Racers running with Yokohama tires notched two podium finishes at this past weekend’s Nürburgring 24 Hours.
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Two Aston Martin Test Centre cars, called “Zig” and “Smurf,” completed the arduous event by placing second and third in the SP8 class and 26th and 33rd overall respectively.
Driven by Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez, chief engineer Chris Porritt, Test Centre Director Wolfgang Schuhbauer and journalist Richard Meaden, the No. 005 Aston Martin V12 Zagato (Zig) enjoyed a trouble-free run despite the demanding nature of the event, the circuit and the rain that began to fall as dawn crept into the sky over the Eifel Mountains.
Also running were two Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 cars. These were crewed by professional drivers, with Aston Martin’s World Endurance Championship team of Stefan Mucke, Tomas Enge, Fredy Barth and Oliver Mathai in No. 006 and Darren Turner, Dennis Rostek and sons of motor racing legend Hans-Joachim Stuck – Johannes and Ferdinand – in car No. 007.
The GT3 cars qualified 16th and 17th for the start but both ran in to early problems; 006 developed clutch issues that cost the team 15 laps, while Turner damaged a tire on car No. 007 and the resulting deflation left the car stranded on the circuit. The Young Driver AMR team managed to get a replacement wheel and tire to him and he was able to get back to the pits and continue, having dropped 13 laps in the process.
The team eventually reached the decision to rest both cars until the final lap, having gained what it described as “invaluable data” in the process.
“I am delighted that the Aston Martin Test Centre team managed to achieve the double podium,” observes Mark Evans, Yokohama’s chief of motorsports. “The cars performed perfectly, as did the Yokohama tires, and we offer our congratulations to the team and Aston Martin as a whole.”
“We did very well with the 005 car this weekend,” says Bez. “We had a flawless race while the drivers of the Vantage GT4 had fun and managed a good result as well. This is the greatest and most competitive GT race in the world,” he points out. “It is the most demanding on people and cars.”
Evans, who is based in the United Kingdom, goes on to note that “the support team and infrastructure that we provided for the Nürburgring 24 Hours remains in Germany this week, as this coming weekend sees the third round of the FIA Formula Two Championship – also at the ‘Ring – but using just the modern circuit. As the official tire supplier to F2, we have some 150 tires heading out for the two-race event and are looking forward to seeing another excellent weekend of single-seater racing.”
For more information, visit www.yokohamatire.com.
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