News in brief for this week so far

After the extremes of success in motor racing last weekend in both the World Endurance Championship and at the Asian Le Mans Series, for Aston Martin Racing and some of its Partner/Customer teams this week came the start of their respective pre-season testing regimes around the world.

Today become known that the young French Beechdean AMR GT3 recruit, Valentin Hasse-Clot has been in Asia watching and testing with two AMR teams as he prepares himself for the start of the British GT Championship in which he will partner Alex Toth-Jones in a new Silver Cup challenge aboard Andrew Howards red, white and blue AMR Vantage GT3.


Posting photos on-line of them dining with the manager of Chinese AMR team BSEM, we assume that he tested with that teams AMR Vantage GT4 cars at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia (BSEM were due to test at Sepang after that round of ALMS) before moving onto Japan where he tested a D'Station Racing AMR Vantage GT3 around the iconic Fuji International Speedway.

A chance of a lifetime for sure but with a reality check in place as he is due at the MSV Circuit at Snetterton, Norfolk next Tuesday for the British GT's Media Day where air temperature today was little over +2 degrees C!!.


Today we also have seen the International GT Open Series cancel their first winter test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain next weekend citing that as a reasonable and pro-active control measure against this Corona-virus issue that is now hitting parts of Southern Europe quite hard. The fact that their second Winter Test starts at the Paul Ricard Circuit at the end of March anyway (and is so far unaffected by this virus so far) as being reasonable grounds for making that decision.

In terms of GT3 entries, we don't believe that there will any AMR Vantage GT3 entries affected by this decision but for the Spanish Group Virage team, they will be affected as their AMR Vantage GT4 entry into the supporting GT Cup Open series was only confirmed last week.


That team and car have been at Paul Ricard this week testing with drivers Fernando Navarrette and Alvaro Lobera plus some other drivers for series/line up's as yet unconfirmed.

In a similar vain, Belgium team Street Art Racing have also been testing at the circuit today with a group of drivers well known from last years extensive AMR assault in series such as the GT4 European Series. Speaking with one on them on-line today, we understand that nothing has yet been finalised with the drivers and team so we won't be mentioning who was there.


Someone who was also there - and not due to be running in GT4 or even with an Aston Martin for that matter was Optimum Motorsport technical guru and team Manager Bas Leinders. He posted some video of him clocking in some laps aboard one of Street Art Racing's Vantage GT4's!!

Just for fun? - Who knows!!!

Photo credits - Team's social media accounts