24 Hours of Le Mans
Aston Martin Racing Completes Pre-Season Test
© Aston Martin Racing // AM’s class of 2008
Aston Martin Racing has hosted a pre-season test for both the factory team and private outfits at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France, following in the footsteps of the first such event that took place last year.
As well as the two-car Gulf factory team of DBR9s that will compete at Le Mans, there were several customer DBR9s on track. The brand new Charouz Racing Systems LMP1 car powered by Aston Martin – which will be driven at Le Mans by Jan Charouz, Tomas Enge and Stefan Mucke – also took to the circuit for the two-day test.
Aston Martin’s other racing cars at Paul Ricard included the new Vantage GT2, along with the DBRS9 GT3 car and several examples of the V8 Vantage N24, which will be competing in the FIA GT4 Championship this year.
Fresh from the Geneva Motorshow, the V12 Vantage RS concept road car took to the circuit as well to join its racing stablemates.
The Paul Ricard circuit near Toulon is a former French Grand Prix venue that has been turned into the world’s most advanced test track. It is famous amongst other things for the Mistral straight, which at 1.8 kilometres is the longest permanent straight in Europe, giving the Aston Martins scheduled to compete at Le Mans a flavour of the legendary Mulsanne that they will face in June.
Aston Martin Racing fielded two DBR9s in Gulf livery – traditionally numbered 007 and 009 – in order to test the cars for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Amongst the drivers at Paul Ricard with previous DBR9 experience were Antonio Garcia, Andrea Piccini, Darren Turner and Karl Wendlinger. The newcomers to the DBR9 in France were Ryan Dalziel, Robbie Kerr, and former Grand Prix star Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
The German driver, the winner of three Grands Prix, commented: “I’ve not driven any sort of racing car for one and a half years, so this was a great opportunity for me to get back into action. I really enjoyed the experience of driving the DBR9, and I actually found it very easy to drive. It was really good fun to get behind the wheel of a proper GT car, and I’ve definitely got a taste for it now.”
The Gigawave Motorsport, Jetalliance and Strakka Racing teams also tested their DBR9s at Paul Ricard while Hexis Racing tested its DBRS9s in preparation for the forthcoming season.
Aston Martin Chairman David Richards commented: “Just three years ago we didn’t have a single Aston Martin racing car, so if you look at how far we have come in that short space of time it’s quite incredible. Now we have cars in every category, from GT1 to GT4. To see all those cars out here together makes me very proud, and it’s a valuable opportunity for the whole Aston Martin family to share the circuit and their experiences with the factory Gulf team.”
Dr Ulrich Bez, Chief Executive Officer of Aston Martin, said: “It is very satisfying to see the progress we have made at all levels of GT racing. The DBR9s in Gulf colours look stunning and the new GT2 car is showing great potential, but I am also delighted to see so many of our Vantage N24 customers here testing alongside the professionals. I was thrilled to drive the V12 Vantage RS concept car for the first time.”
(Aston Martin Racing)
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Where can I get high-res pictures of all those am lining up?
SAME!! I BLOODY LOVE THEM SHOTS OF THE ASTON FAMILY!!! GT1 and GT2 class wins!
Nice but not as good as the Ferraris, lol.
The ferrari’s were very nice but they couldnt keep up with the corvette’s development. But the Aston has been running competively since 2004 and is now only starting to slow. But hopefully Prodrive pull their finger out and get it back clear of the vette’s.
I wish the Corvette Motorsport Teams did this, but it is a bit costly.
I wish I could be there to have seen it. A girl would have a hard time tempting me away.
Corvette racing doesn’t need to offer GT3 and GT4 cars, because privateers were modifying corvettes for racing way longer before the factory got into the action (SCCA, tarmac rallies, USAC…etc). And GM just wanted to prove that the vette was as good as the Viper which used to be the big dog in GT1(GTS).
Aston Martin will never have the fan following the Corvettes have. Ever seen the autograph lines at ALMS races for the C6Rs? Even with no competition they’re the unquestioned stars. And since the goal is to win people and sell cars that’s why they keep coming back. And the factory C6R drivers are very people savy (solid PR). Can’t help but love them.
That is true. The problem with teams like AMR, is that they are run by Prodrive who just like the challenge of making a brand new car competetive. Like the Ferrari 550 Maranello which was around for a few years. Soon a big manufacturer will come along wanting Prodrive to develop a winning car. But it still, The Aston i think is a better looking machine.
In fairness, Dave Richards, who runs Prodrive also lead the consortium that bought Aston Martin last year so it maybe fair to say AMR will be more of a pure race team in the future but of course car sales is the most important so the cars and catergories will change for AMR over the years. As for GT1, well I get the feeling this is the final season on that front. Lets face it, they will be trying to win it outright soon enough whilst hopefully having a money making customer business through their GT creations? I do believe that Prodrive/Aston are commited to Sportscar Racing for the forseeable future?? Car sales seems to have worked aswell because I certainly see more AM’s on the road than 5 years ago!
That is true. Im currently serving in the Household Cavalry and am based in Hyde Park barracks, situated in Knightsbridge. Knightsbridge is where rich and famous people live and im glad to say there are way more Astons than Ferraris, lambos etc. But as for racing goes, Prodrive will continue to use the DBR9 as their main project at Le Mans until further notice
Too bad that nice gulf livery will only be seen at one race (lemans). Hopefully they do some LMS races. They’re limiting their chances of facing the corvette squad. The Astons aren’t keeping up with the Corvette’s development either. The Corvetes have smaller restrictors than the Astons. I just hope the BEll team can be somewhat competitive in the ALMS to give a good show.
Adam considering that you live in England I think it’s normal that you see more Astons. But in the U.S, even with their higher sticker note (and more performance) the Ferraris rule the exotic landscape.
[quote]Corvette Racing doesn’t need to offer GT3 and GT4 cars[/quote]
Corvette Racing has 0% involvement in both the GT3 or GT4. GT4 is helped out by GM Performance division and is built by Callaway Competition. Either way…its better that people like Callaway build those cars, because they are proven winning machines now.
I dont think the Aston will come anywhere near the corvettes at sebring. Its only just on level terms with the full AMR/Prodrive team behind the cars. Although the Corvettes could have reliability issues with certain aspects of the C6R.
badjo, i see your point but the new AM road cars over in Europe ( i presume you live in the US ) are now seen as a worthy opponent to Ferrari. The same is for Corvettes over here as it seems they are in America. There are plenty of Astons and its very rare to see a C6 etc.
James Bond driving down Park Lane in a C6R just wouldn’t work