After 16 hours of wheel-to-wheel racing in the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #97 Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GTE is in second place in the GTE Pro class and the #95 Vantage GTE is leading the GTE Am class.
Le Mans, 15 June 2014 - After 16 hours of wheel-to-wheel racing in the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #97 Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GTE is in second place in the GTE Pro class and the #95 Vantage GTE is leading the GTE Am class.
As the sun came up over the Circuit de la Sarthe, the order of the race had stayed much the same as is had stood at the halfway mark. Each with a new set of brake pads, the Aston Martin Vantage GTEs were reliably pounding around the track and the #95 Young Driver AMR Vantage was still far out in front of the GTE Am pack.
David Heinemeier Hansson (DN) completed an impressive stint in the #95, consistently lapping several seconds faster than his competitors, with only the identical #98 Vantage of Pedro Lamy (PT) matching him on pace. After a long stint in the most physically challenging stage of the race, the Dane handed over to compatriot Kristian Poulsen (DN) who continued the charge as the sun rose.
In the GTE Pro class, Darren Turner (GB) took over from Bruno Senna (BR). Some fantastic wheel-to-wheel action saw the Brit assert himself at the front of the pack before pitting for a brake pad change under a ‘slow zone’ yellow.
Returning to the pack in second place, it was Stefan Mücke’s turn to take over the charge and, as the sun rose, he recorded the fastest GT lap of the race so far, a 3:54.382. With the race leader yet to pit for its brake pad change, the #97 team is ready to regain the race lead.
“The Danish drivers in car #95 have done an impressive job to establish such a lead,” commented Team Principal John Gaw. “They just need to keep doing what they are doing and we will hope that luck stays on our side for the next eight hours.
“The #97 team has done a great job since the start of the race. They have repeatedly taken on the challenge of the Ferrari, Corvettes and Porsches and come out on top.”
The #98 Vantage GTE is 11th place following a detached power steering fluid pipe that needed repairing following a knock to the car. Pedro Lamy (PT), Christoffer Nygaard (DN) and Paul Dalla Lana (CA) have all put in solid stints to close the gap on cars ahead.