POLE POSITION FOR ASTON MARTIN RACING AT 6 HOURS OF SHANGHAI

November 7, 2016 by Aston Martin

• #98 V8 Vantage GTE Am secures third consecutive pole position

• #95 and #97 entries place 3rd and 5th in GTE Pro

• GTE Pro entries well placed for championship battle

Saturday 5 November, Shanghai, China: Aston Martin Racing has secured a third consecutive pole position in GTE Am and placed its GTE Pro in prime position for tomorrow's 6 Hours of Shanghai.

With the Shanghai International Circuit basking in sunshine, Pedro Lamy (P) was able to dominate the early stages to bring the #98 V8 Vantage GTE to the top of the GTE Am field. Despite a strong showing from their nearest rivals in the final half of qualifying to threaten the position, Paul Dalla Lana consolidated their fifth pole position of the year with an average of 2m04.997; a clear 0.337 advantage over second.

Lamy said, 'We had to push hard but both Paul and I managed to do a good lap. This track is very demanding for the tires so we had to make sure we took a good time on the first lap each time. Long stints in these conditions will be tough and we don't know who will suffer more for grip. We hope that we have the setup to make sure that we're on top against our rivals by the end.'

Dalla Lana added, 'Every point counts so we've got to put the pressure on Ferrari now. We made it a little harder than we needed to after a track limit infringement at the beginning but we've got ourselves in a great position to bring the fight to Ferrari.'

With the championship in its closing stages, the pole position proves vital for the trio of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda and a hard earned additional point for the championship standings.

In GTE Pro, the team put in a strong performance to secure advantageous grid positions over their closest rivals.

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The #95 V8 Vantage GTE of Nicki Thiim (DN) and Marco Sorensen (DN) claimed third for tomorrow's grid with a 2m02.040, while their teammates Darren Turner (GB) and Richie Stanaway (NZ) will start in fifth after setting an average of 2m02.432. With the team's championship opponents placed fourth and sixth, Aston Martin Racing is focused on reclaiming the GT Manufacturers lead and extending #95's lead at the top of the GTE Pro title battle.

Thiim said following qualifying, 'I am really happy. This is a pole position for us. It's getting to the critical end of the season and the stakes are getting higher, so P3 is really what I wanted and expected. The plan was just to get ahead of the Ferraris and that's what we got. My teammate just had to do a good job in his opening laps which he did and I was able to finish the job thankfully. But it's a long race for the drivers and the car, so we just have to go and do our best to secure the points we need for the championship. That's all we can do'.

Following today's result, Paul Howarth Team Principal of Aston Martin Racing said, 'That was a very well executed build up to the qualifying session especially from the engineering side of the team, allowing us to have a strong session. We hope to see the #98 drivers go on to win tomorrow and complete a hat-trick of victories and our #95 demonstrated to the opposition that they are a force to reckoned with. We're are very hopeful for a top result to ensure we head to Bahrain in great shape.'

The 6 Hours of Shanghai begins at 11:00am (local time) on Sunday 6 November.