Sebring 20 March 2010. The Aston Martin 007 was the fastest petrol car across
the line, finishing third overall in the opening round of the American Le Mans
Series: the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Drivers Adrian Fernández (MX), Stefan Mücke (DE) and Harold Primat (CH) were
consistent throughout as was the production-based Aston Martin V12-powered LMP1
car, which once again proved its reliability and durability.
In a largely uneventful race dominated by the diesel powered cars, Aston Martin
finished the race in the same position as it started 12 hours earlier.
The Lowe’s sponsored Aston Martin faultlessly completed 364 laps of the 3.7 mile
Sebring International Raceway covering a total of 1,347 miles.
The Aston Martin Racing team achieved the best result possible with an
immaculate performance by all involved echoing 2009’s result at the Le Mans 24
hour race.
The legendary Sebring circuit has provided an invaluable test for the car and
the team now turn their thoughts to the eight hour Le Mans Series race at Paul
Ricard in France on 11 April 2010. The team will then return to the USA in April
for the second round of the American Le Mans Series at Long Beach on 17 April
2010.
Team Quotes:
Aston Martin Chairman, David Richards: “Another immaculate performance by George
and his team in finishing here as fastest petrol car and a great start to the
season.”
Team Principal, George Howard-Chappell: “I’m very pleased; it's the best we
could have expected if all front running cars were reliable - which they were.
We wanted to be the fastest petrol car at Sebring and it’s excellent preparation
for Le Mans, having a completely clean run with no issues at all. The Michelin
tyres were fantastic as usual so happy all round.”
Adrian Fernandez (MX): “It was a fantastic race for the team and a great start
for me in my debut with Aston Martin. The team and the other drivers did a
superb job in what was a very tough race. It bodes well for the car because if
it can handle 12 hours of Sebring, then it will do well in the 24 hours of Le
Mans.”
Stefan Mücke (DE): “We had no problems although it was tough racing here during
the night. We did the very best that we could and the car was reliable as
expected so I’m very happy.”
Harold Primat (CH): “The race has been really good. We obviously had some tough
competition; we knew the diesels would be strong so I think we have achieved the
best result we could. The team did a brilliant job capitalising on the car’s
reliability and I am pleased with the outcome.”
- Ends -
Pos. Car Class Drivers Car Laps Best lap
1 07 P1 Gene/Wurz/Davidson Peugeot 908 HDI 367 1:45.704
2 08 P1 Lamy/Bourdais/Minassian Peugeot 908 HDI 367 1:44.972
3 007 P1 Mücke/Primat/Fernández Aston Martin LMP1 364 1:46.234
4 6 P2 Pickett/Graf/Maassen Porsche RS Spyder 353 1:49.043
5 1 P2 Brabham/Pagenaud/Franchitti HPD ARX-01c 349 1:47.669