The four Aston Martins entered in the ADAC Nϋrburgring 24-hour race have all successfully completed qualifying on the eve of the 35th running of the gruelling German endurance race.
Spearheaded by a DBRS9, Aston Martin representation also includes three Vantage N24s – two from Aston Martin and a third from the Belgium-based Herreman Racing team – with all four cars competing in the SP8 class. Qualifying was completed today, with a session this morning followed by a mandatory evening session.
The Aston Martin DBRS9 – run by Phoenix Racing/Aston Martin Austria – took 4th place overall (2nd in class) in qualifying ahead of the race which starts at 3pm (EST) tomorrow (Saturday 9th June).
The DBRS9 impressed with its pace in both morning and evening qualifying – leading the way in the first session by two seconds. Drivers Sascha Bert, Robert Lechner, Klaus Ludwig and Marcel Fässler guided the DBRS9 in a polished team display.
The number eight Vantage N24, which is driven by Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez, Chris Porritt, Wolfgang Schubauer and Horst von Saurma, took 7th in class (48th overall) for tomorrow’s starting grid.
The second Aston Martin Vantage N24 – the number nine car – driven by Oliver Mathai (Germany), Richard Meaden (UK), Stephane Lemeret (Belgium) and Ulrich Schödel (Germany) will start from 6th in class (41st overall).
Aston Martin’s Head of Product Communications and Motorsport, David King, commented: “The DBRS9 put in an excellent qualifying performance, especially considering this is the car’s debut at the Nϋrburgring.
“The N24s are looking very solid. The established team with Dr Bez have been working on economy in preparation for the race whilst the new drivers in our second car have been gaining experience of the N24 with day and night stints.”
The Herreman Racing team – one of the first customer teams to race the Vantage N24 competitively – will start from 11th in class on the starting grid under the stewardship of Arnold Herreman, Kurt Dujaroyn, Anton Gonnissen and Jean-Paul Herreman.
The Vantage N24 is based on a standard European specification production V8 Vantage, with modifications undertaken to prepare the car for the racing environment.
The Phoenix Racing DBRS9 is a modified version of the GT3 car. The DBRS9 is based on the DB9 road car, but shares many design features with the full GT1 specification DBR9.
The race starts at 3pm (EST) tomorrow (Saturday 9 June).