Aston Martin Racing has finished third in the penultimate round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Six Hours of Fuji, extending its podium run to five in a row and maintaining its second position overall in the championship standings.

Having arrived in the Far East full of confidence after narrowly missing out on a maiden WEC victory in Bahrain, the team took advantage of a rare pre-race promoter test. During this session, it quickly became apparent that the Fuji Speedway’s track surface would play an influential role in the six-hour race.

The Gulf-liveried Vantage GTE is uniquely light on its tyres and, as a result, performs better on abrasive surfaces, such as that at the Bahrain International Circuit where the #97 car had been so competitive two weeks earlier. On the Fuji Speedway’s smooth Tarmac, however, the tyres struggled to find grip.

Despite this, works driver Stefan Mücke (D) proved that his committed driving style could still extract much of the Vantage GTE’s potential. Following three official pre-race free practice sessions, Mücke surpassed the team’s expectations in qualifying to place the car third on the GTE Pro grid. The team later lost this position when a stewards’ enquiry deemed that the German driver had exceeded track limits on his fastest lap, which resulted in a three-place grid penalty.

On race day, the green flag waved as more than 50,000 spectators watched on. Mücke started strongly, quickly passing the two GTE Am cars that his grid penalty had dropped him behind. Together, he and team-mate Darren Turner (GB) began hunting down the Vantage GTE’s competitors until, on lap 44, Turner closed in on the third place car. Successful in his overtaking attempt, Turner then pulled away and continued to match the pace of the class leaders.

Shortly after the halfway mark, however, the championship-leading LMP1 car lost control at the turn ten hairpin and careered into the side of the #97 Aston Martin. The safety car was deployed as a result and although the Vantage GTE was able to continue, the interruption separated Mücke from his GTE Pro rivals to hinder the team’s charge.

A brave change of tyre strategy by the team – along with a string of slick pit stops and an impressive two and a half hour stint by Turner – saw the Vantage GTE close to within ten seconds of second position and 20 seconds of the class leader. Despite these valiant attempts, the delays caused by the earlier impact could not be overcome and the chequered flag waved with the #97 Aston Martin in third position.

Darren Turner comments: “It’s been an up and down weekend, but it’s taught us a lot about the car and how to get the most out of it on different track surfaces. The crew was fantastic in adapting our strategy and performed some of the best pit stops we have ever seen.

“After the test and practice sessions, third place looked like the best we could get on this track, and that would be with a smooth run, so to still stand on the podium after the incident with the prototype was a fantastic achievement. We’re only one point ahead of the third-placed GTE Pro car in the championship standings now, so that’s going to make for an interesting season finale in Shanghai!”

Stefan Mücke adds: “We’ve learned a lot this weekend and, although it’s been a tough race, we can come away with a lot of positives. We were unfortunate to be involved in the incident with the LMP1 car because I think cost us the battle for second place.

“It was great to see how many fans came out to watch the race. The grandstands were full and the Japanese were so welcoming and enthusiastic. I look forward to racing here again sometime in the future.”

Aston Martin Racing’s Team Principal John Gaw comments: “One of the keys to the pace we have seen in the Vantage GTE this year is how lightly it uses its tyres. We now know it’s not so much the type of circuit, but the type of surface that has influenced our results. Fuji Speedway is smooth with low grip so, in contrast to Bahrain where we were fastest in every session, we were unable to find the pace that we wanted this weekend. We have work to do with Michelin to unlock the performance we want in these smooth, low grip conditions.

“The car was absolutely faultless and both drivers gave everything. Darren was able to eke more life out of the tyres due to his exceptionally smooth driving style, while Stefan did a great job in helping to get the best out of the car in practice. His slightly more aggressive style worked well in qualifying where he delivered a lap that exceeded our expectations.

“However, the stand out job this weekend was by the new crew, which improved pit stop times by five per cent compared to those at Interlagos earlier this year.

“We now travel to China for the Six Hours of Shanghai a single point ahead of our closet rival knowing that whoever scores the best result between us will be rewarded with second place in the 2012 World Endurance Championship. That is absolutely our goal. Whatever happens, though, we can be proud of what we have achieved in the first year with the Vantage GTE. I think we have surprised many people and, more importantly, we are now only eight weeks away from the planned shakedown of the 2013 version of the car. This includes many exciting developments based on our learnings from 2012.”

The 2012 season marked Aston Martin’s return to GT racing; a discipline in which the marque has enjoyed huge success, most notably winning the GT class at Le Mans in both 2007 and 2008. The Vantage GTE is based on the road-going Vantage; the sportiest model in the prestigious marque’s line-up.

Aston Martin Racing is currently second in the WEC GTE Pro Championship with just one round remaining. The final round of the 2012 World Endurance Championship is the Six Hours of Shanghai, which takes place on Sunday 28th October 2012 on the Shanghai International Circuit

Aston Martin Racing

Barwell Motorsport is delighted to announce that it will be continuing its successful association with Aston Martin Racing, as it has concluded a deal to run a new Vantage GT3 for Britcar graduates, Mark Poole and Richard Abra. Barwell was previously involved with the venerable Aston Martin DBRS9 GT3 from 2006 to 2011 (running seven different chassis and tending to several others), claiming two British GT titles along the way, and contesting races all around Europe as well as endurance events such as the Sebring 12 Hours and Spa 24 Hours.

This year Poole and Abra have been successfully campaigning a BMW M3 GTR in Class 2 of the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship, culminating in a historic outright win in the Silverstone 24 Hours last month. Their plans for next year include stepping up to Class 1 of Britcar with the GT3 Aston, as well as forays into the British GT Championship and some possible outings in international GT3 series. Mark and Richard are viewing next year as a learning year at GT3 level, before launching a full championship challenge in 2014.

The team will take delivery of the brand new Vantage GT3 this week, and will then undertake a winter testing programme starting with two days at Donington Park in October.  If the team feel that enough progress has been made in the short period of time before the Britcar Endurance Championship finale at Donington on November 3rd, then they will enter the car for its race debut there, as this event is a great opportunity to get both day and night running in the new Aston before the season ends.

In addition to this programme with the Aston Martin Vantage GT3, Barwell is also set to continue its association with the BMW Z4 GT3 in both British GT and the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2013.

Mark Lemmer, Barwell Motorsport Team Principal: “We are delighted to be continuing our ultra-successful partnership with AMR, and the Vantage GT3 is a car that we are already familiar with due to our ‘Partner Team’ status. We would like to welcome Mark and Richard to the team, they have great potential as a driver pairing, and we are looking forward to working with them and helping them to achieve their goals over the coming seasons.”

Mark Poole: “I am delighted to be in partnership with Barwell, whose history and success with Aston Martin Racing would seem to be an ideal platform for us to develop our GT experience.”

Richard Abra: “I’m over the moon we have managed to put this deal together with Barwell to step up to a GT3 car. It’s always been an ambition for Mark and I and after a couple of seasons racing in a Vantage GT4 and BMW GTR in a few different Championships, we feel we are ready for the challenge and what better Team/Car to do it with..? 2013 is going to be very much a learning year but I can’t wait to get started!!”

Barwell Motorsport

Young Driver AMR ends the 2012 season on the top step of the podium: At the final round of the ADAC GT Masters at Hockenheim, Kristian Poulsen and Christoffer Nygaard ensured in the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 a conciliatory end of the season. Kristian Poulsen took his fifth victory in the amateur class in the final race of the season and finished as runner-up in the amateur championship.

After a successful weekend at the Nürburgring two weeks earlier, Young Driver AMR travelled to Hockenheim with mixed emotions, as the team expected that the high-speed Formula 1-track wouldn’t suit the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3. Due to the ‘Balance of Performance’ (BOP), the Aston Martin has it run with vey small air restrictors, which limit the power output of the six-litre-V12-engine. On a track, where power is crucial, this is certainly not a bonus.

As expected, Young Driver AMR suffered with top speed, Poulsen/Nygaard lacked 15km/h on the straights compared to the competition. Even with the very advanced aerodynamics of the Vantage GT3, Poulsen/Nygaard couldn’t make up the ground in the twisty sectors of the track, which they lost on the straights.

The first race ended early for the two Danes: Poulsen retired after an issue with the brake. In the second race, Poulsen/Nygaard had a trouble free run and only briefly missed the point ranks when they finished in eleventh position. As the highest ranked amateur driver, Poulsen scored a fifth victory at the very last race.

“The victory in the amateur class is a very nice way to end our season“, Young Driver AMR team principal Hardy Fischer says. “It was a relief for the entire team, who had to work very hard when the car was damaged after a brake issue in the first race. I must sincerely thank the entire team for the season. All mechanics and engineers have always done a good job. Although things do not run quite perfect for us sometimes during this season, I could always rely on my team. Our season is over, but in 2013 we will attack again and looking to win again."

Ferdinand and Johannes Stuck had to miss the final round at Hockenheim after a consequential damage of an accident in the previous round at the Nürburgring.

Driver quotes after the race:

Kristian Poulsen: “On Saturday we had bad luck, but my race on Sunday was really good. However, I feel after as I had boxed ten laps against Mike Tyson, I´m sore all over after I crashed in Saturday´s race.“

Christoffer Nygaard: “As expected, we struggled a lot at Hockenheim due to our lack of top speed. But we really made the best out of it, even if it was very difficult to compete with the other. It’s very difficult to overtake a car, when they are much faster in the straights.“

Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez and friend Josef ‘Pepi’ Strobl – winner of 20 podiums and five World Cup Downhill and Super-G races from the Austria ski team – scored a podium finish coming third in class in a late-season outing in the Nürburgring-based VLN series last weekend (29 September, 2012), while also revealing the brand’s centenary logo, which will be used to mark 100 years of Aston Martin throughout 2013.

Aston Martin‘s test centre, located next to the Nürburgring in Germany’s Eifel region, enters cars in the ten-race VLN series on the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit each year. Additionally, Aston Martin offers the opportunity to complete a five-step training programme, culminating in qualification to race in the VLN series.

Having been encouraged by Dr Bez to try his hand at motorsport, Pepi Strobl undertook the training programme during the year, passing each level with flying colours, and was delighted to be invited to make his Nürburgring debut sharing a Vantage GT4 with Dr Bez.

Joined in the car by Wolfgang Schuhbauer, Director of the Aston Martin Nürburgring Test Centre, and, after four hours of racing in a field of 180 cars, the trio took third in the highly competitive SP10 class for lightly modified GT4 cars.

The Test Centre also entered a V12 Vantage, driven by Aston Martin’s Chief Engineer Chris Porritt, Australian Rob Thomson and Michael Braun (D), and a second V8 Vantage driven by Joachim  Kern (D), Beat Loretz (CH) and Mathais Hüttenrauch (D). Both cars performed flawlessly to come home third and fourth respectively in the SP8 class.

Dr Bez commented: “Pepi and I have skied together in the Aston Martin team at ‘Der Weisse Ring’ in Lech, Austria and Pepi was the overall winner last year. I thought that the skills needed to ski can be transferred into driving, especially a circuit like the Nürburgring, which has changes in elevation, difficult corners and a sloping track. That’s why I invited Pepi to come along and train with the test centre team and drive with me in the race.

“Pepi showed great commitment to learning the circuit and took instruction incredibly well. This is why he was able to drive so quickly and consistently on what was his very first race, enabling us to take a step on the podium.”

“The Nordschleife exerts a real fascination,” Strobl said. “The track is incredibly demanding. It requires a high level of concentration to come quickly and safely through the field of so many race cars, which are also on the road at different speeds.”

David King, Head of Motorsport at Aston Martin added: “The result at the Nürburgring was most satisfying. To achieve third in a tough class and win a trophy in your first race is really something that Pepi, his co-drivers and the whole team should be proud of. It was a pleasure to work with such a professional sportsman and I hope he comes back for more – he could have a successful second career as a race driver!”

Dr Bez concluded: “The race offered us a very appropriate opportunity to present the new centenary logo on my race car. The Nürburgring has played an important role in our first 100 years and it will continue to do so in the next – starting with some exciting plans to be announced later in the year for the 24-hour race in 2013.”

Aston Martin is celebrating its centenary throughout 2013, and this will be commemorated by a host of events around the globe. This was the first time the brand had showcased its stunning new centenary logo, which was designed in-house by Director of Design Marek Reichman’s team and will be a consistent feature of the company’s centenary celebrations over the course of next year.

Aston Martin has been a maker of exceptional high performance cars since 1913 and is renowned as one of the world’s most iconic automotive brands. Independent in spirit and ownership, the company today remains true to its ethos of creating cars that embrace advanced engineering, yet exude understated elegance.