David Pittard confirmed as AMR works rostered driver for 2022
The 29-year-old Briton, who turns 30 on race day, is well established as a rising international GT star following excellent performances in the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie, where he is a multiple race-winner and holds the Nordschleife GT3 lap record. Pittard also produced regular stand-out performances during a four-year stint with established GT outfit Walkenhorst Motorsport in the Fanatec GT World Challenge and Intercontinental GT Challenge.
“I’m excited and proud to have signed for Aston Martin Racing,” said Pittard. “My goal is to win the biggest endurance GT races and with Aston Martin I have the platform and the machinery to achieve this. I welcome the challenge of adapting to a new manufacturer, new championships and new tracks, but Aston Martin Racing is one of the best organisations in the business so I’m confident this will be a short and painless process. Having team-mates like Paul and Nicki – one of the fastest GT drivers on the planet – will certainly help.
“I’m looking forward to racing the Vantage, which has proved a world class champion in both GTE and GT3 specification, and I’m glad Daytona has come around so soon in the year so I can get started right away.”
Head of Customer Racing Huw Tasker, added: “We are delighted to have signed David as a works Aston Martin Racing driver. He has showed enormous potential in and out of the car for a
while, so it is good for us to have secured his services. He joins a strong crew at NorthWest AMR in WEC and also Daytona, and this should give him a bright start to his career with us. We look forward to seeing what he can achieve with Vantage.”
Thiim joins Dalla Lana and Northwest AMR at Le Mans 24
The reigning GT FIA World Endurance champion Nicki Thiim (DEN) will return to the cockpit of the Aston Martin Vantage GTE for the 89th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, on 21-22 August. AMR works driver Thiim, who last raced the Le Mans GTE class-winning car when he clinched the FIA WEC GTE Pro title alongside Marco Sørensen in Bahrain last year, will join Paul Dalla Lana (CDN) and Marcos Gomes (BRA) in NorthWest AMR’s GTE Am line-up.
Aston Martin will be represented by its regular partners in the classic French endurance event with four Vantage GTEs as TF Sport enters an additional car for John Hartshorne alongside its FIA WEC entry and those from D’station Racing and NorthWest AMR. All three teams aim to retain Vantage’s position as the car to beat in GTE Am, following its double triumph in 2020. Alex Lynn (GBR), Harry Tincknell (GBR) and Maxime Martin (BEL) famously won the Pro class with the works Aston Martin Racing team while TF Sport’s Salih Yoluc (TUR) was joined on the top step of the GTE Am podium by works drivers Jonny Adam (GBR) and Charlie Eastwood (IRL).
This year’s race will mark a return to GTE Am for the first time since 2014 for Thiim, who will make his eighth consecutive start in the French classic. The 32-year-old Dane’s last appearance in the class at Le Mans also netted him a debut win – his sole victory in the French classic so far.
“I am so happy to be coming back to one of the greatest endurance races in the world with Aston Martin, and as always it’s an honour to represent such a special brand in the big events,” said Thiim. “I have to say thank you to Paul for inviting me to be a part of his NorthWest AMR team, and for giving us a real chance to fight for victory in this year’s race. The Vantage is an amazing car to race at Le Mans and with Paul and Marcos we have a team that can be right in the mix.”
For Dalla Lana, winning Le Mans is one of the few ambitions he has yet to realise in his impressive career to date. The 2017 FIA WEC GTE Am world champion has come close, and even led the class on more than one occasion, but heartbreak has always intervened. This year the Canadian is determined to put the record straight.
“When it became clear that [regular WEC team-mate] Augusto Farfus was not available for the race, Nicki was the obvious replacement,” said Dalla Lana. “Between Nicki and Marcos we have an incredibly strong line-up. The Vantage is a proven quantity at Le Mans, and in the NorthWest AMR team we have built a tight unit of dedicated individuals, many of whom have won this race before and know exactly how to get the job done. This feels like a really good shot at the race, and I’m super excited to get down to business at Le Mans.”
Before Le Mans takes place, delayed from its traditional mid-June date due to ongoing concerns around the Covid-19 pandemic, the FIA WEC makes its race debut at Monza in Italy for Round 3. Some of the teams and drivers are familiar with the circuit however with the track having hosted the FIA WEC’s pre-season prologue test in 2017.
TF Sport’s Ben Keating (USA), Dylan Pereira (LUX) and Felipe Fraga (BRA) are currently third in the GTE Am standings 25 points off the lead, with Dalla Lana, Farfus and Gomes sixth and D’station Racing’s Satoshi Hoshino (JPN), Tomonobu Fujii (JPN) and Andrew Watson (GBR) 12th.
David King, Aston Martin Racing president said: “We are very proud to have four Vantage GTEs contesting the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans and three strong partners defending Aston Martin’s honour after our successes of last season. That Nicki Thiim can return with Paul Dalla Lana and the NorthWest AMR team is fantastic news and underlines our commitment to our customers that we are able to have such strength in depth in our factory squad to call upon when needed. We wish all of our partner teams the best of luck at Le Mans, and in Monza this weekend.”
Source Material - AMR
Three AMR Vantage GTE's travel to Monza for the last dance before Le Mans
They go in three’s this weekend as the three Aston Martin Racing Vantage platforms competing in this weekend’s IMSA programme at Lime Rock, Connecticut are equally matched by the three AMR Vantage platforms that are due to compete in this weekend’s third round of the World Endurance Championship from Monza, Italy.
Just over a month since the last round of the Championship from Portimao, this weekend will be remarkably different to that and the season opener from Spa by the way of actually having (limited) fans allowed inside the circuit for the first time in ………too long!!
The 2021 re-arranged calendar from the WEC has now left this weekend’s round in Italy as the round before the big one at Le Mans as obviously the traditional June date for the 24hr has long since passed and we will now have to wait until next month to see if the WEC’s plans for that event continue to bear substance with the ongoing domestic situation in France.
Looking back at the events of Portimao, it was obviously something of a bruising affair for the TF Sport entered #777 D’Station Racing AMR Vantage GTE of drivers Tomonobu Fujii, Satoshi Hoshino and Andrew Watson after the emerald green car was effectively taken out of the eight hour race by the debuting Glickenhaus Hypercar after just two hours. Another amazing run in the opening stint from Fujii was let down by the damage caused in the collision that lead to Hoshino (who was in the car at the time of the incident) having to park the car to avoid any possible engine damage. Extremely disappointing for them all!
Then we have the other TF Sport entered AMR Vantage GTE of Ben Keating, Dylan Pereira and Felipe Fraga who had its own issues with involuntary contact and spins around the Portuguese circuit – sometimes of their own doing and earning themselves time penalties in the process and others not. They would eventually come home P8 in class after their season opening podium in Spa back in late April.
Then there was the AMR factory supported #98 Northwest Racing AMR Vantage GTE of Paul Dalla Lana, Marcos Gomes and Augusto Farfus who strung together their best result of the season so far at the eight-hour event to finish P4 in class on top of their P6 finish in Spa.
These results have the #33 TF Sport car third in the GTE Am Tourist Trophy Championship, with the #98 Northwest car mid table and the #777 in tenth, all a long way behind already to the Championship leading Cetilar Racing Ferrari who secured maximum points in Portimao on top of their podium finish at Spa.
With the TF Sport team already at Monza for last weekend’s ELMS race, Keating took the opportunity to race at the circuit for the very first time in one of the teams AMR Vantage GT3’s in the supporting Michelin Le Mans Cup Series alongside their ELMS driver Ross Gunn. Having crossed the podium first after that two-hour race, a technical transgression with the cars rear wing saw them struck from the results but that the purpose of that exercise had already been won by the American.
In news today, we see that Fujii is already in Europe and has today been undertaking his mandatory simulator test in Paris ahead of his first visit to Le Mans next month and will join his teammates at the circuit in time for the first Free Practice session on Friday.
There after follows two further Free Practice sessions on Saturday before the start of a more traditional six-hour WEC race on Sunday.
The three Aston Martin’s will compete amongst a GTE Am class of fourteen other cars in a grid of an expected 37 cars.
Photo credits – WEC / Teams
Busy night ahead for Team AMR in France
Without too much information being made available, Aston Martin Racing are tonight undertaking an extensive all night private test with their #97 V8 Vantage GTE at the Magny Cours Circuit in France.
With the 24Hours of Le Mans just four weeks away and the its official test two weeks before that, it's all hands to the pump for the team with at least two of their drivers being in attendance - those being Fernando Rees and Marco Sorensen. Out of the team's Pro driver line ups we know that Jonny Adam was testing at Oulton Park today so could make the trip, we believe that Nicki Thiim is now on a 'break' and Richie Stanaway is back in Australia man handling an Aussie V8! As for the whereabouts of Darren Turner……..?
What little detail there is being provided is coming from the driver's social media accounts!
The next four weeks will be feverish for the team what with the Nurburgring 24 next weekend, the LM24 Test the weekend after and the build up to the showpiece event itself in mid June. If that wasn't enough some will also have customer commitments in between!
Photo credit - AMR
Beechdean's latest merchandise range launched today
Today saw the launch of the new Beechdean Motorsport branded merchandise range featuring clothing from their 2016 sponsor Ellesse amongst other things.
The full range of available items can be found on-line Here.
Aston Martin Racing upgrades cars for 2016
Aston Martin Racing is upgrading its range of Vantage racing cars for 2016. Its three cars: the Vantage GTE, Vantage GT3 and Vantage GT4 feature a range of enhancements to improve their performance and durability.
The new Vantage GTE, which is used by the Aston Martin Racing works team in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), has been redesigned for the new 2016 GTE regulations. The car is currently undergoing its 2016 Balance of Performance (BOP) test with the FIA in France.
The new 2016 GTE regulations allow for significant changes to the car’s aerodynamics to increase downforce and reduce lap times. The most striking of these is the ability to fit an extended rear diffuser, which can now protrude 100mm beyond the rear of the car. The rear wing can also be extended to the same distance. At the front, the splitter has been redesigned to improve airflow under the car, to optimise the new diffuser.
“The FIA wants to increase the performance gap between GTE and GT3 and by focussing primarily on the underfloor aero, it means the cars still retain the identity of the road car,” said Dan Sayers, Aston Martin Racing technical director. “Also the focus on aero, rather than engine or mechanical changes, also means we avoid the need for extensive and costly endurance testing.”
Most of the body panels have been changed to improve the aerodynamics and there are distinctive new wing mirrors, which both improve driver visibility and the airflow over the new rear wing. All the aero and bodywork has been developed in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) by Aston Martin Racing in conjunction with Total SIM.
From a safety viewpoint the GTE will feature the latest 8862 seat; impact foam in the driver’s door; as well as removable door glazing and a mandatory roof access hatch to aid driver extraction in an emergency.
While regulation changes have necessitated changes to the GTE, Aston Martin Racing has taken the opportunity to make enhancements to both the Vantage GT3 and Vantage GT4, which are based on the same Vantage road car chassis. Like the Vantage GTE, the Vantage GT3 and GT4 compete in performance balanced series so the focus has been on reliability, durability and performance. All the enhancements can also be fitted to existing cars.
The 2016 Vantage GT4 now features the Vantage V12 road car bonnet. This has additional vents both aiding cooling and releasing under-bonnet air pressure, improving front-end aerodynamics. The car also has the latest Aston Martin seven speed semi-automatic transmission for faster shifts and a better spread of ratios.
Aston Martin Racing is increasing the use of common parts across its range. The new Vantage GT3 now has similar four-way adjustable Bilstein dampers to those found on the GTE, for greater control and adjustment, as well as the GTE hub nose for faster and more consistent wheel changes.
Under the bonnet there is revised 6.0-litre V12 engine with new cylinder heads and camshaft, and updated oil and water radiators with improved airflow and cooling. Combined, these improve the engine efficiency and durability, as well as improving performance in high ambient temperatures and during close racing.
The 2016 GT3 drivetrain has an increased pre-load differential to improve stability and traction; a revised drop gear optimised for the latest BOP and track configurations; and a new layshaft installation for durability.
Like the Vantage GTE, the GT3 now has the latest 8862 safety seat and seat fittings.
“As both the Vantage GT3 and GT4 are already very competitive and compete in performance balanced championships, we have focussed on improving the performance and reliability in the most cost-effective areas,” said Sayers. “We already have nearly 100 GT3 and GT4 cars regularly competing so it was also important that these customers could easily add these upgrades to their existing cars.
“We have also taken the opportunity to increase the commonality of parts across the range, taking parts proven in WEC and Le Mans on the GTE and using them in the GT3, and likewise with components from the GT3 for the GT4. Not only will this improve our customer cars, but it should also allow us to pass on cost savings too.”
Young Driver AMR returns to action at Nürburgring
It’s back to school for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC): Young Driver AMR returns to action at this weekend’s fourth round of the season at Nürburgring. After the long post Le Mans break, the series visits Germany for the first time. Behind the wheel of the Aston Martin Racing entered Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin Vantage GTE during Sunday’s 6-hour race are Marco Sørensen and Christoffer Nygaard. Young Driver AMR regular Nicki Thiim skips the German World Championship round due to other commitments. Young Driver AMR comes fresh from a fourth place finish at the 24 hours of Le Mans in June and is looking for it’s first GTE Pro class podium finish at Nürburgring.
Young Driver AMR made the best out of the summer break and tested at the "Ring" at the end July in preparation for the second part of the WEC season. After this weekends round in the Eifel region, the WEC will leave Europe and travels to the U.S., Japan, China and Bahrain.
"It’s difficult to make any predictions for the weekend, as the track is new to everyone and we don’t have a lot of experience there“, says Young Driver AMR´s Jan Struve. „We tested there recently and found a good set up. We have very good memories at Nürburgring, as back in our GT1 days in 2010, we took our maiden world championship victory there and won the qualifying race from pole. But this is history and it’s certain that the race will be hard and tight this weekend"
"I can’t wait to return to the track as the summer break was just too long", Christoffer Nygaard says. "We finished fourth at Le Mans. This was not exactly what we were looking for, but the race showed that we have a great pace and we have to make the best out of this weekend. The test recently at Nürburgring went well. We had all kind of different conditions and could try different things. The track should suit our Aston Martin, but judged from what we saw at the test, it will be a very close and exciting race again in our class".
Aston Martin Racing re-sign Turner for foreseeable future
