Aston Martin Racing made its Blancpain Sprint Series debut this weekend (18/19 October) and drivers Jonny Adam (GB) and Andy Soucek (ES) scored top five finishes in both of the one-hour races in the Beechdean AMR V12 Vantage GT3.
Zolder, 21 October 2014 - Aston Martin Racing made its Blancpain Sprint Series debut this weekend (18/19 October) and drivers Jonny Adam (GB) and Andy Soucek (ES) scored top five finishes in both of the one-hour races in the Beechdean AMR V12 Vantage GT3.
Having raced and won in the Blancpain Endurance Series, this weekend’s event in Zolder was the first Blancpain Sprint Series event for the Aston Martin Racing works team.
Aston Martin Racing works driver Adam and his new team-mate ex-F1 test driver Soucek didn’t take any time getting to grips with the new-for-2014 series and went second fastest in free practice one and third fastest in free practice two.
Soucek was first out in qualifying and, despite it being his first event in an Aston Martin, drove the V12 Vantage GT3 like he had been driving it for years, going fastest in Q1 before handing over to team-mate Adam.
A difficult Q2 left the team to start race one from 14th but, with some incredible overtaking and a slick pitstop and driver change, the pair crossed the line in fifth place.
For race two, the team started from fifth but on the green flag the #107 car dropped to sixth to avoid an incident. Then the two safety cars in the first half of the race hampered Soucek’s chances of moving up the grid.
With some smart strategy and a perfect pitstop, Adam exited in fourth and continued his charge to the front of the pack. After the pitstops were completed they were just pipped to the post and crossed the line in fifth.
“For our first weekend in the Blancpain Sprint Series, to score two fifth places was a great achievement and underlines the strength of the Aston Martin Vantage GT3,” commented Adam. “The team and car performed very well over the weekend and it was a pleasure to drive with Andy Soucek. This weekend has definitely helped with our preparation towards our race in Baku.”
The team will next race in the Blancpain Sprint Series at Baku on 1 November. For further information go to www.blancpain-gt-series.com