Le Mans Series

GT1 victory for Larbre’s first race with Aston Martin

© Planetlemans

The French tricolour around the ‘mouth’ of the Larbre Compétition-run Aston Martin DBR9 was the first to take the chequered flag for the GT1 class in today’s shortened opening round of the Le Mans Series in Istanbul, Turkey. Pedro Lamy, Gabriele Gardel and Vincent Vosse drove a flawless race to take class victory by one lap over their nearest rival in a damp and cold race.
Larbre maintained its 100% success record in the series, following its Championship winning success in the 2004 Le Mans Endurance Series. This time, however, they have returned with the stunning Aston Martin DBR9, and the French team proved its class by being consistently quick over nearly all the practice sessions, claiming pole position and following it up with victory.

With the race being shortened by two hours from its original six, due to lack of fuel for the competitors (a miscalculation by the suppliers), Aston Martin Racing Larbre Competition’s race strategy was fluid to take into account the changing track conditions and the length of the race. Having had light but steady rain earlier this morning, the track was damp when the race began at 1130 hrs (local). 99% of the field, including the Larbre Aston Martin, were therefore on wet tyres.

Portuguese driver Pedro Lamy set the fastest GT1 lap of the race once he had changed to slick tyres and led the class for more than three quarters of the event. “At the beginning it was a difficult decision to make about what tyres to use and we went with the wets because we were being cautious in the conditions. After a few laps (7) we had to change tyres. This track takes time to dry so that was also a bit difficult as some parts were damp and some dry. For the race, it was good. The car was oversteering a bit but we managed to be fast anyway but we had no problems.”

Vincent Vosse of Belgium was feeling the cold after doing just one hour in the car. “The car was good. We went for the safe choice with the tyres for the end of the race, going out on proved and hard compound Michelin tyres. I just had to take no risks and everything was perfect. Larbre Competition, as usual, did a great job in strategy and pit stop and my two team mates weren’t so bad either!”

Reigning FIA GT Champion Gabriele Gardel of Switzerland was happy to continue his winning form. “It’s really nice to start the season with a win. We were really quick the whole weekend and the car was really good. It was a tricky race as it was a little bit wet and a little bit dry and difficult to choose the right tyres for this at the start. In the end, though, it was perfect. I was happy with my stint and, like Vincent, I just had to drive carefully and not push too hard in case of making any mistakes.”