Good luck and have a great race to all those at Le Mans (wish we were there too)
Yes, it’s a great shame that the Aston Martin Racing team are not here in a Pro Class capacity but the four GTE Am Class runners that are there are of an equally high calibre with more than one crew in with more than a shout at taking the class crown come tomorrow afternoon.
With the event taking place last year from behind closed doors and with this year’s event taking place with a reduced fan capacity, the prospect of returning to the circuit in early June 2022 is certainly one to look forward too and book up if you haven’t already done so.
Let’s hope for another highly entertaining yet safe race - and may the best teams win!
Photo credits – AMR / WEC / Teams
TF Sport confirm third AMR Vantage GTE into 2021 Le Mans 24
Another capacity grid of sixty-two runners were confirmed through the new Hypercar, LPM2, GTE Pro and GTE Am Classes and with no Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE to defend their World or LM24 titles this year of course which we already knew about.
Already announced by the team but today officially confirmed by the ACO sees the #33 TF Sport AMR GTE of Ben Keating, Dylan Pereira and Felipe Fraga as well as the #777 D’Station Racing car for Satoshi Hoshino, Tomonobu Fujii and the recently announced Andrew Watson completing their line-up.
The #98 Aston Martin Racing prepared and entered GTE for Paul Dalla Lana remains on the entry list but still has two vacant driver name slots against it so we will have to wait just a little bit longer to find out who – but not that long considering the Prologue for the World Endurance Championship is just six week’s away.
What we didn’t know (until this evening) was that TF Sport have also submitted and have had accepted an entry for their European Le Mans Series AMR Vantage GTE runner John Hartshorne into this year’s 89th running of the modern event.
Like Dalla Lana on the entry list, only Hartshorne name is listed and depending upon the line up within the #98 car could see him run at Le Mans with the same crew as in the ELMS? Having already completed the Asian Le Mans Series with a TF Sport prepared AMR Vantage GT3 in the Dubai last month, a full season ELMS and then a LM24 effort shows nothing short of determination!
Two become three for Aston Martin Racing teams in World Endurance Championship Season 9 (Updated)
Some reassuring news was confirmed by the World Endurance Championship earlier today when they revealed their entry list for their forthcoming Series 9 of the Championship that starts at the Prologue from Sebring, Florida in just little over fifty day’s time.
Still, with the confirmation of the Aston Martin Racing factory earlier withdrawal of both of their Vantage GTE’s from the top Pro class still resonating in our ears, this announcement could have made for some very gloomy news for us AMR fans as we looked ahead to the new season.
With the factory squad not entering any Pro car under their own name with which to defend their 2020 crown but instead making most (if not all) of their resources available to their global Partner teams, the news of this week has confirmed not one, not two but three AMR Vantage GTE’s for the highly competitive GTE Am class instead.
2020 Le Mans winner Salih Yoluc has moved on from GTE racing for the new year but two highly acclaimed teams/driver crews have already been confirmed as running under the banner of the TF Sport name within the WEC and that news has been further bolstered by the confirmation today that Paul Dalla Lana will indeed be returning to the Championship with another AMR factory prepared customer Vantage GTE programme.
The Canadian businessman’s name was the sole name upon todays official confirmation leaving him free to pick from the plethora of factory drivers waiting under contract in the wings for a competitive drive – a drive that really must take the Gentleman driver to the GTE Am and Le Mans 24hr top step this time around in order to satisfy his appetite for racing success.
He joins the two cars from TF Sport announced earlier this week in which the Sussex based team has managed to recruit the incredible driver talents (and custom) of Gentleman driver Ben Keating beyond that of this month’s IMSA Rolex 24 from Daytona and he is joined aboard his beautifully blue liveried #33 car with Dylan Pereira and Felipe Fraga. They in turn will be joined within the TF stable by the #777 car of Japanese team D’Station Racing who confirmed their WEC participation from drivers (and team boss) Satoshi Hoshino, Tomonobu Fujii plus a silver ranked driver TBC.
All in all, whilst we may have lost the top flight efforts of Nicki Thiim/Marco Sorensen and Alex Lynn/Maxime Martin in their factory prepared GTE Pro cars, that was/is always a class that is threatening to dissolve sooner rather than later as the ACO’s LMH/LMDh classes come on stream. Where the racing battles are still at is within GTE Am where market forces place teams and drivers with partners who are strongest in that arena and 2021 is no exception as GTE Am represents the strongest class of this year’s thirty three car grid with thirteen entries all evenly matched between the AMR, Porsche and Ferrari chassis.
Today’s news (considering the global financial climate) is a massive achievement for the WEC and our appreciation can only and should be extended to all those involved will to make this kind of investment in motor racing. We also need to keep an eye out on other ACO rules series for any possible AMR team involvement in those!!
AMR news is never far away these days!!
Update - The WEC have confirmed that the opening round of their Season 9 will now NOT take place at Sebring. Siting the fluidity of the COVID-19 situation and the change in national government stance sees the opening round move back across the Atlantic to Portimao, Portugal on the 4th April 2021.
Photo credits - AMR / TF Sport / WEC
Light at the end of the tunnel after the earlier news from Aston Martin Racing
We have all now had a couple of days to digest the news of Aston Martin Racing formerly terminating their direct factory participation within events like the World Endurance Championship so they will now sadly not be defending their hard fought GTE Manufacturers, GTE Drivers Championship within that Championship nor their GTE Pro win at Le Mans from earlier this year.
What with the financial state of not just the parent Company (Aston Martin Lagonda) back home but also that of the economic situation worldwide during this ongoing pandemic, this news still came as something of a little surprise for us to hear of a total withdrawal rather than just a downscaling of direct operation’s but we can totally understand just why that decision has come about.
If you are to ever stop what you’re doing– it’s always best if you go out on something of a high and for AMR and world GT racing, you cannot get any higher than those racing accolades!
We also recall the words of one famous individual who was reported to have once said “To race or not to Race – that is the question”. For Aston Martin, motor racing has been very much part of their DNA right from their creation and hence, their decision to withdraw themselves but to continue support their existing (and potentially new) customer base going into 2021 only servers to endorse their previously established principles.
We were also privileged to have an in-depth telephone conversation with one ‘more informed’ person than I just before Christmas who kindly filled in some of the gaps between what has been said publicly by Aston Martin Racing and what he knows to be happening but has yet to be announced.
All we can say from that private conversation is to ‘keep the faith’.
No, sadly we will not be seeing the distinctly yellow V8 Vantage GTE cars of Aston Martin Racing either at Le Mans or at the WEC in general or for the foreseeable future but that’s not to say that we will never be seeing a 2019 specification Vantage GTE race competitively again – it will simply be racing under the banner name of another team moving forward. The same will apply for GT3 and potentially GT4 events worldwide as well as most factory drivers remain within the family.
Who, what and where these offers of customer team support will fall are still many questions yet to be answered by those involved but we have already seen some early fruits of these labours announced for supported Partner team involvement in events such as the Asian Le Mans Series, Rolex 24 at Daytona and British GT.
Whilst it is obviously disappointing not to have the AMR factory team present as a team at the top level of world GT racing, the fact that they will still be there, in the background with other teams that we already know and support can’t be a bad thing.
2021 is still going to be tough for all concerned and involved. Rather than be upset over what has now be ‘lost’, we should be looking forward to what we may now have going forward!
#TeamAMR is after all, a very big family!!
End of the line for Aston Martin Racing’s GTE Pro campaign
World Endurance GT Champion and 24 Hours of Le Mans double-class winner Aston Martin will switch the strategic focus of its Vantage GT motorsport programme to concentrate on customer operations from 2021 onwards, bringing an end to a hugely successful nine-year run as a manufacturer team in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Concluding with its double world championship triumph in the 8 Hours of Bahrain last month, where Marco Sørensen (DEN) and Nicki Thiim (DEN) added the WEC GT Drivers’ endurance crown to the Manufacturers’ title that Aston Martin clinched at Le Mans, the British sportscar manufacturer has achieved every target it set for the 4-litre V8 Vantage GTE – based on the highly acclaimed Vantage road car. Aston Martin will now apply its vast experience and expertise with front-engined GT race cars to drive more success across the international GT racing landscape.Aston Martin is one of three car manufacturers to have been a mainstay of WEC since the series’ inception in 2012. In its nine years and seven seasons of WEC, Aston Martin has recorded 47 class wins and 103 podiums, nine class championships and four 24 Hours of Le Mans class victories. And there could yet be more for Vantage with Aston Martin hopeful that it will retain a WEC presence through a partner team in 2021 and beyond.
Outside of WEC, Aston Martin’s Vantage GT customer race car has achieved breathtaking success in its second full season of competition. Teams recorded 62 victories and 157 podiums from 323 starts in more than 20 series around the world. One in five race starts for Vantage ended with a win, while half of them concluded on the podium. Of those starts, 14% were from the race or class pole position. In total, including Aston Martin Racing’s two world championships, Vantage captured 26 GT or endurance titles internationally.
With the brand poised to return to Formula 1TM in 2021 for the first time since 1960, Aston Martin will now strive for more accolades in GT racing with Vantage. It is targeting blue riband endurance events with partner teams competing in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the GT World Challenge, the US-based IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship, the Super GT Championship as well as other significant high-profile series.
The shift in strategy for Aston Martin’s endurance programme comes as a new and revised agreement with Prodrive has been concluded for the Banbury-based organisation to continue exclusively manufacturing and distributing the current generation of front-engine GT race cars in a multi-year deal for Aston Martin Racing.
President, Aston Martin Racing, David King said: “This year has been one of unprecedented success for Vantage in international motorsport. At all levels, from GTE, through GT3 to the entry level GT4, we have experienced significant championship success, winning 26 titles across the spectrum of world, international and domestic series. But there is more to achieve, and there is more to come from Vantage, which is why we have concluded that now is the time for us to shift the weight of factory support to our partners as we go in pursuit of success in the most important events in GT racing.”
Chief Executive Officer, Aston Martin Lagonda, Tobias Moers said: “Vantage proved it has world champion pedigree in 2020, and in its GTE variant is a 24-hour race winner. Now with the Vantage GT3 we wish to give our partners and customers the best opportunity possible to fight for victory against our closest rivals in the toughest endurance challenges GT racing has to offer.”
Source material - AMR
Aston Martin Racing finish WEC as double World Champions
GT World Champion manufacturer Aston Martin has won the 2019-20 GT FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship with Nicki Thiim (DEN) and Marco Sørensen (DEN), in the season finale – the 8 Hours of Bahrain – on Saturday.
Aston Martin’s all-conquering Vantage GTE had already clinched the GT Manufacturers world championship with a famous victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both the GTE Pro and Am classes in September, before Thiim (DEN) and Sørensen (DEN) became GT World champions for the second time having previously won it in 2016.
This marks the most successful racing season for Aston Martin since 1959, and the first time that its cars have won two world titles and both classes at Le Mans in the same campaign, in a season that saw it beat arch-rivals Porsche and Ferrari in all the major Pro competitions.
For the Danes, fifth place in the GTE Pro class in Bahrain’s finale was enough to give them a final total of 172 points, 12 ahead of team-mate Maxime Martin (BEL), who finishes the season as vice champion, having won the GTE Pro class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Alex Lynn (GB). The Belgian finished fourth in Bahrain alongside Richard Westbrook (GB) who stood in for Lynn in Saturday’s race.
In only its second WEC season – and the longest in the sport’s history thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic – the Vantage GTE earned eight class victories and four in Pro, three of which were secured by Thiim and Sørensen in the 6 Hours of Fuji (JAP), the first 8 Hours of Bahrain and the Lone Star 6 Hours at COTA (US).
Those wins, coupled with their second place in the 6 Hours of Spa, third at Le Mans and a fifth place in China where they set the pace before misfortune struck, allowed them to fend-off a resurgence from their team-mates in the #97 Vantage. Martin and Lynn recorded a string of four podiums before their brilliant win at Le Mans.
“This feels incredible,” said Thiim. “We have worked so hard for what feels like absolutely forever to win this championship. It is all I have thought about for months and it means everything to myself and Marco. The Vantage GTE has been the perfect car to race all season, and I am so proud that we are the ones that get to call ourselves champions for winning with it. I am now a two-time world champion with Aston Martin, and that’s something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thank you to the team, to Aston Martin, WEC and all the fans. What more can I say?”
Sørensen added: “This season has been so incredibly tough, both on and off the track, and to have finally won the world championship is testament to all the people in the team that have given us such an amazing car to race. The Vantage has allowed us to fight at the front, pretty much all year, which is what you dream of as a driver because then all you have to do is race hard. We have proved this year that we can wins races and championships if you give us a car like this.”
President Aston Martin Racing David King said: “We have known for a long time just how much potential was in the Aston Martin Vantage GTE. From its very inception in 2018, it was developed to win world championships and it proved it at Le Mans in September. But to win so many accolades in only its second season of racing is something very, very special. This level of attainment happens rarely in motorsport, and you cannot overstate the significance of the achievement. We as a brand are immensely proud of what Aston Martin Racing has accomplished this season and we would like to extend our thanks to the drivers, the team, our competitors and the FIA and WEC for a fantastic championship well played.”
AMR Vantage GTE front row success at WEC finale
WEC GTE Pro title contenders Nicki Thiim (DEN) and Marco Sørensen (DEN) set a fierce pace with two exceptional laps to secure second place on the GTE grid, 0.016s away from pole position and another point in their quest to secure a second GT World Endurance Championship title. As it stands, the Danes remain championship leaders with a 15-point advantage over Alex Lynn (GB) and Maxime Martin (BEL) in the sister car.
“It was a bit of a surprise to have the pace we had in qualifying,” said Thiim. “But I was very happy with my lap and the car was excellent. It feels as if we are in the right place ahead of tomorrow’s race and now it is time to race for the championship. We are ready, and we must make every opportunity count while being mindful of the points lead we already have.”
Sørensen added: “You always feel the pressure at this level, but I believe we both produced very good laps. We have waited a long time to reach this point in the season, now I just want to be racing for the championship tomorrow.”
Martin and Richard Westbrook (GB), who stepped in to replace Lynn this weekend, had to settle for sixth in GTE PRO. But with points and a half up for grabs in the season finale, and the gap between the top six less than a second, it’s still all to play for.
In the Am class, joy and relief came for Ross Gunn (GB) and Paul Dalla Lana (CDN) who took their first pole position of the 2019/2020 season together. They will be joined by 2017 GTE Am world champion Pedro Lamy (POR) who raced as an Aston Martin Racing factory driver between 2013 to 2018.
Aston Martin Racing Partner team TF Sport also qualified its Vantage GTE on the front row in the GTE Am class with Charlie Eastwood (GB) and Salih Yoluç (TUR) behind the wheel. Fellow 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Jonny Adam (GB) will join them for the race as the trio go into the finale with an eight-point lead in both GTE Am Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships.
Aston Martin Racing Managing Director John Gaw said: “I couldn’t have asked for more from Marco and Nicki. They have remained calm all through this weekend so far, and they delivered excellent speed today. The same is true of Ross and Paul who finally got pole position at the end of the season. Now it’s time to execute tomorrow, and if we do the prizes will mean everything to us. The team has done a fantastic job so far this weekend, as they have all season.”
The 8 Hours of Bahrain begins at 1400 local time on Sunday, 14 November.
Heartache for Lynn on eve on something big for Aston Martin Racing
World GT Manufacturers’ champions Aston Martin embark on the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) finale – the 8 Hours of Bahrain – this weekend, aiming to record a level of title glory unprecedented in the British luxury sportscar brand’s history. Aston Martin has enjoyed its most successful endurance racing season since 1959, with the turbo-charged 4-litre V8 Vantage GTE.
Sixty-one years ago, Aston Martin won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby, as well as the World Sportscar Championship thanks to additional wins by Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman at Goodwood and the Nürburging in the DBR1/300. These famous victories ensured that Aston Martin defeated its rivals, Ferrari and Porsche.
Six decades later and Aston Martin has done it again, clinching a historic double victory in both the GTE classes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in September, when Alex Lynn (GB), Maxime Martin (BEL) and Harry Tincknell (GB) delivered a brilliant performance to clinch the GT Manufacturers’ FIA World Endurance Championship crown, ahead of those same old adversaries Porsche and Ferrari.
The #97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE Pro crew’s win was their first of the season, which has been the longest in FIA WEC history due in part to the Coronavirus pandemic. The result also moved the drivers back into contention for the GT FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship, 15 points behind team-mates and series leaders Marco Sørensen (DEN) and Nicki Thiim (DEN) in the #95 car.
Unfortunately, only Martin will be able to compete alongside the Danes for the world title after Lynn received a positive test for Covid-19 last weekend and has therefore not travelled to Bahrain. His place in the line-up has been taken by Richard Westbrook (GB), who was already expected to race with the team in the #98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE Am entry.
“It’s incredibly disappointing to end the FIA World Endurance Championship season in this way,” said Lynn, who is self-isolating at home. “Especially after the amazing high of the Le Mans victory that brought us back into title contention. I wish all my team-mates the best of luck this weekend, but especially Maxime and Richard.”
Thiim and Sørensen have been the on-form driver pairing this season, with three victories and two second places from seven starts. But with the eight-hour race worth 1.5 times the points of a normal six-hour event, meaning for the second time this season there are 38 points available for a victory plus another for pole position, there is no room for complacency. Particularly since one for the drivers from Ferrari’s leading GTE crew is also within striking distance.
“It comes down to this,” said Thiim, “after all the blood sweat and tears that have gone into this both from the team, who have already won the manufacturers’ championship with this amazing Vantage GTE, and from the drivers. This is what you dream about as a driver, the chance to fight for a world championship. To have done it once with Marco in 2016, and to have the chance to do it again is simply amazing. But we still have a job to do, eight hours is a long time in motor racing and we have a big fight on our hands. We will give it everything.”
2017 WEC GTE Am champion Pedro Lamy (POR) rejoins Paul Dalla Lana in the #98 Vantage GTE alongside Ross Gunn (GB). A veteran of 17 victories in the class, Pedro makes a welcome return to the GTE Am line-up as the crew goes in hunt of a victory to round-off the season in style.
TF Sport became the first customer team to win the GTE Am class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an Aston Martin in September and in doing so moved to the top of the FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE Drivers’ and Teams’ standings. It means that works drivers Jonny Adam (GB), Charlie Eastwood (GB) as well as Salih Yoluc (TUR) have an eight-point advantage going into the finale.
If they win the championships, and one of Aston Martin’s Pro crews prevail, it will be only the second time in the sport’s history that a manufacturer has won both GTE classes at Le Mans as well as all four GTE FIA WEC titles.
Aston Martin Racing Managing Director John Gaw said: “We go into the final round of the 2019-20 WEC with drivers in contention for the world title, which is an exceptional position to be in and a testament to the depth of quality and hard work delivered throughout the team. That Alex is not able to join us is hugely disappointing for everyone, and we wish him well. Now we must focus on completing the job and ensure that we come away from Bahrain having delivered on our mission to win both GTE world titles.”
Aston Martin Racing President David King said: “We are delighted to have won both classes so comprehensively at Le Mans, which contributed to us being able to secure the Manufacturers’ title prior to the season finale. We are now looking forward to trying to put the icing on the cake and being able to secure both the Pro and Am drivers’ and teams’ championships would crown a remarkable season for Aston Martin, and our best results in endurance racing since 1959. But whatever happens this weekend, we can leave 2020 secure in the knowledge that we are the top GT manufacturer in sportscar racing.”
Source material - AMR
Westbrook back in an Aston at WEC finale
Aston Martin Racing will retain the services of British sportscar ace Richard Westbrook for the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) – the 8 Hours of Bahrain – where he will race alongside Paul Dalla Lana (CDN) and Ross Gunn (GB) in the works GTE Am Aston Martin Vantage.The experienced Westbrook, from Bath, takes the place of Augusto Farfus (BRA) who, along with works Aston Martin driver Darren Turner, are competing in the Sebring 12 Hours in the USA on the same weekend.
Westbrook finished third for Aston Martin in the GTE Pro class of last month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the luxury sportscar brand clinched the WEC manufacturers’ crown with a glorious double-class victory for its Vantages in GTE Pro and Am. He was also a class winner in the recent Nürburgring 24 Hours and is a former Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours winner and has now stood on the podium three times at Le Mans.
“I’m delighted to be returning to Aston Martin for the final round of the WEC season,” said Westbrook, who will make his debut in the fiercely-contested GTE Am class. “The GTE Am class is phenomenally competitive nowadays and for me this is a great opportunity to fight for a victory as the season draws to a close. Racing for a brand like Aston Martin is a great honour and the experience of standing on the podium at Le Mans, wearing British racing green overalls, on such a special day for the brand is something I won’t ever forget.
“This will only be my second race in the Vantage, but after Le Mans it feels like I’ve had more than enough mileage to feel at home in the car. I’ve always enjoyed racing at Bahrain, it’s one of my favourites, and it’s actually where I won my first race in a GT car in 2005.”
The #98 crew have been contenders for victory all season long in GTE Am, but misfortune has prevented them from winning so far in the 2020/21 campaign. This is a situation Dalla Lana is determined to remedy in Bahrain. “When it became clear that neither Augusto or Darren were available, Richard was an obvious choice for us,” said Dalla Lana. “He was a star performer at Le Mans and he knows the car and the team extremely well. We’ve had the pace and the performance all season and it would be really great to wrap the year up with a win. I believe we deserve it as a team.”
Aston Martin Racing President David King added: “We’re really pleased to welcome Richard back for the season finale. His performance at Le Mans was outstanding alongside Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen in the #95 GTE Pro Vantage, and he fitted seamlessly into the team as you would expect from a seasoned professional. I think with the strength of these three drivers combined in the #98, the car represents a formidable threat for victory in the Vantage GTE’s final race of its debut season in the Am class.”
The 8 Hours of Bahrain takes place on Saturday, 12 November and is the final round of the 2020-2021 WEC season. The race is worth 1.5-times the points of a standard six hour event and Aston Martin Racing drivers Thiim and Sørensen lead team-mates and 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE winners Alex Lynn (GB) and Maxime Martin (BEL) by 15 points at the top of the Pro standings. Meanwhile Aston Martin’s partner team TF Sport and its drivers Salih Yoluc (TUR), Jonny Adam (GB) and Charlie Eastwood (GB) lead the GTE Am championship standings.
Source material- AMR
Aston Martin Racing wins 24 Hours of Le Mans and Manufacturers title
Aston Martin has won the 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans. The British manufacturer, which was last victorious in the world famous event in 2017, recorded its best ever result at the Circuit de la Sarthe by winning both GT classes and with three crews standing on the podium. The result means that Aston Martin scored enough points to secure the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) manufacturers’ title with one round remaining.
It was works drivers Alex Lynn (GB) and Maxime Martin (BEL), along with former Le Mans class-winner Harry Tincknell (GB), who took the most coveted win in endurance racing after a flawless performance in the #97 Vantage GTE and a thrilling and nail-biting 24-hour battle with the works team Ferraris.
Lynn, who set the fastest lap of the GTE classes at 03.10 on Sunday said: “I won’t lie, that was emotional… I had a few tears on the last lap. I have driven this exact car for the last three years and so much hard work and sweat has gone into it. It honestly feels incredible.”
TF Sport’s Vantage GTE took class-winning honours in GTE Am with works driver Jonny Adam (GB) and Charlie Eastwood (GB), and team-mate Salih Yoluç (TUR) and, with it, the lead of the WEC GTE Am drivers’ title going into the season finale at Bahrain International Circuit. The British outfit is the first privateer team to win Le Mans with the Vantage GTE.
Nicki Thiim (DEN) and Marco Sørensen (DEN), who were joined this weekend by Richard Westbrook (GB), will also take the WEC pro-class drivers’ title to the wire – they now lead team-mates Lynn and Martin by just 15 points after taking third place in the GTE Pro class.
In the GTE Am class, huge disappointment came for long-standing Aston Martin Racing driver Paul Dalla Lana (CAN), who had high hopes for his eighth Le Mans. Outstanding pace from the Canadian and his team-mates Augusto Farfus (BR) and works driver Ross Gunn (GB) proved fruitless after an extended pitstop put a halt to their race-leading charge.
The trio of podiums at the double-point-scoring event was enough for Aston Martin to take the WEC Manufacturers’ title for the first time – the British manufacturer crossed the line 76 points ahead of Porsche and 97 ahead of Ferrari.
Tobias Moers, Aston Martin CEO, commented: “I am extremely proud of everyone who has played a part in this momentous victory today. To win both GTE classes and the WEC Manufacturer’s title is testimony to the quality of both the team, the Vantage GTE and the Vantage road car that is the basis of the race car.”
AMR miss out on GTE front rows in LM24 Hyperpole
All four Aston Martin Vantage GTEs entered for this year’s race made it through to Hyperpole, having dominated yesterday’s 45-minute qualifying session. The exciting 30-minute event, new for 2020, gave one driver from each car the chance to take advantage of the clear track and show what they can do.
FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) leaders Nicki Thiim (DEN) and Marco Sørensen (DEN), who are joined in the #95 Vantage GTE this weekend by Richard Westbrook (GB), qualified in third place in GTE Pro, putting them in a strong position to start the biggest race of the season.
“I think we can be happy with that,” said Sørensen. “Obviously, we wanted pole to get that extra point but we didn’t get that today. It was nice to be out on the track with no traffic around – usually in practice and qualifying you all go out in one go and 99% of the time you end up hitting traffic. The Hyperpole made it more like actually qualifying with the track for yourself and that was great. We’ve come here the most prepared we’ve ever been so I’m really excited and motivated for the race.”
The #97 sister car qualified in fourth in the GTE Pro class thanks to works driver Alex Lynn (GB). He and Maxime Martin (BEL), who are also able to clinch the WEC title this year, will be joined by experienced Le Mans racer Harry Tincknell (GB) for this weekend’s race.
In the GTE Am class, Ross Gunn (GB), who stepped up to the works team line-up for this season, will start his second ever 24 Hours of Le Mans from fourth in GTE Am after setting the pace in yesterday’s qualifying session. He will be joined in the #98 Vantage GTE by Paul Dalla Lana (CDN), contesting his eighth Le Mans, and new team-mate Augusto Farfus (BR).
The TF Sport-run Vantage GTE qualified in fifth in the GTE-AM class with Charlie Eastwood (GB) behind the wheel. Fellow works driver Jonny Adam (GB) and Salih Yoluç (TU) complete the customer team line-up.
President Aston Martin Racing David King said: “Obviously Le Mans is the most important race of the season, and with so much at stake in the WEC GTE Manufacturers and Drivers’ championships this weekend, our main objective was to get through practice and qualifying unscathed and fully prepared for 24 hours of racing. We’ve done that, and we’re confident we have a package that can contend for victory in both classes on Sunday. It’s one of the strongest line-ups we’ve ever brought to Le Mans, and there is, quite literally, all to play for.”
The 88th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans starts at 1430 CET, Saturday, 19 September.
