Valmon Racing Team Russia have withdrawn from the fourth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship at Slovakia Ring, the team run Aston Martin DBRS9s in the World Championship in partnership with French team LMP Motorsport.

The backers of Valmon Racing Team Russia have discovered that LMP Motorsport has outstanding invoices unpaid with various partners relating to previous rounds. Due to this unforeseen situation, Valmon Racing Team Russia has taken the tough decision to withdraw from the Slovakia Ring event.

Valmon Racing Team Russia will return to the FIA GT1 World Championship at Portimao with the new Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage GT3.

Valmon Racing Team Russia will represent Aston Martin in the 2012 FIA GT World Championship which gets underway at Nagaro this weekend.

Run by 2011 FIA GT3 team, LMP Motorsport who will campaign the cars in partnership with Aston Martin Racing the team will start the season with two Aston Martin DBRS9s before switching to the new V12 Vantage GT3 later in the year. Austrian Andreas Züber will be joined by Sergey Afanasyev in the lead car with Alexey Vasilyev and his yet to be confirmed team mate in the second car.

Valmon Racing Team Russia supported by Villois Racing will also compete in the FIA GT3 round at Nagaro with 2011 Le Mans LMP2 class winner Tom Kimber-Smith and Natalia Freidina.

2012 FIA GT1 World Championship

6th - 9th April: Nogaro, France
20th - 22nd April: Zolder, Belgium
26th - 27th May: Navarra, Spain
8th - 10th June: Slovakia Ring, Slovakia
6th - 8th July: Algarve, Portugal
24th - 25th August: Beijing Goldenport, China
30th August - 2nd September: Ordos, China
14th - 16th September: Korean International Circuit, Korea (*)
29th - 30th September: Moscow, Russia (*)
30th November - 2nd December: Delhi, India

2012 FIA GT3 European Championship

6th - 9th April: Nogaro, France
20th - 22nd April: Zolder, Belgium
26th - 27th May: Navarra, Spain
6th - 8th July: Algarve, Portugal
29th - 30th September: Moscow, Russia (*)
5th – 7th October: Zandvoort, Netherlands
(*) TBC by April 15th

Valmon Racing Team Russia will represent Aston Martin in the 2012 FIA GT1 World Championship, the team will be supported by 2011 FIA GT3 European team LMP Motorsport who will run the cars in partnership with Aston Martin Racing.

Valmon Team Russia has rising Russian star Mikhail Aleshin, who has progressed through the open-wheeler ranks with impressive results. In 2010, he was the Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion, his partner will be announced shortly.

The second car is likely to bring together the talented Spaniard Andy Soucek, a former FIA Formula Two champion and the experienced Austrian Andreas Zuber, who drove for Corvette in the 2010 and 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship.

The team will start the season with the DBRS9 before switching to the new for 2012 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.

GT1 World Champions HEXIS AMR relive their epic 2011 season which saw them take the Teams Championship in the final race.

Young Driver AMR closes it’s second season in the GT1 World Championship with a runner-up spot in the driver’s world championship. Stefan Mücke (GER) and Darren Turner (GBR) are newly crowned vice-world champions with their Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9, while Alex Müller (GER) and Tomas Enge (CUZE) finish their first common season in the Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 in fourth place. A turbulent final race at San Luis in Argentina prevented Young Driver AMR from winning the team championship title.

“At the end, a little bit of luck was missing to win the team championship”, Young Driver AMR team principal Hardy Fischer said after an exciting weekend in Argentina. The final race at the scenic San Luis track was an emotional rollercoaster ride for the German based team. At the start, Alex Müller had a big moment, when his Aston Martin DBR9 got hit by a Nissan and Müller spun at high-speed two times on the front straight. Müller managed to survive the spin without touching the walls and could also take the lead during a very chaotic first lap. But soon after Tomas Enge took over the Gulf-coloured Aston Martin from Muller, he had to serve a drive-through penalty, as the stewards decided that Müller overtook under yellow flag-conditions, when taking the lead on the first lap. After serving the penalty, which cost Young Driver AMR´s vital chances for the team championship, Enge dropped to 10th position.

Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner could only follow both races from the outside line, after their Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 couldn’t be repaired with the limited resources on site after a crash in Friday’s practise. Fortunately, Mücke/Turner maintained their runner-up position in the championship over the two races and finished the season as vice-world champions, despite not racing in the final event of the season.

“At the end, we lacked our second car this weekend to be victorious in the team championship”, Young Driver AMR-team principal Hardy Fischer said after the race. “When you can only score points with one car in the title deciding two races, were our competitors have two cars, it’s really difficult, especially when you run bit out of luck like what happened to us. But I’m not too worried that we lost the team title, because this championship was really tight and we only lost the title by a bit. That is really no shame and we proved to be one of the best GT-teams in the world. And also today everybody saw that we had the speed to win here.”

Driver quotes after the final race in Argentina:

Alex Müller (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “Right at the start, I had a really big moment, when I got hit by a Nissan and turned two three-sixties on the front-straight. But even as the impact from the Nissan was hard, the car was o.k. I then overtook some other cars and grabbed the lead, but we were penalised for overtaking under yellow flags. But there were no yellow flags, no safety-car board, nothing. Later in the video replay I saw only one yellow flag, but then there were three marshal posts without any flags. So this situation wasn’t very clear from a driver’s perspective and I was not the only driver who saw it this way. Considering the speed of our car, we could have won the race today, as our Aston Martin was really quick. After the restart, I could pull away from the second placed Corvette and was very easy in the lead.”

Tomáš Enge (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “What a race! I expected something would happen in the first lap, but I didn’t expected it at the start line. I had big expectation in this race, albeit we had the weight ballast. We still had a good chance to fight for the team championship. But after Alex got hit at the start, all what followed after that was just a consequence of the start. We tried our best this weekend and haven’t done a foot wrong and wanted to end the season a high for the team. I’m pleased to work with Young Driver AMR and hope to continue with them in the future, as it’s a great team and we share some really great memories. Thanks also to my teammate Alex Müller. We raced for the first team together this season and get really well together, he has been a great teammate this season.”

Stefan Mücke (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): „I would have liked to help the team this weekend to win the team championship and of course also try to win the driver’s championship. But we had bad luck in the pre-qualifying and things like these unfortunately happen in motorsport. Nevertheless it has been a great and successful season for us. At the end it’s a bit of an odd feeling to be second in the world championship and watch the final race from the outside line. But I would like to thank the team, which has done a fantastic job the entire season.”

Darren Turner (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): „I’m very pleased to finish this season in the runner-up spot, because even before our accident at Friday, we saw that it would be very difficult for us to defend this position. It has been a difficult year with many ups and downs and to finish second, is a great result. I feel disappointed for the team, as they did a tremendous job this year and to win the team championship, would have been the icing on the cake. This was a very interesting weekend at the end of an interesting season. It feels very strange to finish second in the championship and not taking part in the last two races. The Young Driver AMR team has been great again this year and I hope to see everybody back next year.”

This evening a French team is FIA GT1 world champion! A young squad full of talent and enthusiastic squad which has given its all right till the very end. In 2009, it was the European GT3 Champion. Last year it was runner-up in the FIA GT1 World Championship and this season HEXIS AMR has won a world title for which four teams were still in the running before the final 60-minutes’ racing got under way.

The overall situation didn’t look too good on Saturday evening after the qualifying event. Neither of the two HEXIS AMR DB9 Aston Martins had scored a point. No. 3 finished eighth and no. 4 was only fourteenth. They started Sunday’s race from these unfavourable places on the grid. Clivio Piccione and Stef Dusseldorp fought their way up to third, and in the second car Christian Hohenadel and Andrea Piccini snatched a crucial fifth place. The Italo-German duo finished third in the drivers’ world championship ratings.
It would take a whole book to tell the story of the ups and downs of the Argentinean round! All the more so as the title battle was decided not only in Potrero de los Funes, but also in the twenty hotly-disputed races in nine countries on three continents. To really see what happened and relive the thrills and spills of the round that decided it all on Sunday, go to the GT1 TV site where the race is available on streaming – www.gt1world.com/gt1tv . Today, a phrase sums up everything: despite all the traps on a layout like no other in the world and despite the burning determination of their rivals, the drivers and staff of the HEXIS AMR team have pulled off an impossible feat – they are the WORLD CHAMPIONS!

Here are the first comments from team manager, Philippe Dumas: “It’s totally unbelievable, totally fantastic. The whole paddock seems pleased that we’re the FIA GT1 World Champions. That means we must deserve it! We’ve followed in the footsteps of a great team, Vitaphone, which enjoyed a long reign. The suspense lasted right down to the wire. I’m still thinking of all the stress you have to cope with, as in my position you not only have to look after the sporting and technical side, but also a whole host of other details – the budget, the strategy for the future of the team, the daily round, etc. The only thing that keeps us going is the hope of results like this one. But I have to admit that yesterday I was feeling pretty downcast because I didn’t see how things could turn out well - but you have to keep on believing that they will. What we’re experiencing this evening is simply magic!”


The heroes will take off for France today, Monday, at midday local time (16h00 in France). We will come back to their incredible saga in a newsletter in the near future.

FIA GT1 World Championship– final standings

Teams :
1 Hexis AMR (Aston Martin) 235, WORLD CHAMPION
2 JR Motorsports (Nissan) 232
3 Young Driver AMR (Aston Martin) 231
4 All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport (Lamborghini) 190
5. Sumo Power GT (Nissan) 154

Young Driver AMR is still in fierce competition for the team’s world championship-title after one of two round at this weekends final round of the FIA GT1 World Championship at San Luis in Argentina. Alex Müller (GER) and Tomas Enge (CZE) finished fifth in Saturday’s Qualifying Race in their Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 at the scenic south American track, which circulates around a volcanic lake. On the downside, Stefan Mücke (GER) and Darren Turner (GBR) are out of the drivers world championship title contention, as Young Driver AMR had to withdraw the No. 8 Aston Martin DBR9 after an incident in Friday’s Pre-Qualifying session.

Alex Müller and Tomas Enge qualified for ninth position of the grid and where promoted to eight spot, when a Nissan starting in front of the Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9 got penalised for an engine change. Tomas Enge had a clean start into the 60-minute race and subsequently moved up to sixth position. The Czech kept this position and handed over the Aston Martin to Müller still in sixth place. During his stint, Müller overtook the Hexis-Aston Martin of Clivio Piccione in a spectacular move and finally finished fifth, bringing himself and teammate Enge in a good position for Sunday´s all-deciding final Championship Race of the 2011 season. With the fifth-place-finish, Müller/Enge move up from fifth to third position in the driver’s world championship.

Even if Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner can’t chase for the world championship-title anymore, the two drivers of the No. 8 Aston Martin can still maintain the runner-up spot in the World Championship, as they have a solid 18-point gap to the third placed driver’s. Young Driver AMR had to withdraw the No. 8 car from Mücke/Turner early Saturday morning from the event. After a spin, followed by a contact to the wall from Mücke in Pre-Qualifying, even the highly skilled Young Driver-Crew couldn’t repair the car on site with only limited resources.

“Our race today was quite good”, Young Driver AMR-team principal Hardy Fischer said. “Tomas had a good and clean start, but at the pit-stop, the engine wouldn’t restart immediately, which cost couple of seconds. Alex then also drove a great stint and brought the car home in a strong fifth place. I hope that we can maintain our gap in the team championship through Sunday’s race. After we had bad luck on Friday, we are left with one weapon. I would like to congratulate Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm for winning the driver’s championship today.”

Before the final race of the World Championship, Young Driver AMR now leads the team’s GT1 World Championship by three points.

Driver quotes after the Qualifying Race:

Alex Müller (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “We made the maximum out of our race with the fifth place finish today. We may not forget that we are carrying 30kg success ballast around this track, which is worth 0,6 seconds each lap. Considering this, our lap times were really good and the car was o.k. in the race. We are still in the lead of the team-championship and our goal for tomorrow is to finish in front of the Basseng/Winkelhock-Lamborghini to secure our third position in the championship, and finish in front of the Krumm/Luhr-Nissan, to seal the team-world championship for Young Driver AMR.

Tomáš Enge (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “Our race was not too bad, we did best as we could considering our position on the grid and the weight, we have at this event. I did my bit at the start with avoiding any contact during the first lap and then Alex had a really good stint and could bring the car home in fifth position after he overtook the Hexis-car. We have now to see what will happen tomorrow. We are still leading the team championship and we saw some of our competitors run into problems in the race today, so anything can happen tomorrow. Tomorrow will be another day and we will keep fighting until the end for the teams world championship.”

It’s all or nothing at this weekends final round of the GT1 World Championship in San Luis in Argentina for Young Driver AMR. The German team has a hand on the team- and also the driver’s world championship crown. With it’s two Aston Martin DBR9, Young Driver AMR is leading the teams world championship after a glorious double victory in the penultimate round in China. Stefan Mücke (GER) and Darren Turner (GBR) are second in the driver’s championship and the closest pursuers of the championship leading Nissan-team. Also Alex Müller (GER) and Tomas Enge (CZE), who are currently 5th in the drivers championship, have a theoretical chance to claim the drivers world championship.

It’s been nine weeks now since Young Driver experienced their most successful weekend in team history with a double victory in the Qualifying and as well in the Championship Race in China. But success in the GT1 World Championship comes always along with success ballast. After claiming their first common victory in China, the Mücke/Turner-Aston Martin DBR9 is loaded with a 55kg weight penalty. But also the championship leading Nissan, which is nine points ahead of the Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin in the driver’s Championship, has to carry 30kg around the scenic circuit in Argentina, which is located around a volcanic lake. Alex Müller and Tomas Enge will start for the third time this season in a Aston Martin DBR9, which sports the iconic powder blue and orange colours of Gulf. The new livery brought Müller/Enge luck in China, at Beijing they won the for the second time this season a Qualifying Race. But also this success comes with 30kg success ballast at a track, which has showed last year, that it’s perfectly suited for the Aston Martin DBR9.

“Our main goal in Argentina is to have two trouble free races and get a good result”, Young Driver AMR team principal Hardy Fischer says. “We have a good amount of success ballast in both cars, therefore I will not yet think about winning any world championship title. Last year we claimed the Pole Position at San Luis and saw that the track is a perfect fit for us. But with this high amount of success ballast, this year everything is a bit different and very hard to judge. I wouldn’t be keen to make any predictions before the free practise at San Luis has finished. In the last weeks, we prepared ourselves in the best possible way and are now ready for the final battle of the season.”

Driver quotes before the race in Argentina:

Alex Müller (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9):
“We travel without any expectations and without any pressure to Argentina. From the last year, we know that we are very competitive in San Luis, but we also have 30kg ballast on board. In any way, we will try to get the most out of the two races and I’m quite optimistic that we can archive a good result. I expect the Nissan to be very strong in Argentina and I would be very happy if we can maintain the lead of Young Driver AMR in the team championship in the two races. My personal target to finish third in the driver’s championship. It would be the maximum if we could archive this.”

Tomáš Enge (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9):
“As always, the victory is my target. We know very well what we have and what we are capable of and with a bit of luck, we can archive this goal. We have to be very consequent and don’t think about our success ballast so much. I hope that we can reach the ultimate goal, which is winning the team’s world championship for Young Driver AMR. The team worked very hard since the last race and especially practised pit stops. The team is determined to reach this goal, so the drivers are. What brings a bit of uncertainty to the story might be the weather, there is a chance that it might be raining, which would change everything. The championship is this year a lot closer, when we travel to Argentina and nothing is decided yet. So I expect the races to be very tough. But you have to use your head in the final two races and you can never score points, if you make contact with somebody else.”

Stefan Mücke (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9):
“San Luis is one the most interesting and one of the most difficult tracks of the calendar and I’m really looking forward to that race. The tracks suits our car very well as we saw last year and we will make the most out of it. Any prediction for the weekend is very hard. I hope that even with our high ballast, we will be reasonable competitive, even if I think that we can’t run at the front. But we travel quite relaxed to Argentina, because being second in the championship, we are not the team which is under pressure, that are the others.”

Darren Turner (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9):
“San Luis is a fantastic track in a great location. It's a very good road course where there is no room for error due to the dust off line and the lack of run offs. I really enjoyed racing there in 2010 even though we didn't get the results we wanted. When it comes to the championship fight we are in a difficult position. The results in China put us back in the hunt but if you look at it realistically 50 kilos of ballast is going to make it very hard to get the results we need in Argentina. We have to go there fighting and that is exactly what we will do.”

HEXIS AMR was on the podium in Ordos and it looked like the team was going to score its third victory of the season in the rain in Peking. But with only six minutes to go to the chequered flag, the team’s hopes were brutally dashed. The French squad still has a chance of winning the world title in Argentina. It will go for bust on the circuit where it made its mark on the grand touring scene in 2010.

The FIA GT1 World Championship played its role as ambassador for motor racing in China to the hilt. It began in Ordos in Inner Mongolia, and then continued in Goldenport Park in Peking finishing in the streets in the capital of the Popular Chinese Republic around the site of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Ordos, no. 3 P3, No. 4 P4

20.000 spectators massed on the new Ordos circuit 50 kilometers from the mausoleum of Gengis Khan. They saw the two HEXIS AMR cars fighting their way to the front in the championship event after an excellent performance in the qualifying race. Piccione-Dusseldorp and Hohenadel-Piccini finished in third and fourth places bagging a big haul of points in the teams’ championship title chase. The stunning performances on the track were matched in the pits as no. 4 had the best pit stop time in the qualifying race, and the team then set the two fastest times in the championship round.

Hopes brutally dashed in Peking

The GTI TV commentators were right when they said that the short Goldenport Park layout was a circuit of the old school. After the brilliant sunshine of the first day, the two races on Saturday were run in persistent rain. The two HEXIS AMR Aston Martin DBRS9s adapted to the conditions without problems. Clivio Piccione and Stef Dusseldorp used the 60-minute qualification race to fight their way up from seventeenth to fifth place. Andrea Piccini and Christian Hohenadel jumped from tenth on the grid to third at the chequered flag. In the pits, the mechanics performed another miracle - the tyre change on no. 4 was 2.7s quicker than all its rivals! The team lost one of its cars at the start of the championship race, when Dusseldorp ended up in the gravel trap in corner number one. Hohenadel did a superb stint in third place. The best pit stop of the whole field put Piccini into the lead, and the Italian proved that the HEXIS AMR Aston Martin was the fastest car in the very wet conditions by pulling out a lead of more than three seconds over his rivals. Unfortunately, he went off five laps from the finish just when two corners further on, the safety car was preparing to neutralize the race until the end.

Philippe Dumas: “the best team in the world”

On the evening of the event, Philippe Dumas, the team manger, stressed the excellent quality of the performance of his troops, and refused to lay the blame on the drivers who were caught out on the Chinese skating rink. “I think we again showed that we’re the best team in the world no matter what the conditions. I’m just very sad for us all and for my four drivers. Life sometimes springs unexpected surprises but that’s what sport’s all about. Although we’ve just taken a whack on the head, that doesn’t mean that we won’t continue fighting till the end. We still have a slight chance of being world champions, and all together we’ll battle against the forces of destiny until the last lap, the last corner on the San Luis circuit!”

For the honour…

On Sunday evening, the FIA GTI World Championship teams put on a nighttime demonstration race between the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube where the Olympic events took place in 2008. The teams also took part in a tyre changing competition – and guess who won? Rendezvous in Argentina on 5th-6th November for the final round of what has been a thrilling world championship so far.

The first day of the penultimate round of the GT1 World Championship in Beijing ended very successful for Young Driver AMR. After a promising free practise, both Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 were among the quickest cars in the Qualifying session. Stefan Mücke (GER) and Darren Turner (GBR)  secured a front row starting position and will start from second position of the grid. Alex Müller (GER) and Tomas Enge (CZE) will start in the Gulf liveried DBR9 one spot behind from third position into Saturdays Qualifying Race.

The schedule is tight at the inaugural GT1 World Championship race in Beijing, as the whole event at the Goldenport Track near the Beijing international airport takes place on only two days. For Young Driver AMR, things on the tiny and twisty, 2,4 km short track went very well. Both Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin didn’t have any problems to make it into the final third Qualifying session of the three-parted qualifying, held in the evening of the first day of the event. Stefan Mücke even set the quickest time in the Q1 session. In Q2 and in Q3, Mücke/Turner and Müller/Enge finished in second and third position, meaning both Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin will start from the first two rows.

“I’m very happy with the result, I couldn’t ask for more”, Hardy Fischer, Young Driver AMR-team principal, said. “We are somehow much faster then expected on this track. Both cars are running perfect so far, now we hope for a good result in the two races on Saturday.”

Ford-GT driver Maxime Martin took the Pole Position, only 0,097 seconds ahead of Stefan Mücke.

Young Driver AMR is currently fourth in the team championship of the GT1 World Championship. Stefan Mücke/Darren Turner are fourth in the drivers championship, while Alex Müller and Tomas Enge are eight.

Driver quotes after the Qualifying:

Alex Müller (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “Until now it’s really going well for us here in Beijing. The track is not very quick, but fluent, and that helps us here. We overcame the problems we had at the last weekend and the car is running fine. It will be very interesting tomorrow in the races, as it might be raining.”

Tomáš Enge (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “It’s not a bad start into the event in Beijing. The track is slippery and bumpy, but for some reasons, it suits our car. And also the engine is running fine again. We made good progress today and with starting from the second row, we couldn’t ask for more.”

Stefan Mücke (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “The Qualifying 1 has been very difficult, as we had two red flags. Surprisingly, the track is not as bad as expected for us. It was a very positive first day here, we are very satisfied with the front row starting position. I made a small mistake on my fastest lap in Q3, but considering we also have 20kg of success ballast on board, it’s very good.”

Darren Turner (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “Second and third on the grid is a great result for the team. In the beginning of Q2, I tried something new in terms of driving style. But couldn’t make it work and returned to my old driving style. I set the second quickest time in Q2 and used only one set of tires, which is pretty important for our race strategy. It might be raining tomorrow, which will make things very difficult. The track is difficult in the dry, so it will be really hard when it rains. But the event has been good for us so far and I hope we can carry that momentum.”

Young Driver AMR made a good step in the GT1 World Championship rankings with a fifth place finish in the inaugural round in Ordos in Inner Mongolia/China and closed the gap in the points to the two Championship leading cars. Stefan Mücke (GER) and Darren Turner (GBR) finished fifth in their Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 and are fourth in the drivers ranking. Alex Müller (GER) and Tomas Enge (CZE) finished a not trouble free race in 14th place.

From the seventh position of the grid, Darren Turner had a really good start and moved up to fifth place after the first lap. The Briton maintained the fifth place until the mandatory driver change. During the pit stops, the Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin lost one position, but also gained one, so Mücke was still in fifth place in the latter part of the race. Mücke could keep a chasing Lamborghini and Nissan in distance and secured the fifth place. With the fifth placed finish, Mücke/Turner maintained their fourth position in the drivers World Championship. They even closed the gap to the
 as the Championship leading Lamborghini and the second placed Nissan finished behind the Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin in China.

The streak of bad in China didn’t came to end in Sunday’s Championship Race for Alex Müller and Tomas Enge in the second Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9. Enge started from the back of the grid according to the regulation as the Young Driver AMR-team changed the V12-engine before the Qualifying Race. The quick Czech made good progress and was already in 12th position, when a lengthy pit stop cost valuable time. Alex Müller saw the chequered flag in 14th place.

From Ordos, the Young Driver AMR team travels now to Beijing, where the penultimate round of the GT1 World Championship will take place on Friday and Saturday (9./10. September). With just two races to go, Young Driver AMR is currently fourth in the team championship.

Quotes after the Championship Race:

Hardy Fischer (Team principal Young Driver AMR):
“The fifth place of Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner is the maximum we could hope for on this track, so I’m not so unhappy with the result. They even closed the gap to the two championship leading cars, which is something we really couldn’t expect. Tomas Enge and Alex Müller had bad luck during the races, but their speed showed that a podium finish would have been possible without the issues they had during the two races. Now we move on the Beijing, which I expect to be even more difficult for us then Ordos.”

Alex Müller (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “This was certainly not our weekend. Practise and Qualifying went great, but then we had this issue with the engine, which we chased during both races. We have now focus on the next round in Beijing and I really hope that we left our bad luck in Ordos.”

Tomas Enge (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “Our practise was good and after Qualifying, we had a really good starting position. But then the drama began, when we had to change the engine and had to start from the back. From that position, a good finish is just impossible in this very competitive championship and also on this track where, it’s very difficult to overtake.
So, our weekend was literally over after the Qualifying. It seems to be the same for us this year every two races. A good weekend is followed by a one not so good one.”

Stefan Mücke (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “The race was pretty hard, during my stint I always had much pressure from behind. In the beginning, I could stay in contention to the fourth placed car, but then the success ballast we have to carry here, came into play and my tires lost their performance a bit earlier the car in front of me. Now we move on to Beijing, that will be very interesting.”

Young Driver AMR had some mixed emotions after the Qualifying Race of the first race of the GT1 World Championship in China. Stefan Mücke (GER) and Darren Turner (GBR) finished the Qualifying Race in 8th position in their Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9in Ordos in Inner Mongolia, while Alex Müller (GER) and Tomas Enge (CZE) had bad luck in the second Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 and suffered engine issues. Mücke and Turner had no luck in the Qualifying and qualified for the 13th position, but steady fought their way forward after the start. The Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9 had some contacts with competitors right at the start and also in the first half of the race, but Mücke managed to hand over the DBR9 to Darren Turner in 12th position. A quick pit stop of the Young Driver AMR-pit crew gained Mücke/Turner four positions, Turner finally finished eight. Müller and Enge and their crew experienced a race before the race. The two drivers of the Gulf livered car qualified sixth of the grid, but had engine issues at the end of the Qualifying session. In only 90 minutes, the Young Driver AMR-crew changed the 6-litre-V12 engine before the Qualifying Race, but finally missed the way into the starting grid by only 15 seconds. This meant Alex Müller had to start into the 60-minute from the pit lane. A few laps into the race, Alex Müller again had engine issues. When Tomas Enge heard some rather unknown noises in the car during his stint, he brought the car to the pits for a security check to avoid further damage to the engine. In Sunday’s Qualifying Race, Mücke/Turner will start from a promising eight position, while Müller/Enge have to start from the back of the grid according to the regulations due to the engine chance after the Qualifying. Quotes after the Qualifying Race: Hardy Fischer (Team principal Young Driver AMR): “The track is certainly not ours. But until now, it’s somehow much better then expected. Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner have a promising starting position for the Championship Race. Alex Müller and Tomas Enge are faced with a much more difficult job, as they have to start from the back of the grid. Really big credits go out to my team, which did an amazing job the change the engine in only 90 minutes. Our main goal for the Championship Race is to survive with a many points as we can get.” Alex Müller (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “We had to change the engine after the Qualifying and missed it by only 15 seconds to get out in time in the starting grid, so I had to start from the pit lane. After three or four laps, I again had some engine troubles. Tomas also had some problems at the end of the race. For the Championship Race, we have to have look at the engine again, it might not be mechanical, but an electrical issue.” Stefan Mücke (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “The start of the race was more like a stock-car race, I got hit on all four sides, but still managed to again a few position. After that I had a quite normal race, but a had fight with a Ford GT. It was not easy to defend my position, as I lost my rear mirrors at the start. The Ford finally hit my right front wheel and which affected the front axle and didn’t made things easier for us. Place eight could be better, this that gives us a good starting position for the race and a good chance for a top five finish.”

Powder blue and orange, the colours of Gulf Oil, are among the most legendary colours in motorsport history. Young Driver AMR is proud to announce a partnership with Gulf Oil to sport these colours in the GT1 World Championship. The No. 7 Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 of Alex Müller (GER) and Tomas Enge (CZE) will race in a blue and orange Gulf livery in the three final rounds of the GT1 World Championship, in the two China races in Ordos and Beijing and also in the final round in Argentina.

"I'm really happy about our partnership in the GT1 World Championship with such an iconic brand as Gulf", Young Driver AMR team principal Hardy Fischer says ahead of the first race of the GT1 World Championship in China. "The Aston Martin DBR9 is one of the most beautiful GT cars and the Gulf livery is a true legend, so this is a natural fit. It´s the first time a Gulf liveried car starts in the GT1 World Championship and I hope that will bring us big success!"

Young Driver AMR travels to China with one of the best results in team history under its belt. In the last round in France, Young Driver AMR finished second and third, which brought Young Driver AMR up to third place in the team championship, only 10 points behind the leaders with still three race to go. Mücke/Turner are fourth in the drivers championship, while Müller/Enge are fifth.

After a long summer break, the GT1 World Championship continues with
the eight round this weekend, whichwill be held at Ordos in Inner Mongolia
in China. It’s the first time the GT1 World Championship, Young Driver AMR
and the four drivers of the two Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9,
Stefan Mücke (GER)/Darren Turner (GBR) and Alex Müller (GER)/ Tomas Enge (CZE)
will visit the track in China.

In Ordos, the GT1 World Championship will race at the Ordos International
Circuit, which opened last year. Young Driver AMR- drivers have been
successful in China before. Like Mücke, who won his very first race in the
FIA GT Championship in China and Enge, who claimed a victory in the A1 GP
series. But nobody has raced at Ordos before. The fact that nobody really
knows the track, puts in even more excitement to the third last round of the
season. “It’s great to race in China, which in undoubtedly a growing market
and a very important country for all of partners and it’s great that the GT1
World Championship makes this step. The track is new ground for everybody,
but all four of our drivers are very experienced, so it will be no problem
for them to learn the track”, Young Driver AMR-team principal Hardy Fischer
says. “Judging the track by its layout, it’s probably not the best track for
us. But we thought this on different tracks this season and once we arrived
at the track, we were quick out of the box. So I better don’t make any
predictions.”

The race in Ordos will be followed just one week later by a race at the
Golden Port track in Chinas capital Beijing. However this race has still to
be confirmed as ninth and penultimate round of the championship.

Young Driver AMR travels to China with one of the best results in team
history under its belt. In the last round in France, Young Driver AMR
finished second and third, which brought Young Driver AMR up to third place
in the team championship, only 10 points behind the leaders with still three
race to go. Mücke/Turner are fourth in the drivers championship, while
Müller/Enge are fifth.

Driver quotes before the trip to China:

Alex Müller (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “Nobody has any experience
on the two tracks in China, so it will be very exciting for everybody. From
the layout, both track look like a Mickey-Mouse-track, that´s how we racing
drivers call twisty and narrow tracks. But I have no worries to learn the
track. If we can learn tracks like Spa in a couple of laps, it shouldn’t be
a problem to learn this track. It will be a very difficult weekend for us,
but we are fully motivated and will give maximum attack to save our chances
in the championship.”

Tomáš Enge (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “Both tracks are quite
unknown places for us. Everybody only knows the track from videos. But from
what I saw so far, both tracks are not really well suited for us. We also
have to consider that it will probably be very warm, which doesn’t help
either and the fact we also have some success ballast in the car. But on the
other hand, we were quick this year on tracks, on that we never expected to
be quick. Like Zolder, were we took a podium. And the teams also worked a
lot on the pit strategy during the summer break, which is crucial in this
championship. For us it will be important to survive both race in China with
a maximum of points and then attack in Argentina, were we have already been
quick last year.”

Stefan Mücke (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): China has been good to me
in the past, I won my very first race in the FIA GT championship there on my
first start. Now I’m really happy that the summer break is finally over and
we are racing again. The races in China will be interesting and challenging.
We studied the track layout, but don’t really know how the track will suit
our car. The goal is to collect as many points as possible. Of course, our
aim for the last third of the season is to win at least one race, but I
don’t think that will happen in China, as we also have some success ballast
onboard our Aston Martin after our successful weekend in France. We hope to
collect some good points in China and to stay in contention for the
Championship until the very last round.”

Darren Turner (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “I did not race at China
yet and I’m really looking forward to it. I think it will be very exciting.
Ordos is a new track and new tracks are always fun to drive. After we had
quite a long summer break, I can’t wait to be in the car again. I hope that
we will have a good weekend and collect a good amount of points.

Young Driver AMR is proud to announce they will compete in the 2012 GT World Championship. In 2012, the current GT1 World Championship will evolve into the GT World Championship. Since it’s inaugural season 2010, Young Driver AMR is competing at the forefront of the GT1 World Championship, claiming four victories so far. During the recent 24h hour of Spa Francorchamps, World Championship organiser Stéphane Ratel presented the plans for next year’s World Championship to the public, and confirmed as Young Driver AMR as one of seven teams so far. The 2012 concept will see a change in the GT-class system and will also allow GTE and GT3 cars into the World Championship.

„We are very proud to be among the first teams, which confirm their participation in the 2012 GT World Championship“, Young Driver AMR team principal Hardy Fischer says. „The championship delivered tremendous racing since it’s very first race last year. With the evolvement for the 2012 season, this championship will be even more exciting and were are very happy to be a part of the championship in the third consecutive season.“ Further details about the 2012 campaign of Young Driver will be communicated at a later time.

Young Driver AMR is currently third in the team championship of the GT1 World Championship, while the „Young Drivers“ Stefan Mücke/Darren Turner are fourth and Alex Müller/Tomas Enge are fifth in the drivers world championship with three race to go in China and Argentina.

The HEXIS AMR team has won on the other side of the world in Argentina and in Abu Dhabi, as well as at the Sachsenring in front of two German teams. But this weekend, its Paul Ricard jinx struck again! For the third year on the trot, its home race proved to be a frustrating event for the FIA GT1 vice champions. However just as the cars set off for China it has two good reasons to be satisfied. Firstly, Andrea Piccini's and Christian Hohenadel's fifth place snatched against the odds, and secondly, the determination the whole team showed by repairing the damage suffered by the Dusseldorp-Piccione Aston Martin on Saturday, and getting it onto the grid 24 hours later.

Second time unlucky!

In 2009, the year in which the team won the FIA GT3 European title, the no. 3 HEXIS AMR Aston Martin DBRS9 was in the lead when it went off at the entry to the Mistral straight and slammed into the wall. Two years later, Stef Dusseldorp got caught out in the same spot on the same lap. The driver was unhurt but the car was heavily damaged. Things didn't look good, but the team's expert mechanics driven by their heartfelt passion got down to work on the DB9 and pulled off a miracle. On Sunday shortly before 15h00, the V12 roared into life! Clivio Piccione and Stef Dusseldorp put in a sterling effort and brought the car home in eleventh place.

Heroic fight backs

In 2010, the year the team filled the runner-up spot in the FIA GT1 World Championship, one of the HEXIS AMR Aston Martin DB9s started eighteenth and finished eleventh in the qualifying race, after which it fought its way up to sixth place in the championship round. A year later, Piccini and Hohenadel were in sixteenth spot on the grid for the qualifying race following a mix-up in tyre management during practice. They fought their way up to sixth place in the 60-minute race, and were then pushed back to eighth on the grid for the championship event after being hit with a controversial penalty. On Saturday, Andrea exceeded the track limits for safety reasons; he came into the corner last and emerged in last place but the stewards were adamant. Despite this, the brio of the drivers and the skills of the mechanics, who once again carried out the best tyre change in the field, helped the team to finish its weekend on a positive note. The points Christian and Andrea scored for fifth have kept them in third place overall in the world title case.

Happy Birthday Philippe!

Just before starting a long night's work the whole team wished their team manager, Philippe Dumas, a happy 32nd birthday. He gives his opinion on the weekend's events in the seventh round of the world championship. "Overall, the weekend got off to a good start until there was the mix-up with the tyres in qualifying, which really handicapped us. It's obvious that had Andrea and Christian started in sixth instead of sixteenth place, a podium finish was within our grasp. As for the penalty in the qualifying race, it's totally out of proportion in terms of sanctions. The message that the stewards have sent to the drivers is that missing your braking or behaving like Stefan Mücke boils down to the same thing. Stef Dusseldorp's crash is his first major mistake after so many superb performances in his maiden season in GT racing, in which he is making his debut on several circuits. Paul Ricard isn't the easiest! Finally, I'd like to congratulate my team for keeping a cool head when they had to fix a car that seemed beyond repair. Clivio was able to start and Stef finished the race and scored a point in the teams' championship. Who knows? Perhaps it will be worth its weight in gold at the end of the season!"

Two hundred guests including Hexis Group employees, partners of the company and the team turned up to cheer on the squad, which is carrying French hopes in the FIA GT1 World Championship. The two Aston Martins will now be packed into the containers in which they will travel to the next two rounds where the team is hoping to put on some stunning performances. While awaiting battle in China on 3-4 September, HEXIS AMR will race in its very first 24-Hour event on the Spa- Francorchamps circuit in Belgium on 30-31 July.