Late race joy for Aston Martin
Another team looking to profit from home advantage at Silverstone was Banbury-based Aston Martin Racing. With three Vantage V8 cars entered across the two GTE classes, all sporting the iconic Gulf Oil International colours, there was plenty for the luxury car manufacturer’s legions of fans to cheer for.
They may have left it to the last moment, but a podium finish for the No.97 GTE-Pro entry of Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke was a good reward for everyone following a hard-fought race, leading to a climb up to second place in the FIA World Endurance Championship standings.
Despite challenging for class victory from the outset, both drivers taking their turn at the head of GTE, it became apparent that the Ferraris could have a fuel consumption advantage. This meant they could complete the race on one less stop than the Aston Martin V8s unless a favourable safety car period intervened which would shake up competitors’ strategies. No such opportunity arose.
In the final stages of the race, with a change to Adrian Fernandez scheduled, Turner reported splitter damage which was causing the front end of the car to vibrate. During the pit stop, the splitter was repaired but the No.97 lost just under 90 seconds and dropped back to fourth place. This wasn’t enough to deter Mücke, in for the final stint, who continued closing the gap to the third place car at up to four seconds per lap. It looked as though they would have to settle for fourth, but Aston Martin was able to claim the final podium position after a clash with the No.71 AF Corse Ferrari at the final corner saw the Italian car beached in the gravel trap.
John Gaw, Team Principal: “That was a great result for the No.97 car. We would like to have been challenging for second place, but the splitter damage cost us. However, we’re now in second place in the World Endurance Championships with four races to go, which is a fantastic place to be in the car’s inaugural year. The GTE Am cars and drivers were fantastic all weekend – Stuart Hall’s qualifying pole position [in GTE-Am] being a real highlight. It’s a shame the No.99 car stopped so close to the end, because it had been faultless all weekend, but overall the success of the three cars has been great. The team have all done a job to be proud of.”
Darren Turner, No.97 Aston Martin Vantage V8: “That was a great finish to a race that threw up a few challenges. We had splitter damage before the final pit, with 45 minutes to go, and it lost us a minute and a half. Stefan made up a lot of time, setting the second fastest lap of the race and did a great job to get us on the podium. The car ran like clockwork for the whole six hours and certainly proved it had race-winning pace. It was the fuelling advantage of the lead car over the rest of the pack that meant we couldn’t mount a successful challenge for first position.”
Fiona Miller (quotes from Aston Martin Racing press release)
Photo: TOWCESTER (NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, GREAT BRITAIN), SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT, 6 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE, SUNDAY 26TH AUGUST 2012, RACE.