Aston Martin Racing will start from third place for the competitive debut of the new Vantage GTE at the 12 Hours of Sebring with the sister #007 2012 spec car starting in fourth place.
Stefan Mucke lead the way for the team qualifying within 0.2 seconds of the class pole-position lap while Pedro Lamy took the #007 car to fourth on the grid in the 15 minute session.
“The test programmes at Portimão and Road Atlanta went really well and enabled us to start this race weekend problem-free. The car and team have both run smoothly all week and this was carried through into the qualifying session.” commented John Gaw, team principal at Aston Martin Racing.
“It’s great to have both cars up towards the front of the grid. Pedro did an outstanding job to qualify nearly a second quicker than the same specification car managed here last year. The only hiccup has been the illness in the team, but it looks like everything will be sorted for the race tomorrow.”
Mücke was happy with the start to year in the new Vantage as they prepare for the start of the FIA World Endurance Championship. “This week has been a very promising start to the campaign but there’s more to get out of the car, for sure.” he said.
Lamy pushed the 2012-specification Vantage to the limits to finish just behind the #97 car. “I got a nice clear run at the best moment of the tyres. I was getting faster each lap but then the session ended. The car feels good and the team did a great job. The car is not quite as quick as the #97, but our set-up work this week has made it incredibly good to drive around the Sebring International Raceway.
“I’m feeling good ahead of the race. It’s a long race but if we can get good rhythm and can stay out of trouble we should get a really good result.” he added.
