A taste of success

Aston got its LMP1 campaign off to the best possible start with a win

Aston Martin, on its Le Mans Series debut with the new LMP1 challenger, took an impressive victory in the Catalunya 1000Kms race near Barcelona. Driven by Jan Charouz, Tomáš Enge and Stefan Mücke, the car made a flawless first race appearance in April.

“This was a momentous victory, a fantastic reward for the weeks and months of hard work put in by every member of the team,” said Aston Martin chairman David Richards. “Endurance racing is, above all, a team sport and we have proved this once again in Barcelona.”

It was an exciting race. Starting from third on the grid, Mücke led the field at the end of the first lap, with Aston team-mate Darren Turner in third. A battle with Pescarolo then ensued, reaching a dramatic climax with just over half an hour to go. With Mücke back behind the wheel, the Aston team used a safety car period to close right up on the leader. The former Formula BMW champion took advantage of traffic to make his move, passing the lead Pescarolo around the outside and pulling away to win. The sister car of Turner, Harold Primat and Miguel Ramos ran in the top three until a spin with 40 minutes to go put them out of contention.

“It was a very close call,” said Mücke. “But we had the pace to win and it was a perfect start to the season. The car was very good and the team did a fantastic job.”