More than going through formalities for AMR in Bahrain
Friday, November 20, 2015
With the final race of the 2015 World Endurance Championship just a day away and with all Championship possibility removed from the team by fair means or foul over the course of the season, a more relaxed team has definitely turned up in Bahrain not only to race but also to help build upon their future.
With just pride at stake the team have been able to transform their relaxed position, with the help of a restored Balance of Performance setup to claim second and third in Pro Class and pole in Am class for tomorrows race. That in itself will go a long way in lifting the team following their disaster at Le Mans and the 'uneven playing field' presented to them by the series after.
More importantly for the team however will be what comes after the race. Joining the squad in the paddock are the six finalists from the team's Evolution Academy process with the winner(s) slotting in to any of the teams racing commitments for 2016 which does not dispel WEC involvement for at least one or two of the finalists. All six will drive the #99 car around the circuit as part of the final decision making process having driven it on a sim last week.
Also, the post race test will allow the team to further test their 2016 V8 Vantage GTE variant on a WEC sanctioned track against new equivalents from their series rivals as up until now all testing had been in private with the transformation process between variants being relatively straight forward. We understand that Darren Turner, Jonny Adam and Marco Sorenson have been nominated for this.
Richie Stanaway has also been selected by the series to test the Audi E-Tron Quattro LMP1 car as part of the series driver development process initiative.
Saturday's six hour WEC race is due to start at 15:00Hrs local.
Photo credits - Aston Martin Racing