It was back to podium winning ways for the China Equity AMR team as both of their entries at last weekend's third round of the China GT Championship collected silverware in both the Am and Pro-Am classes.

Having experienced technical issues last time out, drivers of the teams lead #618 car, Jack Mitchell and Ryan Liu were looking to make amends and recover the GT4 Championship lead that they had lost in Zhejiang. Joining them on the grid for the teams 'local' round were Am-Am entry of Zhang Fangxuan and David Pun in the golden #619 car.


With Liu qualifying P3 in class and behind the championship leading McLaren, he soon found himself down another place as the AAI BMW climbed two positions in one corner to split the McLaren and AMR. By the time of the compulsory pit stop the race leading KTM X-Bow suffered technical gremlins that saw their decisive lead cut and then overtaken by Mitchell as he put the 'pedal to the metal' to switly take the lead before ultimately securing another race win by nearly twenty seconds.


For the #619 crew, and despite a spin midway through the race saw the new driver combo secure a P3 in class podium for themselves.


Overnight rain left the grid with a quandary on Sunday with standing water left of track but no rain actually falling come the start of the second race. Pole sitting Ryan Liu opted to continue with slick Michelin tyres as those around him opted for wets, decisions that proved immediately beneficial for the others!


Slippery track conditions would claim the #619 China Equity car after a clash with the #28 Lotus at turn 8 that would require the services of the Safety Car in a race that would see three DNF's.

Liu lived to regret their earlier tyre decision as his tip-toeing around lost them significant track time compared to those of wets. Indeed such was the deficit that by the time Mitchell had completed the final stint at the midway point, the best even he could achieve was P3 but a lap down to the winners.


The results of the weekend have allowed the #618 crew to reduce the Championship deficit to the #570 McLaren to just two points at the half way stage of the Championship.

A quick turn around in the series this month will see Mitchell and the Prodrive supplied technicians make the long haul flight out to the Ningbo International Circuit (a new circuit for the Championship this year) to the north east of Hong Kong at the end of the month.

Photo credits - China Equity AMR

This weekend, like many other weekends of this year, is another busy racing weekend around the world for many from within the #TeamAMR family and we take a brief look at what's on offer.

Starting in France, this weekend is the biennial Le Mans Classic weekend from the Circuit de La Sarthe - the home of the legendary 24 hour endurance event. With many a historic Aston Martin  race car competing within the plethora of events over the course of the weekend our attention is instantly drawn to the latter day race cars entered into the two half-hour Global Endurance Legends demonstration runs that will take place over the weekend.


These include two examples of the DBR9 GT1 race car of when the factory went back to its 'race what you sell mentality' after a mixed foray into prototype car racing as well of examples of the subsequent GT2 and GT3 Vantages who will all take to the circuit with 75 other cars of these racing  generations.


Over in Germany, we have another round of the VLN Series at the Nordschleife with Avia Racing looking to recreate their podium success of VLN3 just two weeks ago with their SP10 class Vantage GT4.

Having now recovered fro, their exploits in the Aston Martin Racing Festival at Le Mans three weeks ago, we see the return of the AMR Performance centre's Aston Martin GT8 with Heinz Jurgen Kroner again leading the marques customer ambitions around the Green Hell on Saturday.


On the opposite side of the world, the China GT Championship reconvenes for its third round of the season from the Audi Goldensport Motor Park in Beijing. Britains Jack Mitchell and his local co-driver Ryan Liu endured two difficult races last time out with power steering issues (namely the lack of it) in their China Equity AMR Vantage GT4 but despite that the duo still hold second place in the overall GT4 Championship table just five points behind the class leading McLaren.


With information not always flowing out of China in a timely manner it is not yet known just how many China Equity AMR cars have been entered into this event considering the tracks proximity to its parent company base location.

Photo credits - Sam Moores / China GT / Avia Racing

It was something of a wild return to the track for the teams of the China GT Championship as they hit the Beijing Goldenport circuit for their three day pre-season test earlier this week.

Unfortunately for those who attended, track time was somewhat limited as torrential rain hit China's capital for the second and third days of the test as well as smog affecting the opening day as well.


For the Prodrive supported China Equity AMR team, it looks like their two new V8 Vantage GT4's did indeed arrive from the factory just in time for the test as four cars lined up in the garages at the test - two in plain white and presumably the two new chassis' plus two featuring last years colours schemes.

With the teams two British drivers (Jack Mitchell and Ross Gunn) absent from the test, driving duties were left to others with the series listing Chen Wen and Sen Cheng being the fastest GT4 for the team in the opening session on day 1 just ahead of fellow China Equity driver Huang Yiqing.


Having lost virtually all of day 2, the team's Stanley Yang clocked the fastest GT4 time on the final day as the Championship now looks forward to the opening races of the new season from Zhuhai in two weeks time.


Photo credits - China GT /Social Media

Two of Prodrive's latest creations are now due to be flown over to China in time for China GT's Official test at Beijing's Goldenport Circuit in just two weeks time.

Inspected and signed off at the factory by China Equity AMR's Stanley Yang this week, these two cars will go onto race in the China GT Series for what will only be the the second year in that series for GT4's which saw four AMR cars compete for both China Equity AMR and ZEA FEA Racing.


We have already seen that the team has shaken down two of their existing Vantage GT4 platforms in Sepang, Malaysia in readiness for the new season and hopefully we will get to see an official entry list at the test gets nearer although we do already know that both Ross Gunn ad Jack Mitchell will each be racing a full season with the team.


This LINK will show you what the growing Chinese GT scene is all about as the team look to better last years P3 overall position for Yang and also look to fulfil a desire to attend the Aston Martin Racing Festival at Le Mans in June!

Photo credits - China GT / Social media

Whilst at the British GT Media Day yesterday we learned that former MacMillan Racing driver Jack Mitchell will indeed be racing in China during 2018.

Have deputised for Aston Martin Racing's Ross Gunn at the final round of the 2017 China GT Championship with the China Equity AMR team, Mitchell obviously made enough of an impression with the team to be asked to return to them alongside Ross Gunn for a full season of racing in 2018.

The second meeting, featuring the third and fourth rounds of the China GT Series take place from the Zhuhai International Circuit in south-eastern China this weekend.

Again featuring an increasing number of GT3, GTC and (new for 2017) GT4 machinery it is hoped that this round will feature more cars than those that entered the opening rounds at the Goldenport Motor park in Beijing.


As with every GT series, this event will also feature the first wave of Balance of Power adjustments which will result in the Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 runners getting a 30kg weight break whilst the previous race domineering McLaren 570S and KTM X Bow get an additional 70 and 125kg weight penalty plus a negative ride height adjustment from their SRO Homolgation standard.


Team ZIA FEA Racing will again be back with their #999 and #721 Vantages whilst it is hoped that fellow AMR squad, China Equity Racing return with more than just one car although the #77 did finish P3 in race 1 in Beijing.


Photo credits - China GT

The opening round of the 2017 China GT Championship at Beijing's Goldenport Motor Park saw Aston Martin Racings Chinese Partner and Prodrive supported team, China Equity Racing come away with a brace of third positions from the two races.

Tian Xu and Yang Meng Qiao in their #77 V8 Vantage GT4 finished third behind the first and second placed McLaren 570S and KTM X-Bow in both races despite setting the class pole time for race two.