Two become three for Aston Martin Racing teams in World Endurance Championship Season 9 (Updated)
Some reassuring news was confirmed by the World Endurance Championship earlier today when they revealed their entry list for their forthcoming Series 9 of the Championship that starts at the Prologue from Sebring, Florida in just little over fifty day’s time.
Still, with the confirmation of the Aston Martin Racing factory earlier withdrawal of both of their Vantage GTE’s from the top Pro class still resonating in our ears, this announcement could have made for some very gloomy news for us AMR fans as we looked ahead to the new season.
With the factory squad not entering any Pro car under their own name with which to defend their 2020 crown but instead making most (if not all) of their resources available to their global Partner teams, the news of this week has confirmed not one, not two but three AMR Vantage GTE’s for the highly competitive GTE Am class instead.
2020 Le Mans winner Salih Yoluc has moved on from GTE racing for the new year but two highly acclaimed teams/driver crews have already been confirmed as running under the banner of the TF Sport name within the WEC and that news has been further bolstered by the confirmation today that Paul Dalla Lana will indeed be returning to the Championship with another AMR factory prepared customer Vantage GTE programme.
The Canadian businessman’s name was the sole name upon todays official confirmation leaving him free to pick from the plethora of factory drivers waiting under contract in the wings for a competitive drive – a drive that really must take the Gentleman driver to the GTE Am and Le Mans 24hr top step this time around in order to satisfy his appetite for racing success.
He joins the two cars from TF Sport announced earlier this week in which the Sussex based team has managed to recruit the incredible driver talents (and custom) of Gentleman driver Ben Keating beyond that of this month’s IMSA Rolex 24 from Daytona and he is joined aboard his beautifully blue liveried #33 car with Dylan Pereira and Felipe Fraga. They in turn will be joined within the TF stable by the #777 car of Japanese team D’Station Racing who confirmed their WEC participation from drivers (and team boss) Satoshi Hoshino, Tomonobu Fujii plus a silver ranked driver TBC.
All in all, whilst we may have lost the top flight efforts of Nicki Thiim/Marco Sorensen and Alex Lynn/Maxime Martin in their factory prepared GTE Pro cars, that was/is always a class that is threatening to dissolve sooner rather than later as the ACO’s LMH/LMDh classes come on stream. Where the racing battles are still at is within GTE Am where market forces place teams and drivers with partners who are strongest in that arena and 2021 is no exception as GTE Am represents the strongest class of this year’s thirty three car grid with thirteen entries all evenly matched between the AMR, Porsche and Ferrari chassis.
Today’s news (considering the global financial climate) is a massive achievement for the WEC and our appreciation can only and should be extended to all those involved will to make this kind of investment in motor racing. We also need to keep an eye out on other ACO rules series for any possible AMR team involvement in those!!
AMR news is never far away these days!!
Update - The WEC have confirmed that the opening round of their Season 9 will now NOT take place at Sebring. Siting the fluidity of the COVID-19 situation and the change in national government stance sees the opening round move back across the Atlantic to Portimao, Portugal on the 4th April 2021.
Photo credits - AMR / TF Sport / WEC
TF Sport secures WEC Season 8 GTE Am Vice Championship
Season 8 of the FIA WEC consisted of two pole positions, four victories, including the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, and a third place finish for the UK-based team, which saw them lead the standings going into the last round. After a superb qualifying session, where Yoluc and Adam placed their Aston Martin Vantage GTE on the front row, the team were hopeful for a strong race.
Yoluc took the start of the finale and did a great job to hold off the #98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage of Paul Dalla Lana for the opening laps. An advantageous move by Dalla Lana saw him dive down the inside of Yoluc, only to lock up and spin. Salih managed to avoid becoming entangled in the incident, but slipped down to P2 as the #57 Porsche of Keating took advantage. A perfect first stop by the crew saw #90 jump back up to the lead in the pits and Yoluc headed out on track to double stint and hold his own around the pro drivers in his class, before handing over to Adam.
Stint duties were shared between the TF pros, after Salih completed the majority of his driver time within the first half of the race. Both Jonny and Charlie consistently ran in the top four whilst building the gap ahead of the #83 Ferrari. Unfortunately, during Yoluc’s final run, a safety car was called which took away #90’s advantage and Salih handed over to Jonny in P4, whilst #83 wasn’t far behind in P9. After going green, both Adam and Eastwood once again built up a comfortable lead ahead of AF Corse and the championship crown was in touching distance.
Drama hit in the closing hours when Eastwood reported an issue and the team were forced to extend their final scheduled stop, to change the Vantage’s front brake assembly. The crew’s slick handiwork saw #90 lose as little time as possible, but unfortunately it was enough to deny the team the chance to fight AF Corse to the flag. Eastwood crossed the line in eighth place to complete the season and secure the vice-championship.
Everybody at TF Sport wishes to congratulate AF Course, Emmanuel Collard, Francois Perrodo and Nicklas Nielsen on being crowned champions and thanks everybody for their support throughout this very unconventional season.
The team will now prepare for the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, in February.
Source material- TF Sport
Aston Martin Racing finish WEC as double World Champions
GT World Champion manufacturer Aston Martin has won the 2019-20 GT FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship with Nicki Thiim (DEN) and Marco Sørensen (DEN), in the season finale – the 8 Hours of Bahrain – on Saturday.
Aston Martin’s all-conquering Vantage GTE had already clinched the GT Manufacturers world championship with a famous victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both the GTE Pro and Am classes in September, before Thiim (DEN) and Sørensen (DEN) became GT World champions for the second time having previously won it in 2016.
This marks the most successful racing season for Aston Martin since 1959, and the first time that its cars have won two world titles and both classes at Le Mans in the same campaign, in a season that saw it beat arch-rivals Porsche and Ferrari in all the major Pro competitions.
For the Danes, fifth place in the GTE Pro class in Bahrain’s finale was enough to give them a final total of 172 points, 12 ahead of team-mate Maxime Martin (BEL), who finishes the season as vice champion, having won the GTE Pro class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Alex Lynn (GB). The Belgian finished fourth in Bahrain alongside Richard Westbrook (GB) who stood in for Lynn in Saturday’s race.
In only its second WEC season – and the longest in the sport’s history thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic – the Vantage GTE earned eight class victories and four in Pro, three of which were secured by Thiim and Sørensen in the 6 Hours of Fuji (JAP), the first 8 Hours of Bahrain and the Lone Star 6 Hours at COTA (US).
Those wins, coupled with their second place in the 6 Hours of Spa, third at Le Mans and a fifth place in China where they set the pace before misfortune struck, allowed them to fend-off a resurgence from their team-mates in the #97 Vantage. Martin and Lynn recorded a string of four podiums before their brilliant win at Le Mans.
“This feels incredible,” said Thiim. “We have worked so hard for what feels like absolutely forever to win this championship. It is all I have thought about for months and it means everything to myself and Marco. The Vantage GTE has been the perfect car to race all season, and I am so proud that we are the ones that get to call ourselves champions for winning with it. I am now a two-time world champion with Aston Martin, and that’s something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thank you to the team, to Aston Martin, WEC and all the fans. What more can I say?”
Sørensen added: “This season has been so incredibly tough, both on and off the track, and to have finally won the world championship is testament to all the people in the team that have given us such an amazing car to race. The Vantage has allowed us to fight at the front, pretty much all year, which is what you dream of as a driver because then all you have to do is race hard. We have proved this year that we can wins races and championships if you give us a car like this.”
President Aston Martin Racing David King said: “We have known for a long time just how much potential was in the Aston Martin Vantage GTE. From its very inception in 2018, it was developed to win world championships and it proved it at Le Mans in September. But to win so many accolades in only its second season of racing is something very, very special. This level of attainment happens rarely in motorsport, and you cannot overstate the significance of the achievement. We as a brand are immensely proud of what Aston Martin Racing has accomplished this season and we would like to extend our thanks to the drivers, the team, our competitors and the FIA and WEC for a fantastic championship well played.”
AMR Vantage GTE front row success at WEC finale
WEC GTE Pro title contenders Nicki Thiim (DEN) and Marco Sørensen (DEN) set a fierce pace with two exceptional laps to secure second place on the GTE grid, 0.016s away from pole position and another point in their quest to secure a second GT World Endurance Championship title. As it stands, the Danes remain championship leaders with a 15-point advantage over Alex Lynn (GB) and Maxime Martin (BEL) in the sister car.
“It was a bit of a surprise to have the pace we had in qualifying,” said Thiim. “But I was very happy with my lap and the car was excellent. It feels as if we are in the right place ahead of tomorrow’s race and now it is time to race for the championship. We are ready, and we must make every opportunity count while being mindful of the points lead we already have.”
Sørensen added: “You always feel the pressure at this level, but I believe we both produced very good laps. We have waited a long time to reach this point in the season, now I just want to be racing for the championship tomorrow.”
Martin and Richard Westbrook (GB), who stepped in to replace Lynn this weekend, had to settle for sixth in GTE PRO. But with points and a half up for grabs in the season finale, and the gap between the top six less than a second, it’s still all to play for.
In the Am class, joy and relief came for Ross Gunn (GB) and Paul Dalla Lana (CDN) who took their first pole position of the 2019/2020 season together. They will be joined by 2017 GTE Am world champion Pedro Lamy (POR) who raced as an Aston Martin Racing factory driver between 2013 to 2018.
Aston Martin Racing Partner team TF Sport also qualified its Vantage GTE on the front row in the GTE Am class with Charlie Eastwood (GB) and Salih Yoluç (TUR) behind the wheel. Fellow 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Jonny Adam (GB) will join them for the race as the trio go into the finale with an eight-point lead in both GTE Am Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships.
Aston Martin Racing Managing Director John Gaw said: “I couldn’t have asked for more from Marco and Nicki. They have remained calm all through this weekend so far, and they delivered excellent speed today. The same is true of Ross and Paul who finally got pole position at the end of the season. Now it’s time to execute tomorrow, and if we do the prizes will mean everything to us. The team has done a fantastic job so far this weekend, as they have all season.”
The 8 Hours of Bahrain begins at 1400 local time on Sunday, 14 November.
Heartache for Lynn on eve on something big for Aston Martin Racing
World GT Manufacturers’ champions Aston Martin embark on the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) finale – the 8 Hours of Bahrain – this weekend, aiming to record a level of title glory unprecedented in the British luxury sportscar brand’s history. Aston Martin has enjoyed its most successful endurance racing season since 1959, with the turbo-charged 4-litre V8 Vantage GTE.
Sixty-one years ago, Aston Martin won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby, as well as the World Sportscar Championship thanks to additional wins by Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman at Goodwood and the Nürburging in the DBR1/300. These famous victories ensured that Aston Martin defeated its rivals, Ferrari and Porsche.
Six decades later and Aston Martin has done it again, clinching a historic double victory in both the GTE classes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in September, when Alex Lynn (GB), Maxime Martin (BEL) and Harry Tincknell (GB) delivered a brilliant performance to clinch the GT Manufacturers’ FIA World Endurance Championship crown, ahead of those same old adversaries Porsche and Ferrari.
The #97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE Pro crew’s win was their first of the season, which has been the longest in FIA WEC history due in part to the Coronavirus pandemic. The result also moved the drivers back into contention for the GT FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship, 15 points behind team-mates and series leaders Marco Sørensen (DEN) and Nicki Thiim (DEN) in the #95 car.
Unfortunately, only Martin will be able to compete alongside the Danes for the world title after Lynn received a positive test for Covid-19 last weekend and has therefore not travelled to Bahrain. His place in the line-up has been taken by Richard Westbrook (GB), who was already expected to race with the team in the #98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE Am entry.
“It’s incredibly disappointing to end the FIA World Endurance Championship season in this way,” said Lynn, who is self-isolating at home. “Especially after the amazing high of the Le Mans victory that brought us back into title contention. I wish all my team-mates the best of luck this weekend, but especially Maxime and Richard.”
Thiim and Sørensen have been the on-form driver pairing this season, with three victories and two second places from seven starts. But with the eight-hour race worth 1.5 times the points of a normal six-hour event, meaning for the second time this season there are 38 points available for a victory plus another for pole position, there is no room for complacency. Particularly since one for the drivers from Ferrari’s leading GTE crew is also within striking distance.
“It comes down to this,” said Thiim, “after all the blood sweat and tears that have gone into this both from the team, who have already won the manufacturers’ championship with this amazing Vantage GTE, and from the drivers. This is what you dream about as a driver, the chance to fight for a world championship. To have done it once with Marco in 2016, and to have the chance to do it again is simply amazing. But we still have a job to do, eight hours is a long time in motor racing and we have a big fight on our hands. We will give it everything.”
2017 WEC GTE Am champion Pedro Lamy (POR) rejoins Paul Dalla Lana in the #98 Vantage GTE alongside Ross Gunn (GB). A veteran of 17 victories in the class, Pedro makes a welcome return to the GTE Am line-up as the crew goes in hunt of a victory to round-off the season in style.
TF Sport became the first customer team to win the GTE Am class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an Aston Martin in September and in doing so moved to the top of the FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE Drivers’ and Teams’ standings. It means that works drivers Jonny Adam (GB), Charlie Eastwood (GB) as well as Salih Yoluc (TUR) have an eight-point advantage going into the finale.
If they win the championships, and one of Aston Martin’s Pro crews prevail, it will be only the second time in the sport’s history that a manufacturer has won both GTE classes at Le Mans as well as all four GTE FIA WEC titles.
Aston Martin Racing Managing Director John Gaw said: “We go into the final round of the 2019-20 WEC with drivers in contention for the world title, which is an exceptional position to be in and a testament to the depth of quality and hard work delivered throughout the team. That Alex is not able to join us is hugely disappointing for everyone, and we wish him well. Now we must focus on completing the job and ensure that we come away from Bahrain having delivered on our mission to win both GTE world titles.”
Aston Martin Racing President David King said: “We are delighted to have won both classes so comprehensively at Le Mans, which contributed to us being able to secure the Manufacturers’ title prior to the season finale. We are now looking forward to trying to put the icing on the cake and being able to secure both the Pro and Am drivers’ and teams’ championships would crown a remarkable season for Aston Martin, and our best results in endurance racing since 1959. But whatever happens this weekend, we can leave 2020 secure in the knowledge that we are the top GT manufacturer in sportscar racing.”
Source material - AMR
TF Sport finish on a high at GT Open finale - but how high is the question?
With rumblings and formal Appeals against previous decision made at the final round of the International GT Open Series from Barcelona still ongoing, the Provisional results after today’s final race have placed the #34 TF Sport Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT3 in second overall in the Championship after the season’s twelve races.
Going into this weekend’s round with only a mathematical chance of lifting the overall prize, drivers Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood so nearly pulled off the feat had it not been for the actions of a guesting Am Class Lamborghini that created the two Safety Car periods within Saturday’s feature race. Having taken over the red Aston Martin from the Pole setting Irishman, Yoluc looked comfortable with his five second lead (and growing) before the #4 car spun out for the third time in the race down at turn 1 which needed the Safety Car to come out for its recovery.
That, and the resulting action of the pack behind at the restart threw Yoluc off kilter to drop as low as P6 at the restart before eventually recovering to P4 at the end. A post-race penalty then elevated the TF Sport crew to P3 overnight but in that, handed them also an additional 10 seconds of success penalties for Sunday’s sprint race.
With Yoluc getting baulked on track by the slower GT4 cars, he would Qualify in P7 and would hold onto that position throughout his opening stint as the Championship leading McLaren and Ferrari’s made their escape up ahead. Their dream appeared to be over.
Suddenly the race came to life as Championship positions rotated as incident and accident on track altered those positions and with less than ten minutes remaining “all hell let loose”.
The #17 Ferrari was already racing with a two second pit stop violation penalty so needed to finish ahead of the #59 McLaren by that margin in order to lift the prize. Eastwood had also worked his magic and had moved up to P3 and soon had Vincent Abril’s #17 car in his sights.
Desperate to get ahead of Abril’s team mate on track, the #59 car was getting nervous as the pressure began to pile upon them before going into the final minutes, the two cars were nose to tail on track. The inevitable contact was made between them on the penultimate lap which spun the #59 car into the gravel and out of the race. Finishing under the Safety Car, the #34 car finished within two seconds of the #17 car so took the race win as the #17 car took the also inevitable post-race penalty.
Long since after the dropping of the chequered flag, the #59 Teo Martin McLaren has been given the provisional Championship win from TF Sport by just two points after each teams worst result to date was dropped but then, both Saturday’s and Sunday’s race results are being officially Appealed by both AF Corse and Teo Martin!!!
What happens now – only time will tell!!
Photo credit - GT Open / TF Sport
TF Sport gear up for this weekend and next in GT3
Aston Martin Racing Partner Team, TF Sport can certainly be included within that after having initially lost their two British GT Championship GT3 (and title defending) entries at the start of the start of the season, new racing opportunities soon arose whilst others associated with the Sussex based team waited patiently for their turn.
This week see’s the team enter the final round of the International GT Open Series with their distinctive red liveried AMR Vantage GT3 for drivers Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood to chase a somewhat distant possibility of lifting the overall crown in Barcelona this weekend as well as a one off ‘special’ return for them at the final round of the British GT Championship at Silverstone next weekend.
After the five double header rounds so far, the #34 car presently lies third in the Championship, just twenty points behind the present leaders but with thirty points still on offer over the weekend the chance remains more than mathematically possible. As with anything that the young Turk is involved in, he is not there simply to make up the numbers so he and Eastwood will certainly be travelling out to Spain with the full intention of winning and lifting that ultimate prize.
Today also saw the team confirm a GT3 return for them at the final three-hour round of the British GT Championship at Silverstone next week where the 2019 British GT GT4 Champion and Aston Martin Racing Academy winner Tom Canning takes on only his second competitive racing weekend of the year alongside a Championship returning Giacomo Petrobelli.
With Canning already confirmed for the Oman Racing crew with TF Sport’s Vantage GT3 Asian Le Mans entry in January 2021, and having to sit most of the British GT Championship so far, Canning is obviously lacking in seat time this season so the purpose of this entry is to literally bring him up to speed as much as possible where circumstances allow. He and co-driver Ahmad Al Harthy of course entered the previous round of the GT Open Series at Spa Francorchamps two weeks ago where they pulled off an overall P3 and first in class in the opening race.
The above photograph shows the pairing practicing together recently at a track day at Silverstone where another AMR Vantage GT3 also tested in time for this final round of the British GT Championship next weekend.
Podium finish apiece for each of the three Astons at GT open from Spa
Sometimes dreams do come true in motor racing as first having to cancel their initial British GT Championship plans for 2020 even before they had begun back in March saw Oman Racing return to the racetrack this weekend for the first time this year at the penultimate round of the International GT Open Series from Spa Francorchamps.
Having flown into Belgium from home back in Oman, Ahmad Al Harthy faced the stark reality of late autumn in Northern Europe as well it being his first race of the year to contend with as he and co-driver Tom Canning looked to get in some decent test and race mileage in the Series before their scheduled Asian Le Mans Series commitments at the turn of the year. With neither driver having competed within any officially timed session anywhere since Media Day at Snetterton in mid-March, the Pro-Am pairing had nothing to prove but certainly had everything to gain.
Team mates Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood also had everything to gain as the #34 TF Sport crew looked to reduce their overall Championship deficit in time for the season finale in Spain at the end of the month yet for all, the very cold air temperatures of the Ardennes would be a challenge.
Drama is never usually far away in GT Open and for Canning, that came in the earlier Free Practice 2 session after two significant accidents on track led for only a handful of meaning laps around the circuit before Qualifying – not that that mattered much to the British GT GT4 Champion as he set the #97 car up on the front row just 0.1second off Pole in his very first GT3 event!!
With Yoluc starting P7 and with a 10 second success penalty looming at their pit stop, race one would always be a tough fight for the #34 car whilst the #97 car had a clean sheet and only the lack of track time this year standing in their way. Canning would stay in the car until the end of the pit window whilst Yoluc would do the opposite of that in order to give Eastwood as much opportunity on track as possible.
By the end of the pit stops, Eastwood would still find himself battling down in P7 overall (P4 in Pro) as a direct result of their extra 10 seconds in pit land whilst Al Harthy would come out P5 overall (P3 in class) thanks to Canning’s opening salvo against some very worthy and experienced Professional drivers.
As the race reached its concluding phase, Al Harthy was very much on the pace with a ‘sniff of further success’ leading him to take P3 overall going into the Bus Stop Chicane for the penultimate time. By the end of that lap Al Harthy and Canning had secured a debut overall podium in P3 and the Pro-Am race win for their efforts. Eastwood would finish the #34 not too far behind in P5 overall (P4 in class).
Sunday’s shorter race would be conducted in even fresher temperatures but that wouldn’t stop the pole sitting Ferrari from breaking the circuits all time GT3 lap record with Eastwood just 0.034 of second behind!!
This time around it would be a role reversal as the #34 crew now raced without any success penalties whilst the #97 would face the consequences of their earlier success in Race 1 with their first additional 10 second pit stop penalty.
Again, it would be hard graft for the Irishman aboard the #34 car as the Championship leading #59 McLaren got the jump on him at the start to drop back to P3 overall as the race and the leading two cars progressed. Al Harthy would have to deal with the antics of seventeen cars into La Source for the first time, dropping a position of his own at the start but able to maintain that until his stop.
As the #34 pitted from third with the top two cars just immediately ahead as they entered pit lane, a 10 second penalty for the lead car allowed Yoluc to make the pass up to P2 overall from within the pits and despite some late pressure from a post-race penalised Bentley was able to bring his #34 car home in second to maintain their run of podium finishes in the Series.
Joining both TF Sport AMR Vantage GT3’s was the PROsport Racing AMR Vantage GT4 of Rodrique Gillion and Nico Verdonck. Having dipped their toes into the Series previously at Paul Ricard, this was a local race for the Belgium crew but with Verdonck on double duty at Zolder with the DTM Trophy, Gillion would have to face race 1 all by himself.
Despite mechanical issues, the Gentleman driver finished race one, albeit the last of the runners but still enough to claim a P2 finish in GT4 Pro-Am. Sundays race would see Verdonck dominate the GT4 class during the earlier stages in the teams replacement AMR Vantage GT4 before he had to helicopter out and back to Zolder for his race duties over there. With the lead gifted to him, Gillion would take another podium – P3 overall in GT4 and again P2 in Pro-Am.
These results leave Yoluc and Eastwood twenty points down in the overall Championship stakes as the Series moves to its finale in Barcelona in two week’s time.
Photo credits – GT Open / TF Sport
Two TF Sport AMR Vantage GT3's for Spa round of GT Open
With the Oman Racing AMR Vantage GT3 and drivers Ahmad Al Harthy and Tom Canning joining season regulars Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood, each crew will be using the two pit stop punctuated sprint races at Spa for very different reasons.
The #34 car of Yoluc and Eastwood is of course still very much in the overall title hunt after the last round at Monza, Italy at the end of last month whilst for Al Harthy and 2019 Aston Martin Racing Drivers Academy and British GT GT4 Champion Tom Canning, both sadly lost out on their British GT Championship GT3 opportunities this year but now look forward an Asian Le Mans Season with Tom Ferrier’s team over in the Far East in January next year.
Yoluc and Eastwood presently lie fifteen points off the overall lead of the GT3 Championship thanks to their persistent run of podium races despite the torturous success penalties imposed within the Series.
Like Monza, the Spa round of the GT Open Cup Series for GT4 cars will again race with the larger GT3 field as the Series reacts to dwindling GT4 numbers due to the various COVID-19 induced travel problems for various teams. We do however expect one such GT4 team to include the PROsport Racing AMR Vantage GT4 crew of Nico Verdonck and Rodrique Gillion.
