AMR Winter Test Update

Monday, February 24, 2014

Well, what a difference a day makes!

There I was counting the number of cars on my fingers as and when reports came up on Twitter and low and behold it wasn't very long before things just didn't add up to our previous report. An incredible 16 Aston Martin Vantages were actually making their presence felt at the Portimao circuit.

As it turned out, three of the works V8 Vantage GTE's made the trip - namely the #97 and #99 Pro cars and the #95 Young Driver Am car. AMR reported that all the 2014 cars were tested for a gruelling 25 hours and over a day and night format by many of their prospective drivers ahead of the 2014 WEC season that kicks off at Silverstone in April.

A further GTE car for Strata 21 boss Paul White reunited again with Tom Onslow-Cole and Javier Morcillo also tested.

British GT was the next series of choice fielding a whopping 8 cars across the GT3 and GT4 field. Motorbase and TF Sport tested both of their new GT3's whilst further single cars from MP-AMR, PGF-Kinfaun and finally (but no means least) the GT3 from Beechdean, not forgetting their new GT4 steed. The final GT3 car being tested was the Bilstein liveried car from the ADAC Nurburgring 24hr.

Beechdean GT4 debutants Ross Wylie and Jake Giddings both reported how different the Vantage was in comparison to their previous front wheel drive cars but both looked forward with eager anticipation to further pre season testing and to their new season together in British GT.

Cars from Vantage Racing and Hill Racing from the GT4 Challenge series together with a 'demo' car from AMR itself completed the field.

The GT4 Challenge cars were also able to test the new Michelin control rubber ahead of the new season. Jonny Adam reported that " the new tyre was not only quicker than the old Dunlop but it had better overall performance, consistency and driver feedback"

"The winter test was a fantastic opportunity for our customer teams to prepare their cars alongside our works team and in warmer conditions than in the UK" said Aston Martin Racing Team Principle John Gaw. "Its become a well established event that not only allows the teams valuable test time but also allows us to test new drivers and establish new partnerships".

The full Aston Martin Racing driver line up and 2014 programme will be announced on Friday 28th February.