Aston Martin Racing will arrive in Bahrain with its eyes set on clinching championship glory in the marque’s centenary year.
Going in to the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Aston Martin leads the LMGTE Manufacturers’ World Cup by 17.5 points over Ferrari, with Porsche a further 15.5 point back, meaning any three of the teams can realistically take victory. Momentum is with Aston Martin, however, having already taken four GTE wins towards the Manufacturers’ title under its belt.
In addition to leading the Manufacturers’ Cup, AMR goes to Bahrain with the lead in both the LMGTE Pro Teams with the #97 Vantage GTE, and in the World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers with Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke.
“If you were going to watch any of the WEC races this year, watch this one,” said Turner. “I’ve never won a World Championship so I fully intend to win this one. Stefan and I have put everything we’ve got into this season. The car and the team have performed outstandingly all year and we’ve won more races than any other GTE team. Now we need to do it all again in Bahrain. It’s equally important for us to win the team and manufacturers titles, which will be just reward for the hard work the team has put in throughout 2013.”
Aston Martin could also win a further two titles in the LMGTE Am class, with the #96 Vantage GTE leading the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams, while Jamie Campbell-Walter and Stuart Hall hold first place in the World Endurance Cup for GTE Am Drivers.
“We’ve been leading the drivers’ championship since the Circuit of the Americas,” explains Campbell-Walter. “But, we had a bit of a tricky race in Shanghai, which let the 8 Star Ferrari catch up a little. We now go into the final round with just a five-point lead, which means we have a lot of work to do. What we are really looking forward to in Bahrain is that Roald [Goethe] is back racing with us. He’s been missed and, if we win in Bahrain, we want him there to celebrate with us.”
If Aston Martin are to be successful in Bahrain, it will mark the first motorsport world crown since the brand took the World Sportscar Championship in 1959 with drivers such as Sir Stirling Moss, Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby driving for the team.
“Everyone at Aston Martin Racing is looking forward to the final round of this year’s WEC campaign at Bahrain,” added Team Principal John Gaw. “Of course, it would be nice to finish the job and achieve the objectives we set ourselves at the start of this very important year for Aston Martin. We know that to do this we will need to be at our best and we are ready to embrace the challenge.”
