◾#98 V8 Vantage secures GTE Am pole position for 6 Hours of Fuji
◾Combined lap time of 1m39.490 achieves 0.373 gap over second place
Saturday 15 October, Fuji, Japan: Aston Martin Racing has claimed pole position in GTE Am for Sunday's 6 Hours of Fuji; their fourth of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship season.
Driven by Paul Dalla Lana (C) and Pedro Lamy (P), the pair guided their #98 V8 Vantage GTE to a combined average of 1m39.998; a clear 0.373 seconds over their nearest rival. With Lamy posting the quickest time in GTE Am with a time of 1m38.982, Dalla Lana finished the job to continue the entry's dominant form following victory in Austin.
Dalla Lana said following qualifying, 'We know that we've got a real fight to pursue the championship so every point counts. After the first lap, the gap was a little tigher than we'd had liked. We knew we had fresh tyres available so we took advantage to make sure of the pole position. The car is really comfortable for a long run despite this being a tough circuit. This is a race where all the cars are close so it's definitely a case where the fewest mistakes wins.'
Lamy added, 'It was a small margin and Paul made the difference to make sure we got the pole. I felt good and the car was performing well despite the fact this is a low grip circuit. It's easy to overdrive and make mistakes, but we were both able to complete clean laps and I'm very happy about that.'
In GTE Pro, the #95 entry of Marco Sørensen and Nicki Thiim will start from 5th, with Darren Turner (GB) and Richie Stanaway (NZ) placing 6th in the sister #97 car. With Sørensen utilising fresh Dunlop tyres for his initial laps, the Dane was able to post the third best time in class with a 1m37.830. With Aston Martin Racing making the strategic decision to save a fresh set of rubber for the race, the team remains confident of its underlying performance ahead of tomorrow's main event.
Paul Howarth, Team Principal of Aston Martin Racing said following the session, 'I'm very happy for the #98 crew. That's the second in consecutive race weekends in a very competitive class at the moment. We need to convert that into a victory to allow our championship fight to continue right until the last race. I'm sure Paul, Pedro and Mathias will deliver that tomorrow.
'For our Pro drivers, we've made the conscious choice to save a fresh set of tyres for tomorrow. Across the board, there's not a lot in it between us and the competition, putting us in a great position for the race and that's what counts. Our objective is to win the championship and we'll be bringing the fight to our rivals right until the chequered flag on Sunday.'
The 6 Hours of Fuji will begin at 11:00 local time on Sunday 16 October.
Photo credit: Aston Martin
posted on conceptcarz.com
◾GTE Pro entries to begin race from 5th and 6th following tight qualifying session
The pair will be joined by Mathias Lauda (A) for tomorrow's race.
posted on conceptcarz.com
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