AGS Events Racing celebrate a near perfect Aston Martin debut in GT4 European Series

Sunday, July 26, 2020

A near perfect second race display from the French AGS Events Racing team in the GT4 European Series saw them come away from Imola with three out of a possible four podium finishes for their two Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 programme in both the Silver Cup and Am Classes.

Following on from yesterday's P2 overall finish for the #27 car of Theo Nouet and Valentin Hasse-Clot and a P2 Am Class finish for the #89 car of Nicolas Gomer and Giles Vannelet, Sundays second race of the weekend presented the possibilities of more silverware with the #27 car starting from the front row of the grid with the #89 car not too far behind in P7.

Race 2 started more eventfully for some as two lots of two cars each had 'issues' in the first sequence of corners on each of the opening two laps but thankfully nothing more was damaged than perhaps their personal pride and their tyres!!

The continuing speed of the leading #111 BMW was such as that Hasse-Clot had little response and had to make do with just trying to control the gaps with the cars either side of him whilst Vannelet meanwhile enjoyed some great inter-class battles during the opening quarter of the race.

Just as the pit lane opened the circuit went to yellow as a Porsche Cayman was seen hitting the concrete wall after something appeared to fail at the rear of the car. The #21 was one of the first cars to pit just as the circuit went to a Full Course Yellow with the leader still out on track - only time would tell who would make any advantage from that situation.

Losing ten or so minutes to the caution it would soon transpire that those who pitted first would be the losers as the leader only consolidated their lead and the #27 dropped down to P8 on track. Gomer, now in the #89 would retain the Am class lead maintained earlier by Vannelet.

With time counting down Nouet pressed on to challenge the same Porsche that had earlier spun on lap 2 but got 'bogged down' behind it and the Camero ahead letting yesterday's advisory, the #15 Mercedes AMG to catch and put pressure on him instead. In a real elbows out move, the #15 pushed past the #27 for position at the beginning of the lap - forcing Nouet wide and onto the infield in avoidance but then went on to spear into the rear quarter of the Porsche ahead of them on the next lap!! Insult to injury was confirmed when the Spanish driver aboard the #15 car then muscled the Camero out of his way as he went on to claim P5 ahead of the Hasse-Clot/Nouet car in P6.

Whilst we wait for any appeal and post race penalties for the #15 car's behaviour in the closing minutes, the teams error in deciding upon a quick stop at the start of the caution period proved to be a mistake in retrospect as that surely cost them another crack at another podium finish. That was however no such issue for the #89 car as they secured their first class win of the season as they finished behind their sister car on track in P7.