martin