Three Aston Martin GT3's for GTWCE finale this weekend
This weekend sees the concluding round of the 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Series from the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya in southern Spain with three Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT3’s again scheduled to make that long trip south.
For the two full season entries from the Garage 59 team, there will sadly be no title shoot out in either of their Pro-Am and Silver class entries this year after a disappointing run last time out for their #188 at the Nurburgring left that crew too far back this time around for that to be mathematically possible whilst their #159 Silver Cup crew have faced something on an injurious season right from the start for that dream to have never materialised.
The provisional entry list of forty-seven cars again confirms the driver list of Alex West, Chris Goodwin and Jonny Adam aboard the #188 Pro-Am entry with Alex MacDowall, Nicolai Kjaergaard and newly crowned FFSA GT4 Silver Cup Champion Valentin Hasse-Clot aboard the #159 Silver Cup.
One thing is for sure however, and despite their various misfortunes so far within this year’s Championship is that both cars will be guaranteed as aiming for a race win (if not) a podium finish come the end of Sunday’s three-hour final race with the series themselves inking the #188 car down as a potential class winner themselves!!
They in turn will be joined again on track by the #97 Oman racing with TF Sport AMR Vantage GT3 of Ahmad Al Harthy, Charlie Eastwood and Giacomo Petrobelli for their second visit to the GTWCE Endurance Cup Series this year after their rather successful return to the series at the Nurburgring where they finished fifth in the ultra-competitive Pro-Am Class.
For that race, they were however joined at the last minute by AMR Factory driver Maxime Martin after Eastwood tested positive for CV-19 just as the crews were due to fly out to Germany for that weekend of racing. How the crew does here may just help those decide where they might be racing in next season!?
Qualifying will take place on Sunday morning with the three-hour race being waved off later at 15:00hrs local with all these sessions again being streamed live on the series social media channels.
It would be great to see all these cars finish the season on the podium!
Photo credits – GTWCE / Teams
Monday, October 04, 2021 |
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Not their day and not their season for Garage 59 after a disappointing visit to the Nurburgring
Quite the underestimation after events on track saw all hope of the #188 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 crew of Alex West, Chris Goodwin and (then) birthday boy Jonny Adam from winning the Pro-Am Drivers Championship by the end of the final round of the season in Barcelona evaporate through under performance of their car (compared to others) as well as two penalties for transgressions both on track and in the pit lane.
In fact, the results of the Pro-Am class after this round completely reshaped the championship standing with new drivers coming through to take the lead but for the #188, the goal of another season title had gone.
Having qualified P8 in class and P38 of the 43 starters, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the #188 but adversity they have faced before in the series to come through with the remnants of some decent points. A ten second penalty at their first stop against West for turning around the #77 Barwell Lamborghini in the first half an hour of the three hour race however saw them lose more time before a pit stop infraction between the Goodwin/Adam stint saw their season efforts confined to the annuals of ‘what might have been’ with a further drive through penalty.
The crew would eventually finish P31 overall and P9 in class to claim just two points when those around them claimed significantly more.
For the team’s #159 Silver Cup effort of Alex MacDowall, Nicolai Kjaergaard and Valentin Hasse-Clot, things seemed to be better for them after a podium finish together last time out in the Spa 24. Qualifying for the Nurburgring saw them start P11 overall and second in class just behind the class pole setting GRT Grasser Lambo.
That early success in the event would unfortunately unravel for them as rear contact for MacDowall in the opening stint affected something within the car for the lanky Brit to eventually hand the car over to Kjaergaard with body language that said it all having gone on to endure the loss of three places in one corner later!
After the halfway stage, and despite three full course yellows/Safety car periods bunching the field back up again there was simply nothing ‘in the tank’ for the Aston Martin Racing crew to mount any kind of challenge against their advisories and they would ultimately finish P19 overall and P8 in class.
With a haul of just two points for themselves as well, that result dropped them down to P13 in the Silver Drivers Championship with also an insurmountable points deficit to counter at the final round in Barcelona.
Next up for the team are two visits to Spain - first the finale of the Sprint Cup at Valencia at the end of the month before the conclusion of the Endurance Cup at Barcelona two weeks later.
Photo credits – GTWCE / Garage 59
Photo credits – GTWCE / Garage 59
Monday, September 06, 2021 |
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Guesting Oman Racing AMR joins full season Garage 59 entries at the Nurburgring
Up to eighty-six GT3 and GT4 race cars grace the provisional entry lists for this weekend’s penultimate rounds of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Series and GT4 European Series from the Nurburgring in Germany with an additional Aston Martin Racing surprise in each.
With the last round of the GTWCE Endurance Cup being the Total Energie Spa 24Hours of nearly a month ago now, some teams have had that long to recompose themselves after the workload of the toughest GT3 24 Hour race about – except for the Garage 59 Aston Martin Racing Partner team who travel to Germany straight off the back of the latest round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup from Brands Hatch last weekend.
Whilst their Silver Cup pairing unfortunately struggled again there, it was another confidence boosting double podium for their Pro-Am pairing of Alex West and Jonny Adam as that duo travel to Germany to meet up with their third man (Chris Goodwin) in time for this round’s three-hour race on Sunday afternoon.
Chasing the leaders hard in the Sprint Cup, the #188 Pro-Am crew also have ground to make up in the Endurance Cup after gearbox issues put them out of the Spa 24 early on meaning that West and Goodwin are now fourteen points behind the class leading Ferrari with two races remaining.
Alongside the #188 car will of course be the #159 Silver Cup car of Valentin Hasse-Clot, Alex MacDowall and Nicolai Kjaergaard. For them, a slow start to the season at both Monza and Paul Ricard was bolstered by a great performance at Spa which lifts the trio up to P10 in the Silver Cup table – still some thirty-two points behind the championship leaders but still with some time to do something about it both at the Nurburgring before finally at Barcelona.
These two full season entries will be joined by another one of Tom Ferrier’s one off “specials” as Ahmad Al Harthy, Giacomo Petrobelli and Charlie Eastwood re-join the series for this round in the #97 Oman Racing with TF Sport AMR Vantage GT3 that last competed in the Le Mans Cup at Le Mans a couple of weeks ago.
With Aston Martin Racing sadly reduced to supporting the ventures of its partner and customer teams only at present, every effort is being made to secure the continued loyalty of customer drivers like Al Harthy, Petrobelli and more recently Michael Dinan with the marque for this and subsequent years to follow.
With the Omani driver being prevented from committing too much this year due to global travel restrictions and the likes of Dinan very much in the market for a GT3 deal somewhere in the world – these one-off events are specifically designed to keep these people engaged with the brand and its supporting teams as they decide where 2022 will take them – and with whom!
The Nurburgring three-hour race starts at 14:45hrs local.
UPDATE - AMR factory driver Maxime Martin steps into the Oman Racing Aston with Al Harthy and Petrobelli as Charlie Eastwood gets ‘pinged’ for being close to someone who later tested positive for Covid.
Photo credits – GTWCE / Garage 59 / TF Sport
Tuesday, August 31, 2021 |
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Garage 59 take the Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 to a double podium at Spa 24
The Vantage GT3 is already a class-winner in the event, following TF Sport’s Pro-Am victory in 2019, but this is the first time the car had achieved a podium in the overall standings.
Garage 59, which ran the additional one-off ‘Pro’ entry with support from the Aston Martin Racing factory, was a leading contender in the Pro Cup, Silver Cup and Pro-Am classes through much of a thrilling, incident-packed race.
Having started eighth, like most of the field, the #95 spent nearly 90 minutes behind the Safety Car while the wreckage of a huge four-car accident was cleared. After that, the route to the podium for the ‘Dane Train’ was not straightforward with more incidents for rivals, Safety Car periods and weather blurring the competitive picture.
With eight hours to go, three cars emerged in contention for the win, including the Garage 59 Aston Martin which was running an alternative strategy to its rivals. But when two further Full Course Yellow periods allowed the Aston Martin’s rivals to make additional stops, it neutralised the advantage of Garage 59’s game-plan.
While racing into this strong position, Thiim had set the fastest lap of the race just after dawn, and Gunn and Sørensen followed that up with blistering stints of their own. Firmly established in a podium place, the team never gave up and closed to within 40s of their rivals before another sudden deluge transformed the race again with 30 minutes to go. But with the Aston Martin separated from the race leaders by the track position of the Safety Car, third was the maximum result achievable.
“It’s a strange feeling to finish third but know there was more you could have achieved in different circumstances,” said Thiim. “The car was fast, and I think we had the package to win. Working with Garage 59 was great and they, combined with some of our old WEC crew, made a great team. We definitely had the speed and the car to fight for the win, but just not the luck.”
Sørensen, who was in the car at the finish, added: “Those were some incredible conditions to drive. The Vantage GT3 was fast through-out and maybe we could have won, but in the end it was important to finish and third is a great result. I’ve enjoyed my first Spa 24 Hours and I want to come back and finish the job.”
Ross Gunn said: “In the past, when I’ve raced in this event, it’s been in the Silver or Pro-Am classes when you’re constantly having the Pro cars charge down on you into the braking zones, so it was great to be the one doing the lapping this time. Fighting at the front all race with the Vantage GT3 showed its capabilities as a racing car and proved it can be a contender with the right team in any top championship around the world.”
The Silver #159 entry, comprised of AMR Academy graduate Valentin Hasse-Clot (FRA) as well as two 2021 Academy candidates; Nicolai Kjærgaard (DEN) and Tuomas Tujula (FIN), and joined by Alex MacDowall (GBR), didn’t put a wheel wrong and quietly rose through the order to be a solid second in class with two hours to go.
A combination of a drive-through penalty and heavy rain comprised to work against the car’s forward progress however and it ultimately finished third; it’s best result of the season and an outstanding achievement for the car and its young crew.
Starting from the class pole, the #188 Pro-Am class Garage 59 Aston Martin Vantage starred in the first half of the event with drivers Alexander West (SWE), Chris Goodwin (GBR), Charlie Eastwood (IRL) and Marvin Kirchhöfer (DEU). Having survived a debris strike as Kirchhöfer passed through the early multi-car accident, the #188 rapidly worked itself into contention and led the class by midnight. But not long after the car’s drivers began reporting gear selection issues which ultimately led to its retirement. A real blow for a team that looked on course for glory.
Aston Martin Racing, Managing Director John Gaw said: “This was the first true manifestation of how we can showcase the capabilities of Aston Martin Racing as a support network and supply service for customers in a major endurance event. This is one of the biggest GT3 races in the world and a tough race to take on for sure, particularly in the Pro class with just one entry against all the German manufacturers, Ferraris and Lamborghinis. To get the small pot is nice, but we wanted the big one. This is still a step in the right direction, and we want to be able to do this with more customers around the world. It was also good to show the capabilities of the GT3, both in terms of reliability and performance and we have got a really strong team to do that with, whether it be in engineering or drivers.”
Garage 59 team principal and co-owner Andrew Kirkaldy said: “Spa has been a thorn in our side for a while now so to get two podiums here is great, and considering there were only three Aston Martins in the race that’s a pretty good podium hit-rate. We felt like we had a good car in Pro-Am, which is important for us in terms of the championship, so it was a blow to lose that car in the night. It has been a good weekend and a great effort in collaboration with the AMR guys. All three Vantages were competitive all weekend. The Pro guys did great and I’m delighted for the #159 drivers; I think this result will give them a boost as we head into the remainder of the season but like any racer, I prefer it when we win!”
AMR President, David King, said: “The combination of Garage 59, Aston Martin Racing, and some of the world’s best GT drivers has proved outstanding this weekend. To finish in third overall and on the lead lap in the Pro class is a tribute to the skill of the drivers, the team, and the pace and reliability of the Vantage GT3. The second-place finish in the Silver class is no less impressive. Congratulations to everyone involved, and a special thanks to our longest serving partner, Immun’Age, whose loyal support has helped enable another success for Aston Martin.”
Source material - AMR
Photo Credits - AMR/Garage 59
Sunday, August 01, 2021 |
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Next stop - green flag for the Garage 59 AMR trio at this years Spa 24
This evening’s final laps of Superpole for the top twenty runners from last night’s Qualifying rounds set the grid for the start of tomorrows running of the Total Energie Spa 24.
With no endurance race ever being won from pushing the boundaries too far during Free Practice and Qualifying, the three Garage 59 entered Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3’s have set themselves up to give themselves the best possible start around one of the most iconic racetracks in the world for one of the toughest 24hour races in the world as part of this year’s GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season.
Last night we saw the individual Qualifying rounds for each of Garage 59’s Pro-Am and Silver Cup entries as well as the three legs for their AMR factory supported Pro effort specific for this event.
Under the watchful eyes of many from the AMR factory team Alex West (#188) and Tuomas Tujula (#159) were out in the first session with just twenty-seven runners followed later by Chris Goodwin (#159) and Alex MacDowall (#159) and Nicki Thiim (#95) with the full fifty-eight cars on track. Incidents on track during this session lead to two red flags leaving those unfortunate not to have set a time with little time within which to make sure. Whilst Goodwin claimed the fastest time in Pro-Am, MacDowall was caught in heavy traffic leaving their Silver Cup entry lower down the order than perhaps they deserved to by Thiim had already set a time good enough for P2, so he was done early.
Now in complete darkness from the delays of Q2, Charlie Eastwood (#188), Valentin Hasse-Clot (#159) and Ross Gunn (#95) were out next, and it was a battle royale between the AMR factory and AMR factory junior drivers which left the young Irishman ahead of the young Brit on track with the #188 car again claiming top honours. Finally, it was the turn of Marvin Kirchhofer (#188) who had been one the fastest drivers out there in Pre-Qualifying who rounded off a successful Qualifying session for their Pro-Am car to finish his session in P3 – good enough for them to claim the overall class pole for Saturday’s race. Nicolai Kjaergaard was out in the #159 where he too suffered with the effects of traffic (eventually Qualifying in P13 in class) as well did Marco Sorensen now in the #95 Pro class entered car but at least the times were good enough to claim a P2 slot in this evenings Superpole.
Then there was more drama this evening when Nicki Thiim ran the #95 cars Superpole laps – two fast laps on new rubber within a defined time band during the allotted thirty-minute session.
Reported late on pit lane exit to Race Control (outside of the permitted two-minute window), Thiim’s first lap was only good enough for P10 but his second flying lap elevated them to P3 for tomorrows race – or so they thought!!
Confirmation later came through that the #95 car had indeed been penalised from its original P3 finishing position with a 0.254 of a second added to its best lap time (the time they were late leaving pit lane at the start of their session) and that dropped the car down to P8 overall on grid. We wait to hear if the team can or indeed will appeal against that decision.
Either way, that decision will not affect the outcome of the 24-hour race as consistency, team work and a whole lot of luck (especially through the long night) will determine who finishes the race first!!
Good luck to them all.
Photo credits – GTWCE / Garage 59
Friday, July 30, 2021 |
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Garage 59 and Aston Martin Racing aim for the top step of their three classes at Spa 24
The Spa 24 Hours is a special race. Among the most gruelling of all the prestigious 24-hour endurance contests, it is unique in that it is only open to FIA-homologated GT3 specification racing cars. Add to that a huge 60-car field, the unpredictable nature of the Ardennes weather and the fact that Spa-Francorchamps is one of the toughest examinations of a drivers’ skill anywhere, and you have perhaps the most coveted GT prize in motorsport.
Garage 59 come to the event as the reigning GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Pro-Am Team and Drivers’ champions and have added a brand new 4-litre V8 turbo-charged Aston Martin Vantage GT3 to their regular two-car squad, having worked closely with the Aston Martin Racing factory to optimise all three cars and crew in the build-up to the blue riband event.
The familiar #95 race number returns to a top-level Aston Martin ‘Pro’ entry for the first time in 2021, and heralds the return of the ‘Dane Train’ – FIA GT world champions Nicki Thiim (DEN) and Marco Sørensen (DEN) – who will spearhead the challenge for overall honours alongside IMSA GTD championship leader Ross Gunn (GBR), who has won twice already this season in the U.S. This will mark Sørensen’s debut in the Spa 24 Hours, but for Thiim it is a return to the scene of his famous Pro-Am victory with TF Sport in 2019.
“Competing in the Spa 24 Hours is a big tick on the bucket list, and one I have wanted to do for a long time,” said Sørensen. “To be re-joining Nicki in the car will almost feel like there hasn’t been a break since Bahrain when we won the world championship. I know Ross will get the job done, so this feels like a really strong team. I would like to thank Garage 59 for the opportunity, and after the recent test I am sure this is a team that is capable of giving us a car that can go for the win!”
Alongside the ‘Pro’ car, the reigning Pro-Am champions in the #188 Vantage, Alexander West (SWE), Chris Goodwin (GBR) will be joined by another 2019 Spa 24 Hour Pro-Am winner, Charlie Eastwood (IRL). The #188 entry has been in contention for the past two seasons and recorded Garage 59’s first podium in the race last year with third in Pro-Am. The team’s other regular works driver Jonny Adam has been forced to withdraw from the event having tested positive for Covid-19. His place will be taken by Marvin Kirchhöfer (DEU).
The Silver #159 entry is comprised of AMR Academy graduate Valentin Hasse-Clot (FRA) as well as two of the 2021 Academy’s candidates Nicolai Kjærgaard (DEN) and Tuomas Tujula (FIN). The crew is completed by the experienced GT racer and team regular Alex MacDowall (GBR).
Garage 59 team principal and co-owner Andrew Kirkaldy said: “The 24 Hours of Spa is the hardest race of the season, on the people and the cars, but I’m very happy to be running the extra car in the Pro class this year. The support we are receiving from Aston Martin Racing began at the official Spa test a few weeks ago and the full team gelled very quickly so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do together as one team in the race.”
AMR President, David King, said: “Ever since the current Vantage GT3 was introduced in 2019 it has been a competitive force in high profile GT events around the world and Garage 59 has been at the forefront of its success. I am confident that the step up to a Pro class entry for the Spa 24 hours will demonstrate the combined expertise of Garage 59 and Aston Martin Racing, and further advance the reputation of the Vantage as the car of choice for success in international GT3 racing.”
Practice and Qualifying for the TotalEnergies Spa 24 Hours begins on Thursday 29 July while the race itself starts on Saturday 31 July at 1630 (CET).
Source material - AMR
Photo credits - GTWCE
Tuesday, July 27, 2021 |
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Third Garage 59 AMR GT3 for full Pro assault at the Total 24 Hours of Spa
Speculated about for the last few weeks after some 'carrot on a stick' social media traffic sees those details finally confirmed - and what a storyline that could make!!
Aston Martin Racing partner team Garage 59 will challenge for overall honours in the 2021 Total Spa 24 Hours with a full ‘Pro’ driver line-up that includes reigning FIA GT World Endurance champions Marco Sørensen and Nicki Thiim.
The ‘Dane Train’ will share a brand-new 4-litre V8 turbo-charged Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with AMR works driver Ross Gunn (GB) in a one-off assault on the Pro class of the prestigious Belgian event, which starts on 31 July. The Spa 24 Hours is considered the blue riband race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe and Intercontinental GT Challenge and, open to homologated GT3-specification race cars only, is a true measure of endurance for both driver and machine.
The additional entry means that Garage 59 will run three Vantage GT3s with the team’s full season Silver and Pro-Am GTWC entries featuring their regular line-ups complementing the Pro entry. The reigning Pro-Am champions in the #188 Vantage, Alexander West (CH), Chris Goodwin (GB) and two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Jonny Adam (GB) will be joined by a fourth driver yet to be confirmed. The Silver class entry will also feature a fourth driver alongside AMR Academy graduate Valentin Hasse-Clot (FR), Alex MacDowall (GB) and Nicolai Kjærgaard (DK).
“After an amazing season in 2020, winning both FIA World Endurance Championship titles with the team, and the Vantage GTE winning Le Mans, I am really happy to be returning to contest one of the biggest GT3 races on the planet,” said Thiim. “As always it’s an honour to represent the Aston Martin brand and to be able to show what this car is capable of. There are new goals within the Aston Martin family, but the target remains the same – to win. Spa represents the perfect scenario for this, to race against the best of the best. It’s great to keep the ‘Dane Train’ alive and to be able to drive alongside the ‘Gunn’ is great too, and Garage 59 is a very impressive team. I can’t wait to get started.”
Sørensen added: “I am really looking forward to going racing again at Spa. To have the shot at an overall win in one of the great GT endurance races is a great opportunity, so I have to say thanks to Garage 59 and Aston Martin. I think with Ross joining the ‘Dane Train’ we make a pretty strong line-up and the Vantage definitely has the potential to fight at the front. The team has won championships at this level and always produces a competitive car so I am looking forward to learning more about them.”
“It’s great to be going back to the Spa 24 Hours in a ‘Pro’ set-up with Garage 59 alongside Marco and Nicki,” said Gunn, who also races a Vantage GT3 for The Heart of Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship in the United States. “Competition in GT3 racing is at an all-time high and we have lots of work to do at the test to get ready. But we have a great team behind us and a fantastic car to work with so I am confident that we can have a strong event.”
Source material - AMR
Photo credits - AMR / GTWCE / Garage 59
Tuesday, June 01, 2021 |
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Another podium and retention of class lead after 6Hrs of Le Castellet for Garage 59
Valentin Hasse-Clot, Alex MacDowall and Nicolai Kjærgaard had an arduous time in the #159 Vantage as they had to contend with a hard to handle car due to front splitter damage early on in the race.
The team’s performance in Saturday morning’s Qualifying session was faultless. With grid positions set from the aggregate fastest times from each of the three drivers in each car, it is vital that every driver has a good run. A thrilling session resulting in pole position in both the Silver and Pro-Am classes for the Garage 59 Aston Martins.
The performance of the drivers of the #159 Vantage was so strong that their Silver class pole position was also ninth place overall from the 47 cars that took the start.
Hasse-Clot took the start in the #159 Vantage and held onto the Silver class lead throughout the first hour of the race. In the #188, Goodwin dropped to second but only when a Pro-Am class challenger straight-lined a corner. They handed over the driving duties to MacDowall and West at the start of the second hour with West starting a strong double stint where he held onto second in Pro-Am and MacDowall also holding second but in the Silver class.
When sunset arrived at the halfway mark of the race, Kjærgaard was halfway through a double stint in the #159 Vantage, still running second in class. In the #188 Vantage it was time for Jonny Adam to jump in.
Remarkably the race stayed green for the first four hours but as darkness fell, so did the first Full Course Yellow. It couldn’t have been more badly timed for the #188 crew.
Once the race got back underway, Goodwin was in the #188 Aston Martin and MacDowall was back onboard the #159, both running in third place in their respective classes. For the final hour they handed back over to Adam and Hasse-Clot. Unfortunately for Jonny the #188 was too far adrift of the first and second placed Pro-Am runners so despite a spirited final hour, he crossed the line in third place. The #159 was now really struggling and Hasse-Clot could only hang on until the end, finishing ninth in the Silver class; a result hardly befitting the pace shown in Qualifying.
“As we continue to develop the Garage 59 team we approached this race very well prepared and our strong practice and qualifying pace reflected that,” said Goodwin. “However, it’s the race that matters and our race pace wasn’t quite as strong. The #188 Vantage took a bit of a beating and finally the timing of our penultimate stop under a Full Course Yellow cost us dearly. In the end we are disappointed with a podium position, which reflects the team’s high expectations. You can’t win them all but we enter every race trying to do so.
“The Silver car demonstrated equally strong pace in the run up to the race itself and pole in its class was a great performance from all three drivers,” he continued. “When you put a Silver car that far up the grid the racing is fierce and the lightest of contact on top of the aggressive kerbs here inflicted some damage to the car’s front splitter early on in the race, which developed and finally unravelled entirely by the end of the race. The drivers all pushed as hard as their now aerodynamically-challenged car would allow but finally, the end result was disappointing after such a strong weekend.”
The next endurance race for the GT World Challenge Europe teams is the 24 Hours of Spa in late July. Look out for an announcement coming tomorrow about that! Next up for the team are two weekends of Sprint Cup racing, the first taking place at Zandvoort in Holland on 19-20 June.
Source material - Garage 59
Photo credits - GTWCE / Team
Monday, May 31, 2021 |
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At the head of their class for Garage 59 at the GT World Challenge Europe 6 hr from Paul Ricard
During the weekend’s earlier Free Practice sessions, both the #159 Silver Cup entry of Valentin Hasse-Clot, Alex MacDowall and Nicolai Kjaergaard and the #188 Pro-Am entry of Alex West, Chris Goodwin and Jonny Adam were immediately on the pace at the front end of the forty-seven car entry with their AMR Vantage GT3’s before going into this morning’s individual Qualifying runs that culminated in both cars claiming their respective Silver Cup and Pro-Am class pole positions.
Starting this evening six hour – 1000km race from P9 overall and several cars ahead of the next car in class should give the #159 crew a much-needed gap they need to set an early pace in the ultra-competitive class after a disappointing end to their season opener at Monza last month.
The #188 Pro-Am meanwhile will be starting from P24 overall and again, several cars ahead of the next in class as they look to replicate their class win at Monza.
The race itself starts at 18:00hrs local and is of course streamed live and free on the series social media channels.
Photo credits – GTWCE / Team
Saturday, May 29, 2021 |
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Garage 59 take class glory at opening round of GT World Challenge Europe
Having qualified third in class, the #188 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 begun the three-hour opening round of the Endurance Cup with West in the car. Faced with challenging conditions and an extremely busy track, the Swede did a stellar job to navigate safely through a severe rainstorm and two long Full-Course-Yellow periods before handing over to Goodwin.
The Briton then delivered a storming drive of his own, emerging from the pits in fifth and charging through into the lead. This gave two-times 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Adam the perfect opportunity to capitalise, and the Scot needed no second invitation. Running second in class with 30 minutes to go and in a fight for the lead, when the Lamborghini running ahead of Adam made a mistake into the Rettifilio Chicane, Jonny swept into the lead and on to class victory.
It was the third win for the Garage 59 trio, and the second time they have won the season opener, having done the same at Imola less than a year ago.
“Alex had the rough end of the stick starting in the dry and had to deal with the heavy rain, and Chris drove brilliantly,” said Adam, who is challenging for his third Pro-Am title in 2021, having also won in 2020 and ’17. ‘It was a great team effort, and the Garage 59 team did a fabulous job to prepare the Aston Martin Vantage all weekend. It’s fantastic to share victory with these guys again in the first race of the year, and it’s the perfect start to our championship defence. What better way to do it than to win in Monza?”
Source material - AMR
Sunday, April 18, 2021 |
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Garage 59 quickly confirm their ten drivers for their GT World Challenge Europe challenge
Finishing off a productive single car Official Test at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France today with three of the now confirmed drivers, we received confirmation that Alex West, Chris Goodwin and Jonny Adam again unite behind the #188 Pro-Am Endurance Series entry as well as a West/Adam combo in their new for 2021 #188 Pro-Am Sprint Series entry as well.
Kjaergaard
Joining these guys this year in their Endurance Series Silver Cup #159 entry will be a returning Valentin Hasse-Clot joined this year by Alex MacDowall and Danish driver Nicolai Kjaergaard. Whilst MacDowall needs no introduction in terms of his pedigree with the AMR marque having raced with the factory team in WEC and with Beechdean AMR in the ELMS, the young Dane continues a promising start to his GT career having raced in the Endurance Series with the Team Parker Racing Bentley crew last season.
Tutjala
Back into Sprint, and their other all new entry into that category of racing is taken with another race seat for Kjaergaard who this time will be joined by a young Finnish driver Tuomas Tujula who comes off the back of three years racing Lamborghini’s in the GT Open and Italian GT Series.
Photo credits – GTWCE / Drivers
Friday, March 26, 2021 |
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