Family photos have been taken on track and the first laps of private testing have been completed for the thirty-seven multi-class car entry of this year’s Asian Le Mans Series that starts this weekend at the Dubai Autodrome.

Amongst that entry list will feature three Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT3’s from the UK based TF Sport team for regular clients racing under both that and the names of both D’Station Racing and Oman Racing. 

After the technical issues in Qualifying yesterday, D'Station Racing AMR's start to todays second round of the Asian Le Mans Series from The Bend Motorsport Park in Australia was always going to be something of a struggle for the crew of the V8 Vantage GT3.

With the defective components having been changed overnight it would be Tomonobu Fujii who would take the start to todays four hour race as the Japanese team and their AMR factory engineers worked out their best strategy to restore a running position much higher up the GT grid than their P7 start suggested.


Indeed that was precisely the case in the opening laps as the #77 car avoided the early shenanigans of twenty five, multi class car diving into the start of a complicated mid field circuit for the first time which claimed both an LMP3 and the JLOC Lamborghini (amongst others) on the opening lap.

That aside, and whilst 'local' driver Liam Talbot stormed off into an early lead in his #27 HubAuto Corse Ferrari 488, Fujii had already moved up to P5 in class on the opening lap and up to P3 in class on the next lap before swiftly moving up to the rear of the second placed T2 Motorsport Ferrari.

Luck soon came the way of the #77 car as the #75 T2 Motorsport car spun off track to become temporarily beached on the kerb - that moved the #77 Aston Martin up to a comfortable looking P2 in class before the actions of others all but destroyed the race for the team and drivers Fujii, Satoshi Hoshino and Ross Gunn.


Coming through the twisty section of the backfield going through turns 18,19 and 20, the GT leaders were being caught by the faster LMP2 cars for the first time around this 7.7km circuit despite twenty five minutes of racing already under their belts.

Seeing the leader come up behind, Fujii let that car past but unbeknown to him the #45 Thunderhead Carlin Motorsport car of Jack Manchester was also coming into the mini hairpin corner at turn 23 too fast and straight into the blind spot for the #77.

Turning into the corner when he had to, Fujii first knowledge of the Carlin car being there was the collision that the front right hand side of his AMR had with the rear left hand corner of the prototype. and whilst Manchester elected to continue, the damage to the front of the #77 car needed immediate attention for which the Aston would disappear into the garage for the next thirty minutes.


That delay of course destroyed any such chance of a decent race result yet alone another podium finish. By the time the car was in a fit state to return to the track, the first hour of racing was already complete and it was team boss Satoshi Hoshino who would pick up the reigns from where Fujii had left off.

As the Full Course Yellows and Safety cars came and went for debris, stranded vehicles and fire aboard one unfortunate LMP2, there was little that neither Hoshino nor Gunn could do to recover their situation enough to make it count although by the end, their race deficit was just six laps.


The most galling thing about the whole #77/45 collision was that the Carlin car was awarded just a drive through penalty for their actions and whilst the D'Station Racing AMR car eventually finished 17th on track and P6 in class the #45 car would profit from the late demise of the long time leading #1 Eurasia car to take the final step of the overall podium.

The Series will now reconvene in Sepang, Malaysia in just over a month time where hopefully the change in circuit profile will once again come within the 'sweet spot' of the Vantage GT3 before the concluding round of the season in Thailand just a week later - that will be the race that Gunn will be forced to miss due to the rescheduled World Endurance Championship race at CoTA in the USA.


With a Ferrari lock out of the podium in Australia following the previous round in China where non were on it, this of course leaves for an opening Championship title fight as the Series moves back to Asia.

Photo credits - D'Station Racing / ALMS

This weekends second round of the 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series will be something of an uphill struggle for last time winners D'Station Racing AMR as a mechanical problem during Qualifying sees them starting from near the rear of the grid tomorrow.

This weekend also marks the first ever visit by international race series to Australia's latest race track facility at the Bend near Adelaide, an event that will also see the first competitive race conducted around its mighty full 7.7km, thirty five corner circuit.


Having never had LMP2, LMP3 and modern GT3 cars race around the full circuit, set up and tyre data is something of a premium for all twenty five ALMS cars who have made their way over to New South Wales for this very inaugural event.

Surprisingly, weather has also been very much been an issue at the circuit since track action started yesterday with ambient temperatures ranging from between 40 degrees plus during circuit/car set up earlier in the week to just 20 degrees and torrential rainfall during open testing on Friday. With this mornings Qualifying session being competed back on a dry and hot circuit, the whole four race of Sunday is expected to be run in similar, if not hotter again conditions.

Despite yesterdays rainfall, the #77 AMR remained the 'greenest' on and around the parched circuit backdrop.


For the #77 D'Station Racing AMR crew of Satoshi Hoshino, Tomonobu Fujii and Ross Gunn, the Bend has been a progressive sequence of getting both themselves and the car dialled into what is a extremely complex and technical circuit in both of driving requirements and the racing longevity of the car with fuel and tyres already an issue should either be compremised out on track almost inevitably killing off any chances of a podium finish - just because of the distances involved back to pit lane.

The Ferrari 488 GT3 entries have again been the pick of the GT bunch in the available four track sessions since Friday - similar to what they were in round one in Shanghai before they all quickly faulted in the early stages of the race never to trouble the front runners again. Unfortunately on the flip side of that, the #77 AMR Vantage GT3 has never been able to elevate themselves too far up the timing screen in the same sessions - we don't know if that is intentional or if the twists and turns of the midfield circuit really don't suit the dynamics of the AMR Vantage GT3?


Either way, and with Gunn again taking on the Qualifying duties for the team, his fastest lap time of 2:59.285 was his fastest time of the weekend - the teams first sub three minute lap but troublingly nearly three seconds slower in P7 in class than the pole setting #27 HubAuto Corsa Ferrari and Davide Rigeon. A later message from Gunn confirmed a failure on an undefined front end component as as issue and may give reason to the sound of front end tyre squeal off the TV audio during Gunns Qualifying run.

But the race isn't going to be about the likes of Gunn, Rigeon and Ledogar - rather who's three driver line up can average the fastest and be at the front of the queue come the chequered flag after four hours of sweltering car craft!

Sundays start of the 4 hours of The Bend begins at 13:00hrs local (that GMT +10.5hrs) - that's a very early start for most of us who are Europe based but at least the event is again streamed live via the series Website and Youtube channel.


Hopefully Gunn will be able to knock the boys up a little something in the kitchen so that they can get the job done on Sunday (OK, it may just a ready meal but it is the thought that counts!!)


In other news with the team - this weekend had also seen the remanning members of the team back in Japan receive their series accolades for finishing second in the 2019 Pirelli Super Taikyu Series STX Class for drivers Satoshi Hoshino, Tomonobu Fujii and Tsubasa Kondo aboard their AMR Vantage GT3 that they race in this weekend.

Photo credits - D'Station Racing / ALMS

Fresh on the heels of TF Sports announcement earlier this week concerning a second Aston Martin Vantage GT3 entry in the British GT, TF Sport have today confirmed that Paul Bailey and Andy Schulz have also rejoined with the team for 2015 but this time for an assault on the GT Cup Championship.

Having been paired up together for the first time last year in the British GT Championship, both drivers and team where able to develop their respective skills in this highly competitive arena and end the season with their heads held high and with some great results in their very distinctively liveried Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

Paul Bailey, a multi millionaire and proud owner of countless sportscars, and his long term driving partner Andy Schulz have already experienced the GT Cup series by attending the Brands Hatch event in early 2014 with his Ferrari 458 GTC finishing 6th in a 35 car multi car class grid.

He and his Horsepower Racing operation also retain the ownership of the Vantage GT3 that Derek Johnston and Matt Bell shall race in the British GT with TF Sport in 2015.

For their new racing venture Bailey and Schulz shall be driving a McLaren 12C as seen at the Autosport Show recently.



Photo Credit - Richard Leach / Horsepower Racing

Andrew Howard's Beechdean Aston Martin and Allan Simonsen's Rosso Verde Ferrari shared the pole honours this afternoon (Sat) at Brands Hatch in qualifying for the concluding rounds of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship.

Howard's 1m 31.393s lap of the Brands Grand Prix circuit was more than a tenth of a second fastest than anyone else could manage in the first qualifying session, and brought Howard his first-ever British GT pole. It was a double celebration for the Barwell Motorsport team, for their Invitation Class Ginetta G50Z, in the hands of Leo Machitski, went second fastest.

"The Aston was made for this circuit," said a delighted Howard. "It's an Aston track and the car is just awesome around here..."

British GT
AMR Tems