Aston Martins Enjoy Run Up Front in GT1

Aston Martins Enjoy Run Up Front in GT1

Posted: July 18th, 2006 in American Le Mans
Author: Aston Martin Racing
Photo By: Joe Martin

After 12 races of Corvette yellow at the head of the American Le Mans Series’ GT1 field, there’s a new color out front – Aston Martin Racing green. The British marque is riding a two-race winning streak heading into the Portland Grand Prix presented by Les Schwab.

The last two rounds of the Series schedule has seen one of the team’s Aston Martin DBR9s on the top step of the class podium. That includes a 1-2 finish at last weekend’s Utah Grand Prix, the first such finish for the team since entering the American Le Mans Series at Sebring last year.

After seeing the Corvettes dominate in 2005 and through the first three races of this season (and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans), Aston Martin is the team streaking now. First it was Pedro Lamy and Stephane Sarrazin winning at Lime Rock Park at the start of the month. At the new Miller Motorsports Park, Darren Turner and Tomas Enge both earned their third career Series victories.

“We had a brilliant set up. Brilliant tires, as well,” Enge said. “They were working right from the beginning to the end.”

The Utah win proved a couple of things to the Aston Martin team and the other teams in the Series. For one, the team’s Pirelli tires held up well under the intense heat on the fresh Miller asphalt. Secondly, the Aston Martin pit crew averted disaster by quickly changing an alternator belt during a late-race yellow flag pit stop. In a Series where races are routinely won in the pits, the Aston Martin team performed when it needed.

“Fantastic result. A special mention should go to Richard Luxton who managed to change the alternator belt on the 007 race-winning car in record time,” said team principal George Howard-Chappell. “Again, a superb effort from the whole team. The drivers were very consistent which is what we needed to get the life out of the tires. (Pirelli) gave us an excellent compound for this new circuit. Great job all round.”

Another similar performance from the team and tires will be in order this weekend in Portland. Temperatures are expected to rise into the 90s on Thursday and Friday and eclipse the 100-degree mark for the race.