Weather hinders Rookie Test but all impressed despite the conditions

Another Rookie Test in the bag after the hugely successful return to the Bahrain International Circuit for the Aston Martin Racing team in Saturday's fourth round of the 2019/20 World Endurance Championship.

Despite what was previously published by both the team and the WEC, six drivers (according to the official timing providers on-line system at least) eventually took in laps around the 5.4km circuit, two of those being the crew of the third placed GTE Pro car in Saturdays eight hour marathon - Maxime Martin and Alex Lynn.

True to the earlier weather forecast, Bahrain was awash with heavy rainfall on Sunday morning and that otherwise limited the effective running time on track for all the teams that stayed behind for Sundays test giving Lynn and AMR Junior driver Andrew Watson just five and seven laps respectively apiece in the morning session.

As the rain subsided and the track began to dry, the team was finally able to get in some more laps for the factory and junior drivers before allowing their auditioning drivers some decent mileage aboard the race winning #95 Dane Train V8 Vantage GTE.


Having last driven the older iteration of V8 Vantage GTE Dane Train at the AMR Festival meeting at Le Mans in 2018 with Bennie Simonsen, Lasse Sorensen (brother of Marco) posted the fastest time of the three audition drivers just ahead of Gabriel Aubrey who had earlier raced in the Bahrain 8Hrs in his Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 car.

Last but certainly no means least was TF Sports British GT GT4 and 2019 AMR Drivers Academy winning Tom Canning who posted a lap time only 1 second slower than Sorensen despite never having driven a GTE before in anger and only having driven a new generation Vantage GT3 a few weeks before at Snetterton as he tries to mirror the success of the previous Academy winner - Ross Gunn.

With both Watson and Canning already 'on the books' at AMR, their time will eventually come just like it has with Gunn but as for the others, it's harder to say so to borrow the phrase of another "lets just wait and see"!!


Whilst the test was ongoing, we understand that TF Sport have managed to resolve the technical issues that prematurely ended their 8Hrs of Bahrain prior to all four AMR's and their ancillary equipment being containerised again ready for the long haul via sea to Florida and the 1000miles of Sebring in February.

Can't wait!!

Photo credits - AMR / Social media