Aston Martin's Shanghai goal: To finish ahead of Porsche
Photo: Aston Martin Racing
Currently lying second in the small but tightly-contested LMGTE Pro classification by just one point, Aston Martin Racing knows that it must finish ahead of its rival Team Felbermayr-Proton in order to secure second place in the LMGTE Pro standings. The class titles have already been won by the Italian AF Corse Ferrari team.
In this weekend’s final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Shanghai which take place on Sunday 28th October, Aston Martin Racing’s No.97 Vantage V8 will once again be driven by the Anglo-German pairing of Darren Turner, a former GT1 class 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, and Stefan Mücke. They have recorded an impressive tally of six podium finishes in the seven rounds of the Championship to date but a victory has so far eluded them.
The 2012 season has marked Aston Martin’s return to GT racing after a very difficult year in 2011 with the AMR-One LMP1 car. The Vantage GTE is based on the British company's production model, the Vantage - the sportiest model in the prestigious marque’s line-up.
John Gaw, Team Principal: “To finish second in the championship would be fantastic and I think it’d come as a surprise to many. The 2012 season marked Aston Martin’s return to GT racing and our goals at the start of the year were to be competitive, reliable and to score a couple of podium results. So far, we’ve had six podiums out of seven and have challenged for the win on a good few occasions.
“This weekend, it is our goal to finish ahead of the #77 Porsche and, as a result, finish second in the championship. If we can also get our first WEC win that would be fantastic and, of course, we go to Shanghai aiming for the top step of the podium, but until we start the first practice session we won’t know if this is achievable.”
Darren Turner, No.97 Aston Martin Vantage V8: “Again, Shanghai is another new circuit to learn but from everything I've heard it's an amazing place and a very interesting circuit. It's always great to be able to visit somewhere new and is a great venue to finish the season.
"It's really hard to say if the circuit will suit us. I thought Fuji would have been good for the Vantage GTE but it proved to be maybe our least competitive circuit this year. Hopefully that won't be the same this time out and we can have a good crack for our first win of the season. Our priority has to be securing second in the championship and, as there is only one point between us, it's going to be an intense weekend. The good thing is the guys have really found some extra pace in the pitstops so it's down to Stefan and I to get the everything we can out of the car.”
Stefan Mücke, No.97 Aston Martin Vantage V8: “It will be my first time on the Shanghai GP circuit but the second time for me in Shanghai – I did a DTM race in 2004 inside the city on the street circuit – so I'm really looking forward to going back. The track looks quite difficult with a lot of interesting corners. We hope that it suits the car and that we can manage to be on the top step after the end of the six hours.
“It will be also an interesting fight between us and the Porsche for P2 in the championship, one that we are very focused on winning! Finishing second in the GTE Pro championship in our first return year to GT racing would be a great achievement for the whole team.”
Fiona Miller (quotes from Aston Martin team press release)
Photo: OYAMA-CHO (SHIZUOKA PREFECTURE, JAPAN), FUJI INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, 6 HOURS OF FUJI, SUNDAY 14TH OCTOBER 2012, RACE. The No.97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8.
