Mixed fortunes for the Astons as SRO America went to VIR
Again featuring the GT World Challenge, GT America and GT4 America Series, it was mostly the usual faces and names behind each of the entries although one GT4 car was back under the same entry name albeit with a differing service provider to last time whilst another was able to compete for as long as they had first imagined.
Starting with the topflight GT World Challenge Series, the #007 The Racers Group AMR Vantage GT3 of Derek DeBoer was back on track and again with Frenchman Valentin Hasse-Clot offering the factory support with Ross Gunn again cup tied over in the British GT Champiosnhip. The crew were hopeful of continuing their fantastic run a podium visits over the last two rounds although this time it simply wasn’t to be.
The cars best performance came during the real heat of the day on Saturday, having Qualified P5 within their Pro-Am class, the duo went on to finish just off the podium in P9 overall and P4 in class.
Sunday’s second race was unfortunately hampered with a clutch issue which stopped Hasse-Clot opening his opening stint to the desired effect with P15 overall P9 in class being their best.
The GT America again proved itself to be another hot cauldron of competitive motorsport (and that was just with the high ambient temperatures of the southern state) as solo driven GT3 cars went head-to-head with the smaller, less powerful GT4 cars which again proved itself to be the most beneficial for at least some of the entered six Aston Martins.
Being something of a feeding frenzy at the top of the GT4 table, the #50 Chouest Povoledo car of Ross Chouest, the #2 Flying Lizard car of Jason Bell and the #25 Heart of Racing car of Gray Newell were all there to pull a clear points gap upon their rivals but with all three cars locking out the front rows of the GT4 class in race 1, things were always going to get explosive.
Early contact and caution made for something of a procession as the 40-minute opening spent most of the time behind the Safety Car with the #25 Heart and #8 Flying Lizard car of Elias Sabo all demoted to DNF status by the end. For Chouest, he again hung on long enough to claim yet another race win over the #2 car of Bell in second but with Paul Kiebler again coming through for P3 in his #77 TR3 Aston.
That earlier contact soon earned Newell some more unwanted penalty points upon his race license for accident responsibility and that would see the last of him on track for that VIR meeting.
For race 2 on Sunday, the #25 and #8 would be non-starters and Chouest would come through again for another series double to further extend his championship lead over Bell who completed the podium in P3.
Finally in GT4 America, the Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 has clearly ‘lost its way’ within the GT4 fraternity as the five remaining entries (after Roman De Angelis was unable to participate due to Newell’s suspension) again struggled to keep up with their rivals through car performance alone.
With the BMW GT4 clearly the new dominating force within the series with variants of that car completing seven of the top ten places within race 1, it was all about class positioning as all the five Astons competed within either the Pro-Am or Am classes as opposed to silver for the front runners.
P6 in class for the #8 Flying Lizard car of Sabo and Andy Lee in Pro-Am and P5 in Am for the #26 Heart car of Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt were the best Qualifying efforts on the table. Positions at the end of that hour long opener saw the #8 just miss the class podium in P4 but there were two great drives from the #428 Van Der Steur car of Brady Behrman and Coby Shield and the #26 Heart cars to come home P5 and P7 respectively in Am.
Race 2 was much alongside the same format with the #50 Chouest Povoledo car (featuring their namesakes) being the most consistent, progressing from P4 in Pro-Am on the grid to eventually claim the final step upon the podium in third but with the #428 crew also moving up one for their best result to date P4 in Am.
Except for the GT America Series who get an additional round in at Nashville at the beginning of August, the other two series will reconvene (with GT America) at Road America over the weekend of 19/20th August.
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Tuesday, June 20, 2023 |
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Thirteen strong again as SRO America visits VIR this weekend
Last time out around the expansive racetrack of the Circuit of the America’s in Texas, this weekend sees the crews visit the tighter and more picturesque circuit of Virginia International Raceway with thirteen AMR powered crews listed on the provisional entry sheets.
Starting at the top, the GT World Challenge America will see the return of The Racers Group AMR Vantage GT3 with resident driver Derek DeBoer again being partnered by Frenchman Valentin Hasse-Clot ‘fresh’ from his double duties at last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans and Le Mans Cup Series as Ross Gunn is again cup-tied within his British GT Championship duties with Beechdean AMR.
Last time out was another podium winning successful one with that Pro-Am pairing securing a P2 finish is class to go alongside their successes before that at Nola Motorsport Park.
Then within the solo driven GT America cars, we will see five AMR Vantage GT4 powered crews as the Flying Lizard, Chouest Povoledo, TR3 and Heart of Racing teams again submit entries as well as the return of the #009 The Racers Group AMR Vantage GT4 for only the second time this season, and this time under the control of the Prosport Competition team.
Results within the series so far have led to a four-way AMR battle at the top of the GT4 Drivers table with reigning Champion Ross Chouest currently level on points with former champion Jason Bell at the top with Gray Newell just twenty-three points behind them and Elias Sabo two points behind him.
Within the ultra-competitive and multi-classed GT4 America Series, there’s a slightly reduced AMR headcount within this one as a repeat of Bell’s and Michael Coopers class success at CoTA is not to be repeated at this round nor do we see the Todd Coleman Archangel car after his withdrawal from the series last time out but at least but again sees another six Aston Martin’s being run.
Having all returned from Le Mans have been there supporting their Vantage GTE entry within that historic event sees Newell again pair up with Roman de Angelis within their #24 car whilst the two young ladies of Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt again go looking for their first silverware wear together within their #26 Am classed car.
Elias Sabo and Andy Lee within the #8 Flying Lizard car with Chouest and Aaron Povoledo in their #50 car, Paul Kiebler and Jon Branam aboard the #77 TR3 as well as the #428 Van Der Steur entry of Brady Behrman and Coby Shield complete the AMR rankings ahead of this series two one-hour pit stop punctuated races this weekend.
We also now understand that Rory Van Der Steur was also due to compete at VIR with another AMR Vantage GT4 alongside his GT4 European Series co-driver Jamie Day. That plan has however gone up in smoke after the team determined that his #19 car was written off during that frighteningly spectacular incident within the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series street race in Detroit two weeks ago.
It sounds like CSJ Motorsport are on the case seeking a spare tub for the team with an aim at being at the next round of the IMSA Series at Watkins Glen
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Monday, June 12, 2023 |
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A bruising for some but still a podium rewarding visit to CoTA for the AMR powered cars of the GT4 America Series
The first casualty was the loss of the #69 Archangel AMR Vantage GT4 of Todd Coleman and Billy Johnson after Coleman and the team could resolve their differences regarding their Bronze-Gold driver line and the series intention to impose additional ballast going into the race weekend despite not having done so at previous rounds.
As a result of that, Coleman withdraw his entries within both GT America and GT4 America moving forward which is always a sad thing to read for all concerned and that took the number of AMR powered teams down to seven out of an expected grid of forty-one cars but that did still include the new #2 Flying Lizard entry for Jason Bell and Michael Cooper.
Qualifying for Saturdays first hour long race went as well as previous rounds with the #26 Am class entry from the Heart of Racing team being the best out of the seven with a P2 starting position for the Hannah Grisham, Rianna O’Meara-Hunt driven car.
That number of cars into turn 1 at CoTA was always going to lead to trouble and that was precisely what Race Control got as multiple cars impacted with one another that left two with race ending damage as well as scares for the #2 car of Bell, its sister #8 car of Elias Sabo, the #428 Van Der Steur car of Brady Behrman as well as the #77 TR3 car of Paul Kiebler.
After a ten-minute Safety Car break to clear up the mess it was back to racing business with all the above cars thankfully not affected too much by their earlier contact. Grisham was one who wouldn’t be afraid to mix it up with her silver and Pro-Am grade rivals as she continued her car’s battle in P10 overall whilst the other Aston Martin crews played catch-up having all been delayed in that first corner incident.
Trouble soon came for the #24 Heart car of Gray Newell as secondary contact from the #50 Chouest Povoledo car of Ross Chouest after they were side swiped by a Toyota spun them around at to the tail of the pack, a position from which they would never ultimately recover, despite Roman De Angelis again pairing with Newell.
Hitting the mandatory pit window at the halfway point, both O’Meara-Hunt and Cooper would emerge fourth within their respective Am and Pro-Am classes but will Andy Lee, Coby Shields and Jon Branam all on the hunt further back.
That race would end with the #2 Flying Lizard car narrowly missing debut class podium in P4 and its sister #8 car in P5 in Pro-Am whilst the Am class was lead home by the #26 Heart car in P6 but with the #50 Chouest Povoledo car being an effective non finisher due to that earlier damage.
Sunday’s second race was however to be better again as the track conditions had deteriorated from earlier in the weekend with a damp (with rain still threatening) and cooler ambient temperature conditions that always serves to be a great equaliser amongst any multi-class grid.
Saturday’s second qualifying session had seen Cooper secure a front row spot in P2 and supported a few rows back by the #8 car of Lee and the #24 car of De Angelis. In Am, the #428 VDS car of Shields led the way in P4, the #77 car of Jon Branam in P6 and the #26 Heart car further back in P11.
Going into turn 1 for the first time again saw a near repeat of Saturday’s race with further contact for both the #8 Flying Lizard and #24 Heart cars of Lee and De Angelis but at least this time, the race was able to continue without the need for outside intervention.
Heading into the pit window, Cooper was holding onto P3 overall having been passed for position at the start whilst Lee held onto P7 in class.
With Meara-Hunt first to pit within her #26 car, others elected to stay out for longer as their ‘stronger’ driver was already aboard. With some of the grid having pitted and some not, a stationary car on track caused Race Control issues about whether to call a Safety Car but this time, they did at least allow the grid to complete their compulsory stops before doing so. Further suspension issues for the #24 Heart car would make for a torrid weekend however for the De Angelis/Newell combo!
By this time most if not all cars had pitted, and strategy had allowed the #2 car of Bell to emerge from pit lane in the race lead just as the race went under caution to recover that stranded car. That left what appeared to be a 20-minute dash to the flag but even that was curtailed as three/four cars were caught up in a high-speed incident at turn 1 again.
With too much debris to clear, race 2 eventually finished behind the Safety Car with the #2 Flying Lizard car of Cooper and Bell taking their first race win together, with the sister #8 car home in P5. In Am, the #428 VDS car of Shields and Behrman narrowly missed out upon their first podium of the year in P4 but the #77 TR3 entry of Kiebler and Branam did manage to secure their second of the year so far with a deserved P3 finish.
The next round should, by the natural characteristics of the circuit be another highly entertaining race as the series moves onto VIR in about three weeks’ time.
Photo credits - Series / Teams
Monday, May 22, 2023 |
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Podium fest for the Aston Martin Racing runners after two rounds of GT America at CoTA
With overnight rain presenting the teams with tyre selection issues going into Qualifying on Saturday, it would again be the #50 car of Ross Chouest who would claim GT4 class honours going into their first forty-minute race, narrowly beating class rival Jason Bell and his #2 Flying Lizard prepared car.
Decent performances also came from the #77 TR3 car of Paul Kiebler who would start from third whilst the #8 Flying Lizard and #25 Heart of Racing car of Elias Sabo and Gray Newell would start further back after (Newell) elected to run on slicks whilst the track did not quite support that choice of tyre.
Early gains from Sabo saw him take third in class as both he and Newell looked the racier of the class, pushing Chouest hard for position after he had lost the class lead to Bell going into turn 1 for the first time. Such was Bells pace in this opening stage of the race that he led the class by (at that point) four seconds.
An error from Sabo saw him spin out from behind the tail pipes of Chouest but not out of position as the race entered its final minutes. Looking good for a race win, an error from Bell on the penultimate lap saw him lose control going into turn 1 and then lose a nine second lead as Chouest whooshed passed to reassume the class lead.
At the end, race 1 would see Chouest take another class win, Bell in second and with Newell elevated to third after Rob Holland and his Porsche were penalised for tapping Sabo into a further spin that cost him a run at the podium. He would finish P5 with Kiebler coming home P6.
Race 2 grid was again set by the fastest laps form race 1 and so it would be Sabo heading the honours this time on GT4 pole position, alongside Bell in second and Chouest in third.
Overnight night rain had again returned leaving Sundays early morning race still under grey skies, wet track and repressive humidity as teams were left wondering about tyre selection again – was it going to rain again within the life span of race 2 or not was the question.
After two formation laps due to track conditions, this time it was Chouest who stole the march upon others, moving up to P2 out of turn 1 for the first time with Sabo maintaining his class lead but tyre selection would soon become evident as Chouest quickly dropped away leaving a Sabo/Bell/Newell battle for the lead in class.
Seventeen minutes to go and with rain intermittently falling around the track again, contact and heavy damage for two GT3 cars brought out the Safety Car for the first time before going back to green with just eight minutes remaining.
A chaotic restart from the GT3 leaders saw further cars struggling in the damp and wettening conditions that allowed Chouest to again catch up as the GT4 class leaders battled with lapping GT3 cars and GT4 back markers to boot.
Spinning the tyres out of a corner saw the #77 car of Kiebler spin off and hit heavily into the barriers bringing out the Safety Car for the second and final time as the race ran down the clock under caution meaning that Sabo had claimed another win with Bell and Newell joining him on the podium. Chouest would eventually finish a distant P7!!
The series now heads to VIR in three weeks’ time.
Photo credits – Teams / Series
Sunday, May 21, 2023 |
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A slightly enlarged Aston Martin powered line up ahead of GT4 Americas visit to CoTA
Like their GT4 series before them, the GT4 America Series also returns to the racetrack of the Circuit of The Americas this weekend for their third round of the 2023 season so far.
Heavily affected by the weather conditions of the last round of Nola Motorsport Park last time out when they ‘lost’ their second race of the weekend as a consequence, the only difference to the previous round to this one is that we expect the #2 Flying Lizard car of Jason Bell to return to the GT4 America stage for the first time this year with co-driver Michael Cooper.
Having originally elected to opt out of a GT America – GT4 America programme this year, Bell obviously feels that he needs the additional seat time that a dual programme offers to keep his solo driver GT America chances alive against a highly competitive (and successful so far) Ross Chouest.
In a new season no longer allowing the Aston Martin Racing contingent dominate the classes, these eight Vantage GT4 crews will again have their work cut out if any are to be successful in either the Pro-Am or Am classes.
Last time out at Nola, the #25 Heart of Racing AMR of Gray Newell and Roman de Angelis fulfilled a debut race win together but that was unfortunately thanks to the number and length of Safety Car periods during that opening hour-long race and with race 2 being washed out, that was as far as things would go down near New Orleans.
Whilst the #24 Heart car stole the top honours in that class, the two young ladies aboard the sister #26 Heart car (Hannah Grisham/ Rianna O’Meara-Hunt) headed home the Aston Martin powered runners within the Am Class, coming home in P4 and much further ahead of their stable mates in class from the #77 TR3 and #428 Van Der Steur teams with Paul Kiebler/Jon Branam and Brady Behrman/Coby Shields respectively but with qualifying and track position at the start of the first FCY dictating most – not much can be drawn from that.
That leaves the #8 Flying Lizard car of Elias Sabo/Andy Lee, the #50 Chouest Povoledo car of their namesakes and the #69 Archangel car of Todd Coleman and Billy Johnson all eager to get back onto better race finishing ways but with three AMR teams still within the top five in Pro-Am, there isn’t too much to be concerned about going into this weekend.
Like usual, Free Practice will take place on Saturday with Qualifying and Race 1 later in the day before things get concluded (fingers crossed this time) with race 2 on Sunday.
Photo credits – Teams / Series
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 |
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Six Aston Martins return hungry for more at the next round of GT America from CoTA this weekend
With some of these crews having been busy at last weekends (disappointing for them) trip to Laguna Seca for the third round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series, most will be hoping that neither Mother Nature nor incident on track will ruin this weekend’s events in any of these series.
Six Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s again make the trip after the weather affected round at Nola Motorsport Park three weeks ago which saw all bar one of the six take a podium finish within the GT4 class after at least one of that weekends races.
Ross Chouest was again the most consistent of the bunch having claimed both a class win and a third place over that weekend in his #50 Chouest Povoledo prepared car with a further class for Elias Sabo in his #8 Flying Lizard car with further second place finishes for both Jason Bell and Todd Coleman aboard their #2 Flying Lizard and #69 Archangel prepared Aston Martins accordingly and a solo P3 for Gray Newell and his #25 Heart of Racing AMR. Paul Kiebler makes up the sixth Aston Martin with his TR3 prepared #77 car.
CoTA will of course be a wholly different character of race circuit where the wide, sweeping bends of the circuit will favour the more powerful and aerodynamically efficient cars as twenty-four GT3 and GT4 cars again make up the GT America grid of bronze rated drivers for their two, forty-minute racing schedule over the weekend.
With still twelve races to go this season, they is still much to race for!
Photo credits – Teams / Series
Six Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s again make the trip after the weather affected round at Nola Motorsport Park three weeks ago which saw all bar one of the six take a podium finish within the GT4 class after at least one of that weekends races.
Ross Chouest was again the most consistent of the bunch having claimed both a class win and a third place over that weekend in his #50 Chouest Povoledo prepared car with a further class for Elias Sabo in his #8 Flying Lizard car with further second place finishes for both Jason Bell and Todd Coleman aboard their #2 Flying Lizard and #69 Archangel prepared Aston Martins accordingly and a solo P3 for Gray Newell and his #25 Heart of Racing AMR. Paul Kiebler makes up the sixth Aston Martin with his TR3 prepared #77 car.
CoTA will of course be a wholly different character of race circuit where the wide, sweeping bends of the circuit will favour the more powerful and aerodynamically efficient cars as twenty-four GT3 and GT4 cars again make up the GT America grid of bronze rated drivers for their two, forty-minute racing schedule over the weekend.
After the six races of the season so far, it is an AMR lock out of the top four places with Chouest, Bell, Newell and Sabo filling those places but with Chouest now ahead of Bell by five points despite his DNF at St Petersburg at the start of the season.
With still twelve races to go this season, they is still much to race for!
Photo credits – Teams / Series
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 |
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More Aston Martin success as SRO America visited a weather affected Nola Motorsports Park
Principally in North America saw the second rounds of the GT World Challenge America and GT4 America Series as well as the third round of the sister GT America Series from the Nola Motorsport Park near New Orleans.
With six AMR Vantage GT4 powered crews competing again within the bronze driver powered GT America series, the results of their two forty-minute races would also become dependent upon the ability from each crew to adapt to the local weather conditions as torrential rain caused both delay within the meeting schedule as well as officially timed sessions on track.
Looking to continue the form seen at previous rounds at both St Petersburg and most recently at Sonoma, saw all the Flying Lizard, Chouest Povoledo and Heart of Racing crews lock out the opening qualifying session in class with Elias Sabo claiming his first pole position of the year in his #8 car. That however would change by the end of the race as Ross Chouest again took control to take the GT4 class win over the Flying Lizard entry of Jason Bell in second and Gray Newell in third.
Sunday’s second race would this time be under clear blue skies and sunshine, offering a different set of race results within the dominant AMR group within the GT4 class as Sabo would be the victor this time over a terrific drive from Todd Coleman within his #69 Archangel prepared car in second and Chouest again taking home more silverware in third.
As the series looks ahead to their next round from CoTA in mid-May, the GT4 Drivers Championship has closed right up with five AMR drivers within the top five spots with Bell still retaining a slender five points lead of Chouest in second with Newell just another point behind him in third.
In the GT4 America Series however, their two race programme would indeed be interrupted by the weather on Saturday with them losing daylight to run after the larger GT World Challenge America race heavily delayed before it.
They would eventually race just a single race on Sunday using their Am driver Qualifying times where Gray Newell would place his Heart of Racing AMR upon class pole with new co-driver Roman de Angelis in for the WEC busy Ian James.
Multiple Safety Car periods again affected the running of this solo one-hour race which saw the #69 Coleman/Billy Johnson Aston Martin sustain suspension damage on the opening lap only for safety cars to breed safety cars as others became stranded either in the gravel or on track.
During the intervening periods of racing, the #24 Heart car would be involved in a dice for the Pro-Am class lead with both the #7 and #47 Porsche’s but both of those would be pinged for pit stop transgressions allowing the new #24 duo to come home for the class win.
The #50 Chouest Povoledo car of their namesakes just missed out on the class podium in fourth despite having battled the #24 car for the lead at some point, but it was at least a strong showing from the #26 Heart of Racing Am entry for both Rianna O’Meara-Hunt and Hannah Grisham after their tough debut within the series at Sonoma with a P4 class finish.
To round things off in SRO America we had the #007 The Racers Group AMR Vantage GT3 of Derek DeBoer and (this) Valentin Hasse-Clot run again in the GT World Challenge America’s two ninety-minute races.
Having also debuted at Sonoma, greater knowledge and familiarity with their package allowed DeBoer to Qualify P5 in Pro-Am for the delayed race 1 and finish third in class despite the atrocious track conditions.
Prior to that, the Frenchman had also placed their #007 car into overall pole position for race 2 on Sunday, holding the lead throughout his opening stint but having to pit earlier than expected have lightly fuelled the car.
Despite losing overall track position, DeBoer would be racy on the now hot and dry track pushing their class and grid rivals all the way to survive a late Safety Car of their own to finish fourth overall and second in class for a second visit to the podium.
Photo credits - Series
Sunday, April 30, 2023 |
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