As the 007 Aston Martin Racing Lola-Aston Martin crossed the finish line in today’s Autosport 1000km it secured the Le Mans Series title and ended a great season for the team, this also marked 50 years since Aston Martin won the World Sports Car Championship.
Team Principal, George Howard-Chappell was a very happy man after the race saying “This is a perfect end to what has been an incredible season for Aston Martin Racing. Full credit to the team and drivers who have worked tirelessly. Thanks to the dedication of the team the cars have been reliable all year.”
“We have received an amazing welcome at every round of the series from Barcelona where we notched up our first win, to Spa where the 007 crew started from the back to finish on the podium. Portugal was a tough race for our car but again we achieved a podium finish and then Nürburgring was a dream race with all three Aston Martins finishing on the podium. To end the season on the podium at our home race where the support for the team has been fantastic is really the icing on the cake and I would like to thank all of our partners and sponsors for their support throughout the year.”
Aston Martin Chairman, David Richards added “It's fantastic that 50 years on from Aston Martin winning the World Sports Car Championship Aston Martin Racing has triumphed again, winning the Le Mans Series. It really is an impressive result and I am extremely proud of the whole team.”
The title winning drivers of Jan Charouz, Tomas Enge and Mucke were understandably delighted with the outcome of the day and the result of the hard work they have put in over the year.
“Amazing!” said Jan Charouz. “It's a very good feeling. We have worked hard all season and then it finally happened today and we won the championship. We had a conservative strategy and at one point it didn't look like we would finish on the podium but we managed to finish third which was a great achievement as the opposition were very strong.”
Tomas Enge praised the efforts from the team and the excellent performance of the car over the year, “We have been on the podium at every race and that is a credit to the team and the reliability of the car. The car running without problems and the drivers not making any mistakes was the key to winning the championship and I am very proud to have played my part in this victory for the team and for Aston Martin.”
Stefan Mucke also talked of the reliability of the car saying “I am very happy, I think for me it is my greatest success. It is great for Aston Martin and for us as a team of three drivers; we have finished every race on the podium which is a really amazing achievement.”
Despite winning the series title today and the Le Mans Series drawing to a close, the Aston Martin Racing team are now preparing themselves ahead of the inaugural Asian Le Mans Series which kicks off in Okayama, Japan 31 October-1 November
