Rags to riches for the Volante Rosso AMR at Phillip Island at the weekend
Monday, April 07, 2025
Sporting a brand-new livery and a new driver pairing of Liam Talbot and Declan Fraser, the team sadly hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons after Qualifying when the car failed its post session technical inspection through not being able to produce enough of a fuel sample for the stewards.
That lost the car pole position for Talbot’s Q2 session and would place the 16A variant of the Vantage GT3 at the rear of the grid for both races within the fifteen strong grid for the opening two, hour long races.
What happened next however was nothing short of remarkable as Talbot took the opening stint for race one as he quickly established a top ten running position within the opening laps. A Safety car for a stranded Audi in the gravel only helped to close the gaps for when the race went back to green just a few minutes left to the opening of the put window with the #1 car in P8.
Stops over and the #1 car resumed its P8 running position with Fraser now aboard before a second Safety car intervention was required (unsure why) which again, closed everyone back up. A late puncture for one car and a post-race time penalty for another was enough to lift the Volante Rosso AMR up to P5 overall at the end.
Sunday’s second race was much of the same as the Aston Martin again started from the back of the pack with Fraser this time behind the wheel where this time, he gained significant early places within the opening laps.
Getting into the top ten overall at the midway point to his stint, Fraser was also hanging upon the heels of those in front looking for that further passing opportunities before pitting from P11.
Starting their final stint of the day, Talbot was immediately on that charge as he passed into P10 and up to P6 overall with still fifteen minutes remaining. A puncture and spin for the Porsche and a DTP for the race leading Audi all helped again to lift the #1 into a podium contending position with just seven minutes remaining as rain threatened overhead.
With drops of rain now steadily falling, Talbot was the fastest car on track with just two laps remaining but the distance to first was just too great with diminishing grip for him to push safely for the win. Last to second on the podium would be their ending to the opening race weekend!
Next stop Sydney Motorsport Park at the beginning of May.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
