Like most races, qualifying only factors in the positions of each car as they cross the start line for the first time of asking and yesterday’s two-hour affair was no different as battles ensued and those in front tried to make their escape. Whilst the from AMR runners held station, those lower down the order had more work upon their hands as Todd Coleman in his #88 Archangel car was P14, Ramin Abdolvahabi in his #09 Automatic car was P21, Frank DePew in the new 2024 (and reliveried) Vantage GT4 was P22 whilst Ted Giovanis had TCR cars nibbling at his rear in P26.

Whilst Holton listed an early fastest lap aboard the #46 car, DePew received a warning about his start line car positioning but luckily there was no penalty to serve as the race continued into its first half hour.

Then, disaster came for Coleman and his #88 car as liquid was released, power being to fail before flames were seen to be licking the underneath of his Archangel prepared car as he dived off track in the search of track marshal intervention. Thankfully, one of the roadside mobile crews were quickly on scene with fire damage being kept to a minimum whilst the damage had already been done to Coleman’s third IMSA sanctioned race this season.

A lengthy clean up period obviously led to changes in strategies but with the forty-minute minimum drive time still to elapse, it would make for some interesting pit wall choices moving forward.

Taking their drive time length to the minimum limit, both the #71 Rebel Rock and #09 Automatic cars pitted for full service with forty-five-minute remaining but the entry angle of the #09 into their pit box meant for a time delaying push back as they swapped to Rob Ecklin for the final stint whilst Robin Liddell would get into the new version of Vantage GT4 for Rebel Rock.

Green, back to Full Course Yellow, back to green back to Safety car as cautions again bred cautions and all of that ultimately left us with a forty-minute sprint to the flag as the #71 had lifted itself up to P2 and the #19 VDS car of Hasse-Clot up to P3 by this stage.

Eighteen minutes to go and the #19 VDS car was having to fight hard to maintain its position with an eager BMW, Ford Mustang and McLaren bunching up behind him. Initially conceding T17 to the BMW, the Frenchman had other ideas as he undercut the #39 BMW to retake third and the chase to the podium.

Seven minutes to go and the chasing #44 Porsche that had been reeling in the #71 Aston up ahead suddenly pulled over (maybe fuel) giving Liddell the space that he needed to the end whilst contact behind the #19 VDS Aston saw both the charging BMW and McLaren eliminate each other from the proceedings to allow both Aston’s to finally come home unchallenged for an AMR 1-2 at the chequered flag.

Having started the race from P23 out of a GS class grid of twenty-six cars, the #71 Rebel Rock crew had worked miracles to achieve Aston Martin Racing’s first competitive race win for their new 2024 40A iteration of car in only its third race meeting whilst the Van Der Steur team also confirmed just how competitive the outgoing 17A version of the Vantage GT4 still was for some much-needed Championship points.

Further back, the #09 Automatic crew of Abdolvahabi and Ecklin secured a class win within their respective Bronze Cup whilst the #64 Team TGM Aston of Giovanis and Hugh Plumb came home P18 overall and P2 in Bronze Cup to round off a very achieving race afternoon in Florida. The #46 Team TGM Aston Martin also finished not totally out of it by coming home a warranted fourth overall whilst the #88 Archangel car was sadly another DNF.

Friday was a good day for the Aston Martin Racing powered teams – let’s see what the rest of it brings with the 12 Hours of Sebring and the three AMR Vantage GTD cars from both the Heart of Racing and Magnus racing teams.

An early incident for the fourth Aston of Ted Giovanis aboard the #64 car saw him pushed wide into turn 1 only to return to the track just as those who pushed him wide collided with the overall race leaders also passing by at the same time.

With everything otherwise running smoothly, just half an hour in saw the #46 TGM car tapped into a spin by the #95 BMW and whilst the offender was awarded a drive through penalty for his efforts, the time lost by the Aston appeared longer as Plumb was forced to wait for a gap in the traffic not to mention the damage to the suspension that would haunt them for the remainder of the race.

Moment later had both Team TGM cars pit for fuel only just as the first Full Course Yellow was issued for a stranded TCR car which then allowed both the #19 and #88 cars pit for full service and their first driver change to Rory Van Der Steur and Todd Coleman respectively. That glitch in the strategy saw the #46 car to soon pit again for a driver change – something that lost the Plumb brothers even more track time!

Just as the first hour was passed, effective disaster struck as first the #46 was given a drive through penalty of their own for leaving their pit box with pit equipment still attached, a brave move from Van Der Steur in the #19 car saw him lose more places that he won and the #88 of Todd Coleman now aboard had an off-track excursion, losing his then P10 position.

Second hour completed and the next round of stops were now due as Johnson took back the reigns of the #88 car and Valentin Hasse-Clot got his first racing action aboard the #19 car having left the pit lane also with pit equipment still attached to leave a huge fuel puddle in their pit box and a rendezvous back through the pit lane for their efforts! The #88 car would also disappear behind the wall for unknown reason.

Beyond the halfway stage, the #19 car was still the lead Aston Martin but well down now in P12 as the Frenchman looked to make amends with what he had underneath his right foot. With the Mercedes AMG GT4 and BMW M4 GT4 still the dominating forces within the GS class, any resurgence on race position would be difficult for any of them.

As the light continued to fade and the rain continued to threaten, the IMS circuit was still being problematic for the remaining AMR runners as both the #19 and #46 cars reported damage. Whilst the #88 car would return to the track after affecting the necessary repairs but some twelve laps down, the #65 of Own Trinkler would have to make the opposite journey through pit lane for repairs to the rear end of the car with just an hour to go.

Now effectively a night race, the final sixty became as equally as balmy as the opening sixty minutes as all used the opportunities of the ensuing periods of caution for their benefit. Ultimately, the earlier suspension damage to the #46 car eventually saw them forced into retirement before similar events befell their sister #46 car after that incident that Giovanis had to deal with earlier with the TCR cars.

Whilst the #88 was again circulating on track after their earlier issues, it was just the #19 Van Der Steur car that remained technically still within the race, still on the lead lap in seventh and with just minutes to go. That, however, also didn’t go to plan as the car was pushed off track before recovering to finish back in P12 for their efforts.

Its certainly not been the year of the AMR Vantage GT4 within the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series this season, a year that rounds off at Petit Le Mans in four weeks’ time.

Photo credits – Team / Series / Michelin / social media

Not that we are complacent enough to expect decent results at every race as that would be wrong (obviously), just that sometimes the land upon which some of these crews race is not always – let’s say level and equal at the start!

Anyway, nine races in and now just two to go surprisingly only attracts another four car Aston Martin powered entry as Team TGM again provides two cars with the Van der Steur and Archangel completing the quartet.

Forty-four cars overall are due to run within this weekend’s four hour scheduled race – race the usual and the same as the season opener from Daytona, with twenty-eight GS (GT4) cars making up for more than half of that.

Brothers Hugh and Matt Plumb retain the highest position in class for any of the AMR powered crews so far this season, presently sitting P8 in the Championship and 390 points in arrears within their #46 car. Although again mathematically possible with two race remaining, their chances of Championship success this season look sadly slim to say the least. They will again be joined to Team TGM boss Ted Giovanis and his co-driver Owen Trinkler aboard their #64 car whilst Todd Coleman and Billy Johnson are listed within their #88 Archangel car Rory Van Der Steur but with now Valentin Hasse Clot and Austin McCusker aboard their #19 Van Der Steur car as part of three driver line up.

For Coleman and his supporting Archangel team, the last few races for them have been somewhat painful and expensive to say the least as Johnson spun out of a recent race at Road America damaging that car quite heavily whilst Coleman ended up upside down having been forced wide and (thankfully) into the tyre wall during the last VP Fuels Sportscar Challenge event at VIR.

Hopefully for all crews, anything like that can be avoided this weekend as there is still a championship up for grab s within the front running GS class and maybe the performance of these Aston’s might just shape that into something spectacular next time out at the concluding round from Road America.

Apart from the length of race, the biggest difference for this weekend’s MPC race will be that it will be finishing under the cover of darkness on Saturday evening.

Green flag is at 16:30hrs local.

Photo credits – Team / Series / Michelin / social media

The first race for the Van Der Steur team was however, to rebuild their #19 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 after that chassis was written off after a robust interaction with a BMW M4 GT4 contender last time out a Detroit. A new chassis was eventually sourced by the team leaving them just enough time to deliver it to circuit for their drivers (Rory Van Der Steur and Austin McCusker) to shake down during the preliminary sessions.

We also welcomed back the #009 Stoner Car Care Aston from the Automatic Racing team with drivers Rob Ecklin and Ramin Abdolvahabi venturing something of a differing pathway this season, dipping in and out of the IMSA series now as they see fit with the remainder of the AMR powered grid again being taken up by the two Team AGM cars of Hugh/Matt Plumb (#46) with Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler (#64) alongside the #88 Archangel prepared car of Todd Coleman and Billy Johnson.

Within the red flag shortened Qualifying session on Friday and despite many TCR cars clocking laps faster than their GS class peers, it would be a great display from the AMR runners with the #46 TGM car finishing highest in P2, the #19 Van Der Steur next in P3 with the #009 Automatic car a very credible P9 ahead of what was being scheduled as another two-hour affair. Both the #64 and #88 cars got caught out by the incidents on track at the time, leaving them back in P15 and P16 respectively in class.

Come Saturday afternoon and (as predicted), the heavens opened which delayed the start still further after earlier delays on track but once underway the old adage of rain being the great equaliser again proved its point.

What happened next on track is now only our regret in not being around to see but somehow the #64 Team TGM car turned things about once Giovanis had handed over to Trinkler to the end. Cycling through the field for what was still a highly caution affected race with six periods of intervention – all at least 15 minutes long, saw the #64 car take (on track) the chequered flag to finish what appeared to be P3 overall.

Despite visiting the podium for the usual celebrations and whilst timing results were adjusted on-line, there appeared to be little understanding of the race results being adjusted for post-race technicalities. Eventually the news broke that both the #64 and #88 cars had been removed from the results for post-race infringements with their cars leaving the #19 car the highest placed finisher in P6 for a well-deserved boost of championship points for their efforts.

The #009 Automatic crew also had cause to celebrate as their P11 in class finish was enough to secure them the Bronze Cup win with the #64 being the last of the Aston Martin finishers in P9.

The next stop for the series will be from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in just over two weeks’ time.

Photo credits – Teams / Series

Again running with the two entries from Team TGM, Van Der Steur, Archangel Motorsport and Accelerating Performance, it would be the #19 Van Der Steur car of Rory Van Der Steur who would again claim the highest Qualifying position of the five – not quite on pole like last time out at Laguna Seca but in P5 ahead of the one-hundred-minute sprint race on Saturday – that would turn into P4 after a post session penalty for another car.

Hugh and Matt Plumb were next best in P9 with Moisey Uretsky and Michael Cooper again pairing up aboard the #44 car to start P9, with the #88 Archangel car of Todd Coleman and Patrick Lindsey P16 and the #63 TGM car of Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler bringing up the rear of the grid – obviously not gelling with the demands of this new circuit layout.

Considering a circuit based around the grid system of any large American town or city, twenty-two GS cars thundering down into a tight 180-degree left hander didn’t bring about any waved yellows or indeed contact as all drivers showed abject discipline and control to avoid that and its ensuing and race destroying period of caution.

Van der Steur held fourth during the opening stages but a mistake from the #19 car soon dropped him back to P14 as the top 3 runners started to break away and after just twenty minutes of running, unseen contact for the #64 car had Giovanis back into pit lane with a broken tie rod and into immediate retirement as a consequence.

That left Hugh Plumb leading the AMR charge, or at least what was supposed to be but for the AMR Vantage GT4’s continued poor Balance of Performance that has seen the car loose much of its power compared to its peers for the whole season so far!

Just before the forty-minute mark and with minimum drive time already completed with the end of the race within sight of a single stint, many of the tailenders began pitting for service and driver changes. Staying out for a few more laps, the #19 Van Der Steur car soon had the so far dominating Turner BMW M4 GT4 upon its tail and going into T1 for position.

Car failure or simply driver error, what ensued next was nothing but scary as the #95 car rode up the back of the Aston Martin and then right over the top of it for both cars to come to a grinding halt within the outer tyre wall. Miraculously, both cars were still able to drive away from the scene but only as far as pit lane where both were retired.

Visibly shaken by the events, Van Der Steur was seen existing what was left of his car under his own steam to be checked over and OK’s by attending medical staff. Van Der Steur later praised the construction of his Aston Martin for protecting him so well in such an impact as that.

The resulting Safety Car neutralised the race for the next twenty minutes with the remaining cars allowed to pit for service once the immediate drama had been controlled on track. Great driving from both Uretsky and Coleman had seen them preserve their own cars in mid table positions before handing them over with little under an hour to go.

However, with what was left on the clock and the power available to them under their right foot, that again proved to be insufficient for their needs as the BMW’s and Mercedes romped away out front to leave the #44’s move into the top 10 the highlight of the event for the AMR runners. The #46 TGM car would finish P12 whilst the #88 would eventually come home P15 out of the declared seventeen strong finishers!

Next stop Watkins Glen in little over three weeks’ time.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

Number of Aston Martin Racing powered entries have been fluid over the two opening rounds but this weekend sees a slight increase with five AMR Vantage GT4 crews making the commitment this time around.

The two full season Team TGM cars are again scheduled to be in attendance with both Ted Giovanis/Owen Trinkler and Hugh/Matt Plumb in their #64 and #46 cars alongside the Van Der Steur entry of Rory Van Der Steur and Austin McCusker. Being no rounds of the supporting IMSA VP Sportscar Challenge either has allowed both the #44 Accelerating Performance and #88 Archangel prepared Aston Martins to also be in attendance.

Whilst Moisey Uretsky stays with his declared co-driver of Michael Cooper, the #88 car of Todd Coleman is this time partnered with Patrick Lindsey after Conrad Grunewald did at the elongated opening round at Daytona.

Despite the numbers, the 2023 season has proved itself to be a challenge for some of the AMR powered crews after the somewhat dominance of the Volt Racing crew of last season when Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman eventually lifted the GS crown.

The highest placed AMR crew are the Plumb brothers in fourth, just thirty points behind the leading BMW crew with both Uretsky and Cooper next in seventh, still only seventy points behind that leading BMW crew as well. With up to 350 points available per round – that points differences now is minimal.

Another two hour round this Saturday sees track action begin with the first Free Practice session on Friday before Qualifying and race on Saturday starting at 19:30hrs local.

Photo credits - Teams / H Pitman / C Chapman

Dry running during the opening Free Practice Session was rudely interrupted with heavy rain during the days second, to a point where many of the runners simply didn’t go out and risk their machinery for a race that was scheduled to be dry before the GS Qualifying was interrupted so badly with track incident that nobody was able to set a time, so championship position was used instead to determine the grid.

That left the #46 TGM car of H Plump starting the first of the four Aston’s in sixth with the #44 API car of Uretsky seventh and the #19 Van Der Steur car of McCusker in eight. The #64 TGM car of Giovanis would start P13.

Despite a clean start and some great racing within the opening two laps, a serious incident involving three TCR cars led to the first FCY as the extensive debris field was cleared. Losing twenty minutes to that, further contact between this time two GS cars on the green flag lap lead to a second FCY as those cars were cleared away.

The pit lane was also opened to allow the grid to take service if they saw fit with the #46 TGM car of Hugh Plump taking both fuel and tyres, the #19 car just fuel but with the other two AMR’s staying out. Trouble hit the #19 car during that stop however when it was adjusted to have passed a pit exit red light to earn itself a stop + 60 penalty!!

Another ten minutes lost but a decent restart for Uretsky saw him finally get passed the #58 McLaren for seventh as McCusker recovered to just ahead of the #64 of now Owen Trinkler with H Plumb just behind the #44 car after their longer stop.

FCY No.3 for a TCR at the hour mark allowed all the remaining GS cars to pit for their final time with Matt Plumb taking over the #46, Michael Cooper the #44 and Rory Van Der Steur the #19. Another fifteen minutes later and it was again back to hip and shoulders racing as the GS class again tried to sort out its hierarchy at the front which for the #46 car sadly meant for a wide line whilst defending their position too drop three places to P9.

Ten minutes to go and the final FCY was called for two stranded cars as well as the #58 McLaren nosed into the tyre wall at T17. Fortunately nothing serious but it did set up for a final last lap dash to the flag for conclude this second round of the series.

Not the best of races again for the Vantage GT4 as clearly others were platforms were again faster than them, but it was still a P8 finish for the #46 car, P11 for the #44, P16 for the #64 and a disappointing P20 for the #19 after a further, third stop for them before the end.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

 

 

 

With Owen Trinkler at the wheel, the No. 64 entry stopped the clocks at one minute, 48.081 seconds around the 3.81 mile circuit.

“This qualifying result is a credit to the tremendous efforts of TF Sport. The crew has given us a fast car which Owen was able to turn into a great qualifying lap,” Giovanis said.

“TF Sport brought the same professionalism and knowledge of the Aston Martin to Daytona that won them the WEC Championship for 2022. We are thrilled to be partnered with them for this event.

Trinkler, who usually leaves qualifying to team boss Giovanis as the rules require in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, was super quick in a field where fractions of second made a big difference.

“I put in my best lap about halfway through the 15 minute session and a couple people snuck in there at the very end with some hot laps, but I’m very happy with the fifth place,” Trinkler said

“It’s all about next week and although we always want to do well in qualifying, anyone will tell you with a 24 hour race there are so many more important aspects to success. We used the qualifying session to work on some things for the Rolex 24 and ensure that we are as prepared for the race as possible.

The team will be doing double duty with a full 28 hours of racing over Friday, Saturday and Sunday next week. They will compete in the season opener for the Michelin Pilot Challenge, a 4-hour endurance race on Friday before the 24 hour race on Saturday and Sunday.

With various high and lows of that opening year as well as the challenges that COVID threw in everyone’s path the next, the teams expansion into the GT America Series last year put them onto a two car GT4 programme as many of the other Pro-Am class runners with one or both drivers never a stranger to the podium.

With nothing more than an explanation of “unfortunate circumstances” being cited as the reason why the team will not be operating in 2023, all that we can say to them is thank you for the ride over the last few years – it’s certainly been a blast from our end of the equation and we wish all those affected all the best for the future and that we hope to see them all around the paddock again sometime soon.

Meanwhile and over at Daytona, the new Team TGM Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 and GT4’s have all been out testing around the Floridian circuit ahead of the Roar before the 24 Official test before the opening round of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Champiosnhip and supporting Michelin Pilot Challenge Series at the end of January.

With TF Sport in support at the circuit with the GT3 (GTD) effort that will run during the Rolex 24, the team had all three Aston’s on track for their collective driver line ups of Ted Giovanis, Owen Trinkler and Hugh and Matt Plumb.

Joining them on circuit were also cars from the Accelerating Performance stable as Moisey Uretsky moves up to the Michelin Pilot Challenge for a full season next year having mixed his racing commitments last season between the IMSA and SRO paddocks.

Running both his familiar yellow and black liveried Vantage GT4, the white and bare carbon car was apparently his rebuilt chassis following on from his big crash in it at VIR last season.

Photo credits - Teams