Despite retirement valuable preparation for Le Mans

The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC), ended early for Young Driver AMR. The Aston Martin Racing entered Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin GTE, driven by Marco Sørensen, Nicki Thiim and Darren Turner, had to retire in the race held Saturday afternoon after Thiim was pushed off track by a competitor. Thiim was not injured in the incident, that ended a impressive streak of finishes of the #95 Aston Martin, which dates back to fall 2013: Before Saturday’s WEC round in Belgium, Young Driver AMR saw the finish line in 17 consecutive WEC rounds, including two 24-hour races, equal to more then 138 hours of racing!

The contact in the second hour of the race denied Young Driver AMR a possible second consecutive podium finish. Starting driver Sørensen battled up to fourth position in the GTE Pro class during the opening hour of the race and handed the Aston Martin Vantage GTE to Thiim for the second hour. After a quick and flawless pit stop, Thiim was fifth in class before a competitor in a Le-Mans-Prototype pushed Thiim off track into the tire barriers.

Despite the early end, Young Driver AMR took many positives away from Belgium. „The most important thing is that Nicki was unhurt after a LMP2 competitor made contact with our car“, Jan Struve of Young Driver AMR said. „Just before the 24 Hours of Le Mans, adrenaline is high with many drivers, which could be seen in many contacts during the race. It’s a shame that a guest entry in the WEC ended our race early. Nevertheless this race was an important part of our preparation for the 24 hours of Le Mans in June. The team did a great job and our pit worked was as excellent as in Silverstone. The podium finish of our #97 sister car showed we also had the chance to finish in the top three. Now we are looking forward to the Le Mans test day in four weeks.”

The Belgium round of the FIA WEC was the dress rehearsal for the most important endurance race in the world, the 24 hours of the Le Mans on 18/19 June. The next stop for Young Driver AMR is the official Le Mans test day on 5 June.

Source: www.youngdriver-amr.com