Youngsters claim a powerful GT4 class win at Rockingham for Beechdean AMR

Tuesday, May 05, 2015

Beechdean AMR drivers Jamie Chadwick and Ross Gunn, both part of the Aston Martin Racing Evolution Academy, proved unstoppable on the track at Rockingham after racing the Beechdean AMR GT4 car to victory this weekend.

The #407 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin GT4 Challenge team-mates were on impressive form all weekend, taking pole in Saturday’s qualifying session and leading the pack throughout the two-hour race, securing 2^nd overall in the British GT GT4 Championship standings.

Chadwick led from pole position, building a significant gap over Beechdean’s rivals, and picked up the Sunoco Race Fuels award for ‘Fastest Lap’ in the process. After being both the youngest winner, and the first ever female winner of the Britcar 24-Hour race at Silverstone which Beechdean AMR conquered the previous weekend, Chadwick is not holding back on showing her potential.

Gunn continued the second hour of the GT4 race, maintaining the high standard and bringing Beechdean a well-deserved win. An incredible result for Chadwick and Gunn in what was only their second British GT race as Beechdean Motorsport’s youngest drivers.

Ross Gunn: 'I am delighted with the weekend's performance. Everything clicked from the first lap of FP1, and from then on we just kept improving the car. Qualifying on pole was important, and Jamie was able to put in a fantastic first stint, giving me a lot of time and breathing space for my stint to look after the car. I would like to thank all of the mechanics, engineers and supporters of this programme for helping Jamie and I have a perfect weekend. I can't wait for Silverstone now.'

Jamie Chadwick: ‘Having taken pole position on Saturday, it was really a question of pulling out a lead whilst trying to preserve the tyres for Ross to continue to the end of the race. By not changing tyres during the pit stop we further extended our lead. Having twice finished second, at the opening weekend at Oulton Park, it’s very satisfying to get the ultimate result - especially as it’s a circuit that we did not think would best suit the Aston. It just goes to prove what a great team we have and what a strong reliable racing car the Aston Martin V8 Vantage is.’

The #007 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin GT3 had a positive Saturday, qualifying 2^nd on the grid for a hopeful start to Sunday’s race for Howard and Adam.

Andrew Howard, 2013 British GT Champion, quickly launched a challenge for the lead in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and maintained the lead for the first 15 minutes of the race before unfortunately encountering a small brake problem.

The GT3 car dropped back to 5^th position, and due to an extra 20 seconds of pit stop time after their win in the first round of the British GT Championship at Oulton Park, the Beechdean team came out of the pits in 8^th position.

Jonny Adam, however, kept consistent pace, maintaining 8^th position for most of the race, and in the last 25 minutes managed to gain a position on the safety car, bringing the Beechdean Aston Martin Vantage GT3 car in at 7^th place.

Howard and Adam, after their outstanding victory in GT3 at Oulton, are hoping to have a smoother run at Silverstone and improve on their current 4^th position in the British GT GT3 Championship standings.

Andrew Howard: ‘The line-up this year in British GT is very competitive and there is not a lot of lap time difference between the AM drivers, which is going to result in a closely fought championship. It was great to lead the race, and although 7^th wasn’t the ideal finish, we know that Silverstone will be a very strong circuit for both driver and car. A huge congratulations to both Jamie and Ross for a superb weekend.’

Jonny Adam: ‘Rockingham was always going to be a tricky weekend with the extra 20 second pit stop time, and unfortunately we developed a small brake problem throughout the race. We still scored points and at this stage of the championship this is important. Our pace was strong throughout the race, and this gives us good confidence going into what is arguably one of the strongest circuits for the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 car at Silverstone.’

Beechdean AMR will return to Silverstone on the 30^th/31^st May for the next round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship.

Source - Beechdean Motorsport