Two more class podiums for the AGS Events Racing team closes the season with the GT4 European Series from Spain

Sunday, October 10, 2021

After twelve hours of highly competitive multi-class GT4 racing, the SRO GT4 European Series concluded its 2021 season this morning from the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya.

Seven Aston Martin Racing crews made their way down to Spain for this weekend’s finale and although most of their respective Class Championships had already been decided, it was still very much a question of pride and indeed possible plans for next season as these seven cars joined a grid of over forty cars.

Having endured something of some disjointed Free Practice and Qualifying sessions on track, it was the #27 AGS Events Aston Martin of Cesar Gazeau (with Konstantin Lachenauer) and the #55 Mirage Racing Aston of Ruben Del Sarte (with Tom Canning) took the fight to the front of the grid in race 1 by Qualifying in P4 and P8 respectively and with the Am class also well represented with the #18 Racing One AMR of Markus Lungstrass (with Henrick Lyngbye Pedersen) and the #89 AGS Racing AMR of Nicolas Gomar (with Eric Herr), who Qualified P2 and P3 in their class.

After a somewhat irregular start, it was Lungstrass who made the biggest progress forward whilst Del Sarte suffered the biggest loss backwards into the first corner whilst Gazeau held his nerve and his position in fourth. First races aboard an Aston Martin for Milane Petelet and Hugo Roche aboard their two AGS Events Racing Aston Martin this weekend as each Silver ranked driver sampled just what AMR and AGS Events Racing could offer them in any package for next season.

Disaster was to soon hit the AGS Events team however as the #27 car of Gazeau was nerfed off the circuit and into the gravel with little over twelve minutes gone. Extracted from the gravel by a circuit snatch vehicle – his race was already run, and an upset Frenchman was seen leaving his car once in the pit lane.

In the Am class, the #89 AGS car of Herr was now embroiled in a decent fight for class position with the #7 Street Art Racing AMR GT4 of Paul Theysgens but for Theysgens his likely class podium position would be taken away in the dying minutes as he picked up a puncture from an incident at turn 1 that brought out another Safety Car.

Despite another high finish in P6 overall / P4 in class from the #55 Mirage Racing crew of Del Sarte and Canning, the Silver ranked podium again illuded them but the #89 AGS Am car of Herr and Gomar, they did hang on for the sole AMR podium in the race P21 overall/P3 in class.

Sunday’s final one hour race proved itself to be something of a similar affair with the #55 Mirage Racing AMR of Canning this time beating the #27 AGS Aston of Lachenauer to front the AMR attack in P6 overall with Theysgens holding the same position in the Am class down in P25.

Starting positions may have been higher except for laps being struck from the timing sheet during Qualifying for the #45/#79/#27 AGS Events Racing cars.

For the final time of asking this season, the forty odd cars were released and thundered down the pit straight and in the right hander at turn 1. Thankfully another clean opening lap was had by most and the race soon drifted into its own little pockets of interclass battles with no boom or bust incentive for most of the drivers. Theysgens was looking racy again in his #7 SAR Aston was Lachenauer looked possibly guilty of ‘overdriving’ his #27 AGS Aston car as he battled to maintain his own position on track.

Like De Sarte before him in Race 1, there appeared little that Canning could do in the #55 cars opening stint as he tried to chase down the leaders but by handing his car back over to De Sarte in fourth – his job was done for the year and despite many quick-fire gains and place drops in his stint – Lachenauer would still hand his #27 over to Gazeau from P5 in Silver Cup but unfortunately for most, that was about as good as it got!

Despite a late incident that brought out a FCY and a Safety Car behind which the race and season would ultimately end, the #55 car would end the race just off the podium again in P5 with the #27 close behind in P6. By some twist of fate, the #89 AGS car of Gomar and Herr would again visit the Am class one final time in 2021 with a P2 finish in race 2 to go with their third place yesterday.

Other than that – that was how the 2021 season finished for the many Aston Martin Racing entries in the GT4 European Series. Unfortunately, they didn’t win any classes outright, but many did go on to win class podiums throughout the season.