In the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas, Aston Martin Racing’s No.97 Vantage V8 of Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke won the Pro class for the first time this year after a hard-fought battle with Porsche, while the British marque also took a 1-2 in the Am class to complete a fantastic day.

 

A small sprinkle of rain on the grid before the start of the Lone Star Le Mans event proved to be minor compared to the heavy storm which hit the track just over 90 minutes into the race.  With numerous cars skating off the track, a decision was made to suspend the race for 55 minutes and, when it was re-started, several laps were completed behind the safety car while the track continued to clear of standing water.  Green flag racing resumed at 7:40 pm and went without interruption to the chequered flag.

 

Aston Martin Racing’s No.97 was always in contention for the victory from the moment that Mücke overtook the pole-sitting AF Corse Ferrari at the start of the race.  Both he and Turner performed brilliantly through day into night, surviving the torrential weather conditions through careful driving.  A particularly scintillating battle took place between the Aston Martin and the Porsche Team Manthey 911 RSRs with the lead changing hands time after time in the final hour.  The No.92 911 RSR of Frederic Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet took second place nine seconds behind the leader, with the No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander another nine seconds behind in third place having lost time in the wet while on slick tyres. 

 

At one stage it looked as though Porsche would take a 1-2 in class but the No.91 911 RSR of Jorg Bergmeister and Nick Tandy was delayed for two laps with a starter problem following a pit stop, and the No.71 sister AF Corse Ferrari was also delayed due to alternator issues.  The Aston Martin Racing No.99 of Alex MacDowall/Darryl O-Young/Fernando Rees finished sixth in class, while the No.65 Corvette Racing C7.R of Jordan and Ricky Taylor/Tommy Milner had a particularly tough introduction to FIA WEC racing.  Caught in the pits as the red flag fell, the regulations required that the team sit and wait for clearance to exit which caused both frustration and delay for Team America.   

 

Also taking its first win of the year - and a first ever FIA WEC victory for Canadian Paul Dalla Lana – was the No.98 Vantage V8 he shared with Pedro Lamy and Christoffer Nygaard.  The trio headed a 1-2 in the class for the British manufacturer as the Silverstone and Le Mans winning No.95 of Kristian Poulsen/David Heinemeir Hansson and Richie Stanaway came home in second place.  This class too had its share of ups and downs, and one of those to ultimately benefit from the re-started race was the No.88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR of Christian Ried, Klaus Bachler and Khaled Al Qubaisi whom led the field away and eventually came through the six hours to finish on the podium in third place.