6 Hours Bahrain LMGTE news: Aston Martin denied World Championship
Aston Martin Racing has finished second in the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) after an eventful final round of the series, the Six Hours of Bahrain, which saw the British racing team cruelly denied the manufacturers’ world championship title in the final hour.
After an intense, season-long battle with Ferrari and Porsche, the team went into the final round leading the LMGTE Manufacturers’ World Cup. Luck, however, was not on the side of the team and, after 109 laps of the International Circuit of Bahrain, the #97 Vantage GTE was forced to retire leaving the #99 and #95 Vantage GTEs to battle on to try and score enough points.
“We had a problem with the engine,” comments Darren Turner (GB), who shared the #97 machine with Stefan Mucke (DE). “It’s such a rare issue and it’s incredibly disappointing – I feel a bit like we were robbed of the Trophy for GTE Pro Drivers. It wasn’t the end we hoped for but we took it to the wire and gave it our best shot and the rest of the team continued on in the spirit that has carried us through this year.”
With little more than an hour to go, the #99 of Bruno Senna (BR), Pedro Lamy (PT) and Richie Stanaway (NZ) was in a comfortable third and in line to take 15 points. The #95 was leading the GTE Am class and seventh overall, now contributing a vital six manufacturer points for the team, still enough for it to take the most coveted title in international GT racing.
However, disaster struck when Lamy was forced to bring the #99 into the garage with an engine issue, ending the hopes of the Aston Martin Racing team and its fans in the Manufacturers' title race.
John Gaw, Team Principal comments: “Engine failure is so rare, so for it to happen to us twice in one race is of course highly unusual. We came here at the end of an incredibly strong year and, thanks to fantastic work by all of the team, we were leading the championship. We did everything within our control to leave here champions and we can all be very proud. The outcome was not what we wanted on the day and unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be in GTE Pro.
"However, everyone at Aston Martin Racing is so proud of the #96 crew for winning the Trophy for GTE Am Drivers and it was fitting that the #95 car finished the season on a high with its third race win of the season.”
From Aston Martin Racing press release
Photo: BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT (SAKHIR, BAHRAIN), 6 HOURS OF BAHRAIN, SATURDAY 30 NOVEMBER 3013, RACE. The LMGTE Pro No.97 and No.99 both suffered from problems which denied the British team the chance of the World Championship title.