Aston Martin Racing ready for Spa
Wednesday, May 04, 2016
Aston Martin Racing will contest the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this weekend (Saturday 7 May) with the continued objective of maximising points in the early stages of this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Taking on one of the world’s most challenging race circuits, hidden deep in the Ardennes Forest, Aston Martin Racing will enter its three WEC challengers – two GTE Pro and one GTE Am – as the team looks to make its final preparations ahead of the season’s centrepiece event; the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
With the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps bringing great success for the team in recent times, including victory in both GTE Pro and Am in 2015, the team’s drivers are relishing the opportunity to take on the historic circuit yet again in the WEC.
#95 GTE Pro driver Darren Turner (GB) said ahead of this weekend, “Silverstone was a great start to the season for us in the #95 car. We learnt a lot over the weekend, especially about our Dunlop tyres. I’m sure we’ll be in a position to fight for the podium this time out at Spa. It’s a track I enjoy and it’s all great preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans”.
Jonny Adam (GB) will return to the cockpit of the #97 GTE Pro and will race alongside Richie Stanaway (NZ) and Fernando Rees (BR). This weekend will be Adam’s first opportunity to compete in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps after joining the team last year to support its practice sessions.
“This weekend will be invaluable ahead of Le Mans. We’re still continuing to learn with our new partners Dunlop and Total but I think we’ll be in a good place at the end of Saturday,” Adam commented. “It will also be my first opportunity to complete a race alongside Fernando and Richie and I’m sure we’ll put in a strong showing as a trio. The guys have been training hard as have I and I’m excited to join them”.
The #98 GTE Am trio of Paul Dalla Lana (C), Mathias Lauda (A) and Pedro Lamy will also hope to build on their second place finish at Silverstone, as they continue to work towards their objective of GTE Am world titles.
Paul Howarth Team Principal Aston Martin Racing said, “Spa is a demanding circuit both on the car and driver and will be the perfect test for us at this stage of the season. We continue to learn and progress each day with our new technical partners Dunlop and Total, but we aim to be in a great position to achieve success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the end of this weekend”.
The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps begins at 14:30 CET on Saturday 7 May.
Driver line-ups: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
GTE Pro
#95: Nicki Thiim Darren Turner Marco Sørensen
#97: Jonny Adam Richie Stanaway Fernando Rees
GTE Am
#98: Paul Dalla Lana Pedro Lamy Mathias Lauda
Source material - AMR