Aston Martin Racing's final battle for GTE honours
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
With eight rounds complete, the team remain in a heated battle for overall GT Manufacturer honours. With only ten points separating the squad and their nearest rivals, it will be all to play for when the green flag waves at 16:00 on Saturday.
In GTE Pro, the Danish duo of Marco Sørensen and Nicki Thiim continue to hold their lead in the team championship with the #95 V8 Vantage GTE. After extending their lead to 12 points last time out in Shanghai, the pair will look to convert their strong form throughout the year into silverware.
Thiim said ahead of the week, “The nerves are running high but since Shanghai we have just been preparing for this weekend and to make sure we’re relaxed and ready for this race. We want to finish the season on a high and make the most of all of the effort we’ve put in this year.
Everyone wants to fight for the title, so it’s going to be a big showdown with everyone pushing to the limit. I’m really happy that we have the advantage in GTE Pro but we still want to fight hard for the GT Manufacturers title and make sure we have something to celebrate this weekend”.
The team’s GTE Pro effort will also be supported by the team’s #97 entry of Darren Turner (GB) and returning driver Jonny Adam (GB). Following championship winning success in British GT and his WEC performances in Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans earlier in the season, Aston Martin Racing has rewarded Adam with the opportunity to race in the final round of the 2016 season.
In GTE Am, the trio of Paul Dalla Lana (C), Mathias Lauda (A) and Pedro Lamy (P) will look to repeat their dominant form after claiming both pole position and race victories in Austin, Fuji and Shanghai. Championship victory is mathematically possible, but a continuance of that form will be essential to give the trio that opportunity.
Ahead of the weekend, Paul Howarth commented, “This season has flown by and I can’t believe that we are only days away from its conclusion. From day one, we’ve ensured that everyone in this team is focused on performing to the best of their ability and to execute our race strategies as perfectly as possible. Our team partners Dunlop and TOTAL have also worked closely with us to deliver our objectives and have played a major part in this.
To be in the position we are in the championship standings is testimony to everyone’s hard work and this team is wholly focused on making sure we have some exceptional results to celebrate come Saturday night”.
The 6 Hours of Bahrain begins at 16:00 on Saturday 19 November.
Source material - AMR
Photo credits - AMR
