Sao Paulo, Brazil, 14 September 2012– Aston Martin Racing has qualified on pole for the fifth round of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Six Hours of Sao Paulo.
The #97 Aston Martin Vantage GTE, piloted by works driver Darren Turner (GB), recorded a fastest time of 1:33.855 in a twenty-minute qualifying session at the historic Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Interlagos, circuit on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil. This is the first pole position for Aston Martin Racing in the new-for-2012 championship.
Turner, who won here in the Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 two years ago with team-mate Stefan Mücke (D), comments: “It was obviously important to qualify on pole and it was certainly the aim, but I wasn’t really expecting it. Our lap times were slower this morning because of the ambient track temperatures, so we weren’t really sure what to expect this afternoon. Our car does perform well in the higher temperatures and it’s now hotter than we’ve seen all week, so I think it worked in our favour. It’s great to be on pole and the team should be pleased with themselves, they’ve once again done a great job in preparing the car.”
Aston Martin Racing’s Team Principal John Gaw adds: “Our aim was to qualify on pole and Darren did a fantastic job in doing so. As shown at Silverstone three weeks ago, starting from fourth on the grid can cost you ten seconds on the first lap, as you get caught up in traffic. It’s a fantastic position for us to be in going into the race and will enable us to push hard from the start, but there’s a long way to go yet. What this qualifying session has proven is that the Vantage GTE has race-winning pace.”
Stefan Mücke will start the #97 Vantage GTE’s race tomorrow, which commences at 12h00 local time. There will be a warm up session beforehand at 08h00 local time.