TF Sport's Charlie Eastwood becomes the latest person wearing an Aston Martin Racing team coverall to be recognised by the British Racing Drivers Club Superstar driver development programme.

Admittedly, having gained this recognition for his championship winning efforts in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB last year, the young Irishman is just the third AMR driver in recent times to receive such an accolade behind Ross Wylie in 2014 and Ross Gunn in 2016.

As we come out of the winter doldrums here in Blighty,  the next few weeks should start to brighten our days and give us all a good taster of what's coming up from an international, european and national racing perspective.

For the Aston Martin Racing stable that journey literally starts with what is considered to be their now annual pilgrimage to southern Europe for their works and customer teams (with other invited guests) to this years choice of the Monteblanco circuit, southern Spain for the weekend of the 7/8th March.

It is expected that many of their full season WEC entry drivers will be at the event gaining valuable track time, particularly the 'as yet unannounced' drivers for both the Gulf Racing and Rees/MacDowall cars whose identities should be announced any time between now and the end of the month. Alongside the works team it also the custom to invite their customer teams such as Beechdean, TF Sport, Strata21 and Motorbase, etc along so that they can test with their own GT3 and GT4 cars under the full technical guidance of the factory. We are expecting most of the British GT/Blancpain series entered teams will attend.

This event sadly normally takes place only behind closed doors with only small pieces of information being allowed to flow out on social media - so we may have to wait a bit longer to find anything out!


Next up, and just a few days later will be the official test days for the Blancpain Endurance Series over the 11/12th March at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France.

It may be the case that a few teams taking part in this test will also have been in Spain for the private AMR test. Whilst only Leonard Motorsport have confirmed their full BES season entry it is understood that they will be joined by at least three other cars from the AMR stable including driver placements for those taking part under the new driver Evolution Academy.

Further information regarding the test, together with information regarding free admission can be found here


Following that,  next up will be Media Day (and official test) for the British GT series at Brand Hatch on Wednesday 25th March. In the absence of any confirmed information it is expected that all named series AMR entries shall be at the Kent circuit with is also allowing free public admission to the event.

Again, it is still expected that there shall be at least another two to three (possibly more) Aston Martin entries announced prior to this date. Particular reference is made towards Motorbase, who have to date not announced any 2015 participation.



Finally, at the end of the month it will be the turn of the 'big boys' to officially test with the European Le Mans Series testing at Paul Ricard on the 23/24th March followed by the FIAWEC 'Prologue' (Official Test) at the same circuit on the 28th March.


Whilst further information on the WEC event and free trackside admission can be found here the  ELMS test is unfortunately a closed event.

If all of this isn't enough then you'll obviously need to include all the other private testing that many of these teams shall be doing over the coming weeks all in readiness for the 2015 racing season that effectively starts in April.

Don't forget to breathe as the season is only about to begin ……………….!!

The 2014 British GT (GT4) runner up Andrew Jarman and BRDC Rising Star Jody Fannin have today confirmed his much anticipated British GT GT3 campaign for 2015 in a TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3

The campaign package has come together thanks to a title sponsorship package from Eurostar.

Commenting on the announcememt Andrew said: “I am thrilled to welcome Eurostar onboard as my title sponsor for this season and I’m extremely proud to be representing such an iconic brand as part of my graduation to the GT3 category.  I would like to thank Eurostar for giving me this opportunity and welcome them to sportscar racing.



 
"After narrowly missing out on the GT4 title last year, I am looking forward to the challenge ahead and delighted to be staying with the Aston Martin Racing family and Official Partner Team TF Sport for a second season. The British GT Championship is one of the best in the world and the driver line up this year looks even stronger; you always want to manage expectations but at this level you have to go into a season with one goal, to win and that’s the aim for this year."


Photo Credits - Andrew Jarman / Richard Leach/Jody Fannin

With fewer than three weeks to go until the start of the Hankook 24Hr of Dubai on the 8th January 2015 some more driver allocations have now been confirmed.

In the A6 class, KPM Racing entry Paul White will now be joined by Aston Martin Racing works drivers Stefan Mucke and Jonny Adam. All three will be familiar with the car's split personality in either its Strata21 or Bilstein guise.


With the car having been shipped out at the end of November in a plain white format its race livery is not yet known - similar to its sister Volkswagen Golf A2 entry perhaps?


Further down the entry list it can be noted that 2014 British GT4 Champion Jake Giddings has an entry in the Welch Motorsport Porsche 991 Cup entry alongside Dan Welch.

European GT4 Championship runners ALFAB Racing enter their race winning Vantage GT4 with an all Swedish line up whilst Speedworks Motorsport (racing under the Global Racing banner) also have a Vantage GT4 entered with ex. Fun Cup driver John Gilbert, VdeV driver Flick Haigh and ex. BTCC runner cum commentator Paul O'Neil.

Full entry list can be found HERE and last years highlights just to wet your appetite.

Moving onto their second and final round of the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series the new Beechdean Motorsport driver line up of Jonny Adam and Andy Soucek claimed their best qualification position yet by starting tomorrows Qualification Race in P5.

This follows on from the pairing finishing in that position in both their races at Zolder a couple of weeks ago.

Being a street circuit a good qualifying position will be crucial for both one hour races tomorrow which start of at about 5am UK time tomorrow (Sunday2nd November).

Hopefully the organisers will remove the UK geo-block on the live stream feed again for the race - if not BT Sport 2 are showing both races starting at 5am and then again at 9am

http://us3.campaign-archive2.com/?u=9d2e12469adbad7c06238c0ef&id=5ab6b798f6&e=[UNIQID]

Aston

Last weekend saw Aston Martin Racing enter the Beechdean AMR V12 Vantage GT3 into other side of the Blancpain GT Series to what they are normal accustom by entering the Blancpain GT Sprint Series at its penultimate event at the historic Zolder circuit in Belgium.

Accompanying regular driver Jonny Adam was no other than former F2 champion Andy Soucek who came to the team with previous winning Blancpain Endurance Series experience in one of the ART McLaren MP4-12C's. To date though Soucek had never driven an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 so was surely a bit of a 'wild card'?

Going into Free Practice 1 and 2 you would have never had thought that that was the case with the #107 car featuring in P2 and P3 at the end of each respective session only behind the series front running Bhaitech McLaren's and Belgium Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8's. Even going into Q1, and with Soucek having completed his stint, the #107 sat in provisional pole position but with Adam not finding good pace and rhythm (and with the top of the field progressing to beat Soucek's Q1 time) the Beechdean car finished qualifying down in P14 and would not progress into Q3.


Come the rolling start to commence the one hour sprint that would be the Qualifying race a wise Jonny Adam held back a little from his P14 start position to take into consideration the chaos that would be the opening lap and to that end would move up four places by the end of the lap. Later into his stint Adam would have a good scrap with the BWW Z4's of ROAL Motorsport and Team Brazil. Just before the half hour mark and with a Safety Car out on track Adam followed the top ten cars in for their mandatory pitstop just before the half hour mark.

Coming straight out of the blocks Soucek quickly found pace  and with twenty minutes remaining had moved up to P7 before coming up behind, and losing time, to the remaining Bhaitech McLaren. After several laps behind the #60 it took an audacious move starting at the exist of turn 1 to get past the McLaren. This manoeuvre was later repeated on the #0 ROAL Z4 but a braking point misjudgement at the first chicane caused the Vantage to be launched across the kerbing compromising its exit speed leading to a side by side entry into the second chicane forcing Soucek to travel through the gravel to avoid a collision.

Despite this track limit altercation the #107 was confirmed in P5 come the chequered flag - a great result.


Despite chasing a somewhat 'wounded' Mercedes Adam wouldn't be able to capitalise on any aero impairment the HTP car may have been suffering and would end the race sandwiched between the Mercedes and the Bhaitech McLaren. P5 again.

Considering that this was the first time the drivers had worked together , the first time Soucek had driven an Aston Martin and the first time the team had entered the Sprint Series a brace of fifth positions is nothing to be sniffed at. It was a great achievement by all.

Qualifying and Main race video

The teams now ship out to Azerbaijan and the city of Baku for the final round of the Blancpain Sprint Series in two weeks time. With this being Beechdean's first experience of a street circuit - it should be interesting!

Photo credits - Blancpain GT Series

Aston Martin Racing added to its history books today, as all three of its Vantage GT race cars crossed the finish line of the 2014 24 Hours at Daytona after a 28-year absence for the manufacturer team.  It turned out to be a challenging and incident-packed return to the world-famous race, the first round of the inaugural TUDOR United Sportscar Championship (TUSC).

The works-team’s first race of 2014 kicked off with a 20-minute long qualifying session on Thursday afternoon. However, it was not the great start it was hoping for. The #97 faced traffic in the session, meaning seasoned works driver Darren Turner struggled to place the NorthWest-liveried machine further forward than sixth place on the highly-competitive GTLM grid.

Team-mate Stefan Mücke (DE) started the grueling 24-hour long race and, within the opening lap, took the V8-powered GT charger – closely based on Aston Martin’s Vantage road car – from sixth place to second. The positive start saw the German battling for the class lead by lap three but by lap six it was clear that the balance of performance for the new championship was slightly miscalculated and Mücke started to slip back from the class pace-setters.

“The car felt good and we had the set-up right,” explains Mücke. “We just didn’t have the pace of the other cars because of the balance of performance. I managed to get a really good start and climb up to second place but I couldn’t maintain it. We know we are as fast as the other cars because we race and beat them in the World Endurance Championship, we were just too restricted here.”

“It was a tough job for the organisers to get the balance of performance right,” added Team Principal John Gaw. “It was the first event in the new championship, but they will get it right. Unfortunately, it was just too difficult for us to be competitive this weekend.”

And, the team’s luck was not to improve. After 152 laps of the 3.56-mile long Daytona International Speedway, Turner was forced to return the car to the pits with a concern with the power-steering that was too big to ignore.

“The power steering was a small issue that caused us to lose some time,” continues Gaw. “But the team did a good job to repair quickly so we could continue to race.”

Together, Turner, Mücke and team-mates Pedro Lamy (PT) and Richie Stanaway (NZ) pushed as hard as they could, putting in lap-after-lap of impressive driving and consistent lap times. By the end of the 24 hour race, Aston Martin’s #97 Vantage GTE was eighth in class.

In the GTD class, Aston Martin Racing partner team TRG-AMR raced a pair of V12 Vantage GT3s and finished 22nd and 26th.

Aston Martin Racing

Aston Martin Racing finished third in the highly competitive GTE Pro class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its #97 Vantage GTE, a result dedicated by the team to its driver Allan Simonsen (DN), who was involved in a tragic accident in the #95 car shortly after the start of the race.

David Richards, Chairman of Aston Martin comments: “Following the wishes of Allan’s family, the team continued its participation in the race which was obviously very emotional and difficult for everyone. Both the #97 and #99 cars led for long periods of time but, ultimately, it was the changing weather conditions in the last hours that cost us the victory we all longed for. I’d like to thank everyone who has shown us such support over the weekend and sent the messages of condolence to Allan’s family.”

The #97 Vantage GTE, liveried with the design chosen in Gulf’s online competition, started from second on the grid – sharing the front row with the mechanically identical #99 car which qualified on pole. Darren Turner (GB) was quick off the start line taking the lead from Rob Bell (GB) and the pair continued together through the night, leading the race while trying to keep the #92 Porsche at bay.

As the sun rose over the Circuit de la Sarthe, the #99 car was leading the way with the #97 in third. However a wet track caused driver Frédéric Makowiecki (FR) to spin and collide with the barrier. The #97, now in second place, continued the team’s charge.

In the lead up to the final two hours, the #97 took the lead from the #92 Porsche but heavy rain showers and unfortunate safety car timings hampered its campaign and, thus, the team crossed the finish line in third place.

Meanwhile the third Pro car, #98, having run strongly through the night succumbed to a technical issue and retired from the race. In the GTE Am class, the team’s #96 car finished eighth in a competitive class after 24-hours of consistent racing.

The #97 driver Darren Turner said: “It’s been an emotional weekend. No one could have ever thought it would start as it did. Our thoughts are with Allan, his family and all the mates he made around the world during his racing career.”

Team Principal of Aston Martin Racing John Gaw comments: “Le Mans 2013 will be remembered by the team for the tragic circumstances that surrounded the team’s participation, but everyone performed their tasks with the dignity that the circumstances demanded. Ultimately, the outcome did not achieve our objectives but we look forward to taking the lessons learned to the remaining rounds of the WEC this year.”

The ambitious five-car campaign marked the centenary year of Aston Martin and, to celebrate the anniversary, a parade of almost 100 Aston Martins took part in the Centenary Parade, a lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe. Aston Martin CEO, Dr Bez, led the lap in the company’s latest concept car, the CC100.

Dr Bez commented: “The tragedy in the opening hours of the race overshadowed the great performance of the Aston Martin Racing team.  I am proud of everybody for demonstrating great speed, professionalism and competitiveness right up to the end of 24th hour. This achievement is a truly fitting tribute to Allan Simonsen.”

Beechdean AMR is celebrating a second place finish at the British GT Championship at Silverstone, a result that stands the team in good stead ahead of this weekend (1/2 June) when it returns to the Northamptonshire circuit for the second round of the highly competitive Blancpain Endurance Series (BES).

In an extremely tight qualifying session, which saw the top ten separated by just 0.8 seconds, Beechdean AMR’s pro-driver and Aston Martin Racing’s latest works signing Jonny Adam (GB) placed the V12 Vantage GT3 ninth on the grid.

The race began under glorious sunshine and the Pro-Am pair employed an ambitious strategy, which saw team-owner Andrew Howard start the three-hour race. The all-British duo each completed two stints in the car and worked hard to hunt down and pick off the field of Ferraris, BMWs and Porsches using the safety car disruptions to their advantage.

“I’m really thrilled with the team,” comments Howard. “We went into the race with a fairly aggressive strategy that had a ‘win or bust’ philosophy. We were really pleased to have avoided the various incidents and come out with a fantastic second place result in the British GT Championship.”

Alongside its British GT Championship campaign, Beechdean AMR is contesting the Blancpain Endurance Series with Adam, Howard and Aston Martin Racing reserve driver Daniel Mckenzie (GB). At the first round at Monza, the team finished fourth in class and eleventh overall in its championship debut and, following this weekend’s solid performance at Silverstone, it is hoping for another strong result.

“Having raced in British GT at Silverstone last weekend we are very optimistic about the Blancpain Endurance Series this weekend,” continued Howard. “We feel that we are carrying good pace and local knowledge into our home race and, if things go our way on the day, we are confident we can turn this into a good result.”

Jonny Adam adds: “The strategy worked well at the weekend and to finish second is great - it’s good to have some solid points in the bag. The Vantage GT3 is always good on its tyres at Silverstone and it's great to go into the Blancpain Endurance Series round knowing that we are quick. However, there are a lot more cars on the grid this weekend and it’s a very competitive field, so we’ll have to see what we can do on the day.”

The second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Silverstone starts on Saturday 1 June with qualifying at 0900hrs GMT. The race starts at 1450hrs GMT on Sunday 2 June. Follow the team’s progress at www.beechdeanmotorsport.co.uk or on Twitter using @beechdeanah (Andrew Howard) and @jonnyadam (Jonny Adam).

Aston Martin’s weekend of centenary celebrations at the ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 Hours (N24) concluded this evening (Monday 20 May) with a thrilling top-ten result for its Bilstein-liveried V12 Vantage GT3 and a historic finish for its unique Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S in one of the most grueling 24-hour races in recent years.

In a weekend that started with the British luxury sports car maker entering the history books with a zero CO2 emissions hydrogen-powered qualifying lap, the brand also hosted a 100-plus car parade lap of the famous 25 km Nordschleife, led by CEO Dr Ulrich Bez in the stunning CC100 Speedster Concept and motorsport legend Sir Stirling Moss at the wheel of the 1959 1000 km of Nürburgring race-winning DBR1.
For the race, Aston Martin Racing works driver Pedro Lamy (PT) qualified the Bilstein V12 Vantage GT3 in second position overall. The five-time N24 winner set a blistering time of 8:18.362, stopping the clock just 1.1 seconds behind the pole position winner.

After taking the race lead in the second hour Lamy‘s team-mates Darren Turner (GB), Stefan Mücke (D) and Allan Simonsen (DN) each led at points as the rain and fog worsened until, finally, the event was red flagged at 22:30 hrs.

The green flag finally waved again at 08:00 hrs today (Monday 20 May) with Aston Martin Racing still leading the race. In persistently wet conditions, the drivers struggled for grip and the V12 Vantage GT3 gradually lost its advantage over its rivals. A brush with the barriers in the difficult early laps affected the car’s handling for the remainder of the race, curtailing any chance to push hard in the improving conditions. Thereafter, the team wisely settled for a safe finish and was delighted to bring the car home in tenth place overall.



John Gaw, Team Principal at Aston Martin Racing comments: “The team did a fantastic job this weekend and we couldn’t have done it without our partners from Bilstein.

“Our car performed perfectly on the Michelin slicks and, in the dry, we recorded some of the very fastest lap times of the race. In the wet we struggled with grip, but this is something we will work on together ahead of next year’s race.”

Darren Turner adds: “Wow, another amazing Nürburgring 24 Hours! As ever, it’s been a whole host of ups and down. It was a great job by Pedro in qualifying and to lead the race up until the red flag was very exciting and showed exactly what the Vantage GT3 can achieve.

“Coming back next year we need to work on our wet weather pace but, overall, I’m very proud of the team. As always, it’s been a pleasure to drive with Pedro, Stefan and Allan and the boys did a great job in our pit stops.”

Alongside the Vantage GT3 charger Aston Martin’s mould-breaking Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S – designed and built with the support of hydrogen specialists Alset Global and based on the manufacturer’s new four-door, four-seat sports GT – achieved its ambitious goal of completing the world-famous 24-hour race.
“This is a historic day for two reasons,” explains Jose Ignacio Calindo, CEO of Alset Global. “Besides being the first hydrogen-powered race car to compete and undertake zero CO2 emissions laps in an international event, it has showcased the most practical technology available to fundamentally address the challenge of global emissions without disrupting the automotive industry.”

The #005 V12 Vantage, which encountered a minor electrical issue in the first few hours of the race, charged on through the second section putting in consistently quick laps in the close-to-production specification car. However, its charge was not enough to make up the lost time and the team finished fifth in class.
Also in the SP8 class the #006 V8 Vantage, driven by Aston Martin customers, celebrated a great third in class and a podium finish following a clean run of faultless racing throughout the weekend. The four drivers were awarded with their third place trophies at a ceremony this evening.

David King, Head of Motorsport at Aston Martin, comments: “The Nürburgring is a place Aston Martin holds close and it seemed fitting to mark our centenary year with a host of powerful and emotive celebrations.

“First and foremost, however, it was about the race and it was our ambition to bring all of our cars home safely for the eighth successive year. To achieve a top ten finish with the Vantage GT3 is a fantastic achievement, especially given the extremely tough conditions.

“We are also proud to have given our 300-plus VIP guests and our many thousands of fans something really special to celebrate.

“As always the team has done a perfect job, our partners have been incredible and we hope to come back next year even stronger to continue our campaign to win the Nürburgring 24 Hours.”

Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez, who drove several stints in the Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S over the course of the race, said: “This year’s race here at Nürburgring has been a celebration of all the things that Aston Martin stands for: power, people and dedication!

“Record-breaking hydrogen success incorporating the very latest V12 engine technology, a race-leading performance for the GT3, strong laps from the V12 Vantage and the global unveiling of the stunning CC100 Speedster Concept – created in the spirit of our most famous race car ever, the classic DBR1 – have ensured Aston Martin is once again taking a leading role here.

“Our centenary celebrations continue, of course, and now we look forward to more success on track at Le Mans.”

Aston Martin will next race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, which Aston Martin Racing is currently leading with its #97 Vantage GTE.

Beechdean AMR’s professional driver, Jonny Adam (GB), has signed for the Aston Martin Racing works team, in a deal that will first see him on track in the Vantage GTE at the official Le Mans test session on 9 June.

Adam, 28, was announced as the reserve driver for the Banbury-based team earlier this year, and team bosses have since been impressed by his solid performances in the Blancpain Endurance Series and the British GT Championship, which he competes in alongside team-mate and team-owner Andrew Howard (GB).

“I am thrilled that Jonny has been given a full factory drive with Aston Martin Racing”, said Howard when he heard the news. “This is my third season working with Jonny and it has been great to watch him move up the GT rankings so quickly. He is fast, reliable and a great coach, a real asset to Aston Martin Racing.”

Beechdean AMR is one of only ten Aston Martin Racing partner teams in the world. As such, Adam has had a close relationship with the team, including team principal, John Gaw, who invited him to a works team GTE test session at Snetterton on Thursday (9 May).

“Jonny has impressed over the past few years of racing with Beechdean AMR and as a result recently tested with the factory team in the GTE car,” commented Gaw. “His approach, attitude and consistency is as we expect from a factory driver and this latest agreement further cements the relationship between Aston Martin Racing, Jonny and Beechdean. We look forward to seeing him debut in the works Vantage GTE at the Le Mans test day in June.”

Adam adds: “I’m delighted with this opportunity to join Aston Martin Racing as a works driver. A dream really has come true for me. To be involved with a team in the chase for an FIA world championship is something very special - even more so that it is in Aston Martin’s centenary year.

“I look forward to continuing my racing programmes in both British GT and Blancpain Endurance Series with Andrew Howard and Beechdean AMR and hope that 2013 is a successful year for Aston Martin.”

Adam will race with Beechdean alongside any Aston Martin Racing commitments. His next race outing will be alongside Howard in the Beechdean-sponsored V12 Vantage GT3 at the third round of the British GT Championship at Silverstone on 25th May.

Aston Martin Racing customer team Complete Racing won the British GT Championship GT4 class at Rockingham yesterday (6 May) despite some challenges and tough competition from its rivals.

The team arrived at Rockingham with hopes pinned on a successful weekend following a disappointing first round at Oulton Park. Despite putting its Vantage GT4 on pole, the weekend ended with a DNF in both races because of a collision in race one.

With the car rebuilt but not tested, drivers Steve Chaplain and Tom Wilson and their team headed to Rockingham and used the two warm up sessions to get the car set up for the race. Tom completed qualifying and started the car from fifth on the grid.

“We knew we had it all to do in the race,” comments Steve Chaplain. “But the Aston Martin GT4 is such a great car that we were confident we could achieve a good finish.

“Tom started very well and did well to avoid all of the incidents out on track. After an hour, he handed the car over to me in second place. He’d been closing the gap on the leader at more than a second a lap so I had to just continue in the same way. When the leader pitted he came out behind us and we took the win.”

Complete Racing bought the car in 2012 and completed two rounds of the championship at Silverstone
and Snetterton. This year they are making a full-scale attack on winning the championship and Steve is confident they have the car to do it with.

“The Vantage GT4 is the car I always wanted to race,” he continues. “For me, it’s a proper GT car, the only GT car to have for an endurance race in the market place today. It sets the benchmark for where GT4 cars should be.”

The British GT Championship continues at Silverstone on 25 May. Follow Complete Racing’s progress on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/completeracing or at www.completeracing.co.uk.
Aston Martin Racing
Image Richard Leach

Aston Martin Racing’s 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) programme got off to a near perfect start at the Six Hours of Silverstone today (14 April) with a double victory in the GT class.

The #97 V8-powered Vantage GTE, driven by Darren Turner (GB), Stefan Mücke (D) and Bruno Senna (BR), finished in first place in the GT Pro category, while the #95 car of Danish trio Christoffer Nygaard, Kristian Poulsen and Allan Simonsen triumphed in the GT Am class.

At Aston Martin Racing’s home round of the WEC in Northamptonshire, UK, Pedro Lamy (PT), Paul Dalla Lana (CN) and Frédéric Makowiecki (FR) also put in an impressive performance with third position in the #99 car in GT Pro, crossing the line a single lap behind the #97 machine and within 13 seconds of the second-placed car after six hours.

The fourth Gulf-liveried Aston Martin, the #96 car of Jamie Campbell-Walter (GB), Roald Goethe (D) and Stuart Hall (GB), finished fourth in GT Am having been in contention for a podium for the entire race.

After a successful qualifying on Saturday, which saw the team secure first and second position in both GT categories, Aston Martin Racing further proved its class-leading pace by setting the fastest lap of all the GT runners; the #99 car recorded a best lap of 2:01.426 after five hours, although competitor cars were very close behind in a super-competitive category.

While celebrating a near perfect start to Aston Martin Racing’s world championship bid with a faultless lights-to-flag victory, Darren Turner said: “That was an amazing result! We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season. Stefan, Bruno and myself all pushed hard throughout what was, at times, a difficult race. However, the car was prepared perfectly with a lot of hard work and the result is a great reward for everything. Praise to our chief engineer, Dan Sayers, who has done a great job with the 2013 car and given us a package that should see us have a solid season.”

Making his WEC debut, Bruno Senna added: “I’m really happy to start my GT career with a win. It’s been great joining Aston Martin Racing and to get a pole position and win and go home from our first WEC race of the year with so many points for the championship is unbelievable. It was a tough race; we had to push hard while avoiding accidents, but my team did a great job. We must now keep pushing hard; the competition here is very, very strong.”

Allan Simonsen, speaking for the #95 GT Am-winning car, comments: “I’m very happy on behalf of the whole team. It was a big push to get us here and to start the season with points is fantastic. To do it on Aston Martin Racing’s home turf is even better; we couldn’t be happier.”

John Gaw, Team Principal at Aston Martin Racing, concluded: “Today’s outcome was better than we anticipated. We got much more than we expected out of the first race of the season; we came here aiming to score points with all four cars. This certainly bodes well for the championship.

“To do this at our home race in Aston Martin’s centenary year is extra special. I’d like to particularly thank the technicians and engineers and all others who have worked tirelessly since Shanghai to expand to this four-car effort. We look forward, as a team, to challenging for more race wins.”

The race-winning 2013-specification #97 Vantage GTE – which shares its bonded aluminium structure and basic engine and suspension architecture with Aston Martin’s sportiest road-going model, the V8 Vantage – completed 171 laps of the 3.7-mile Silverstone circuit, equating to a total race distance of more than 630 miles at an average speed of 108mph.

The FIA World Endurance Championship resumes in Belgium next month at the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with the race due to start at 1430hrs (CET) on Saturday, 4 May.

Aston Martin Racing

Aston Martin Racing’s new #97 Vantage GTE has qualified in third place on its competitive debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring, Florida, setting a time within 0.2 seconds of the pole-winning lap. Its sister car, the #007 2012-specification Vantage GTE, also enjoyed a strong session and qualified fourth in the GT class.

In the fiercely competitive 15-minute qualifying session, Aston Martin Racing factory driver Stefan Mücke (D) took to the 3.74-mile track in the V8-powered #97 Vantage GTE and delivered his fastest lap of the week, stopping the clock at 1:58.990.

Pedro Lamy (PT) set a time of 1:59.208 in the #007 Vantage GTE, which will see the car start from fourth on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

John Gaw, team principal at Aston Martin Racing, comments: “The test programmes at Portimão and Road Atlanta went really well and enabled us to start this race weekend problem-free. The car and team have both run smoothly all week and this was carried through into the qualifying session.

“It’s great to have both cars up towards the front of the grid. Pedro did an outstanding job to qualify nearly a second quicker than the same specification car managed here last year. The only hiccup has been the illness in the team, but it looks like everything will be sorted for the race tomorrow.”

Stefan Mücke comments: “We're here at Sebring to prepare the new car for the FIA World Endurance Championship. This week has been a very promising start to the campaign but there's more to get out of the car, for sure."

Pedro Lamy adds: “I got a nice clear run at the best moment of the tyres. I was getting faster each lap but then the session ended. The car feels good and the team did a great job. The car is not quite as quick as the #97, but our set-up work this week has made it incredibly good to drive around the Sebring International Raceway.

“I’m feeling good ahead of the race. It’s a long race but if we can get good rhythm and can stay out of trouble we should get a really good result.”

Aston Martin Racing is running a pair of Vantage GTEs in the American Le Mans Series season opener in the GT class. The 2013-specification #97 car will be driven by long-standing factory drivers Darren Turner (GB) and Stefan Mücke (D) alongside new signing Bruno Senna (BR), while the #007 machine – built to 2012 specifications – will be driven by Aston Martin Racing newcomers Billy Johnson (US), Pedro Lamy (PT), and Paul Dalla Lana (CA).

Aston Martin Racing

Aston Martin Racing will have five Vantage GTEs at Le Mans following the first withdrawal from this year's race.

The Withdrawal of ESM from the GT ranks has promoted the 98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE on to grid, giving Aston Martin Racing five entries in the historic event.

The car will now run in the GTE Pro class instead of the GTE Am class (as previously listed) thanks to reclassification from the ACO.

“We are delighted to have received the news of a fifth entry into the 90th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans” Said team principal, John Gaw. “To have been named as first reserve was good news in itself and we kept our fingers crossed that it would be upgraded to a full entry. To have it confirmed so quickly is great news as it allows us extra preparation time.

“The four Vantage GTEs competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (the #97 and #99 Pro cars and the #95 and #96 Am cars) will now be joined in the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the #98 car. And, in a change from the original entry, the #98 will now compete in the Pro class instead of the Am class.

“In this significant year for both Le Mans and Aston Martin, we would particularly like to thank the ACO for reclassifying the car from the Am to the Pro class. The 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE line-up is extremely competitive and the extra Pro class entry has further supported our ambitions in the category.

“This year is important for Aston Martin as it celebrates its centenary year, and having five cars on the grid for the biggest event on the motorsport calendar is a fitting way to celebrate.”

Lotus Formula 1 development driver Richie Stanaway and Grand-Am regular Dane Cameron will both test the V8 Vantage GTE at Road Atlanta next week, where they will test alongside Pedro Lamy, Billy Johnson and Paul Dalla Lana as they prepare for the Sebring 12 Hours later this month.

The line up for the 98 car is expected to be comprised from the drivers testing at Road Atlanta and Aston Martin Racing’s Development drivers,  Daniel McKenzie and Jonny Adam who raced for AMR at Silverstone last year.

Image: Richard Leach