Great result for Beechdean in ELMS opener

This weekend was a great triumph for British motorsport. Not only did the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and British GT’s starting race of the season happen on the same weekend, but both also took place in England. The English weather was kind and rewarded teams, drivers and spectators alike with near perfect weather conditions on Saturday for the ELMS race at Silverstone and Sunday for British GT at Brands Hatch.

 The Beechdean AMR car, driven by Andrew Howard, Alex Macdowall and Aston Martin Racing factory driver Darren Turner started seventh on the grid. MacDowall took the start, and continued into the second stint. The third stint was driven by Turner and then Howard completed the race. "Alex (MacDowall) did a great job with his starting position,” said Turner. “He managed to avoid all of the carnage on the opening lap and handed over the car in the lead. After jumping in, I had a reasonably trouble free stint with just a sprinkling of rain towards the end. Overall a very pleasing result and a great way for Beechdean to start the championship.”




 Howard, MacDowall and Turner, have driven together individually in the past but this weekend was the first time all three worked together as one team. The trio operated seamlessly together and have clearly gelled well, resulting in a successful start to the ELMS series. The Beechdean AMR #99 car gradually rose through the ranks, to find itself in a comfortable second position repeating its championship debut result from last October.



 In a late twist, there was a reshuffle in the GTE race classification, which saw the Beechdean AMR team promoted from second, to its first victory in the 2016 season. Howard commented on the race saying, “To get on the podium was a great start for our first ELMS race in 2016. It is great to get some points on the board at our home circuit.”




Source material - Beechdean
Photo credits - Adrenal Media / Richard Leach