RACING LINE 24 HEURES DU MANS / WINNING THEN, WINNING NOW, WINNING IN THE FUTURE... / OILEXCO Q&A / AMR DRIVERS Q&A / OWN A PIECE OF THE TEAM / UP AND COMING EVENTS
Issue 2
76th 24 HEURES DU MANS Following Aston Martin Racings Success at the 2007 Le Mans, the team was eager to defend their title in this years prestigious 24 hour endurance race. After qualifying on Wednesday and Thursday evening the two Gulf liveried factory DBR9s – numbered 007 and 009 – started from fifth and fourth respectively on the GT1 grid.
24 HEURES
RACE REPORT After 3 hours: 009 leads GT1 class at Le Mans 24 Hours After three hours, Aston Martin DBR9 number 009 – driven by David Brabham, Antonio Garcia and Darren Turner – leads the GT1 class. The battle for the category lead though is extremely close, as there are two Corvettes within a minute and a half of the leading Aston Martin. The 007 car of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Andrea Piccini and Karl Wendlinger is fourth, just over one minute further back from the top trio. After 6 hours: 009 extends its GT1 lead The fight for GT1 class honours remains as close as ever after six hours of racing, with the two Gulfliveried Aston Martin DBR9s in strong positions as evening turns into night. Darren Turner has completed a strong double-stint at the wheel of car 009, which has extended its class lead with David Brabham now driving. Heinz-Harald Frentzen enjoyed his first competitive stint behind the wheel of the 007 DBR9, and also steered clear of trouble to move up to third’ After 9 hours: Aston Martin leads a tight GT1 battle With the fight so close, just one pit stop is enough to make the difference – so the cars have to balance performance with fuel consumption: a traditional key to success at Le Mans.
Antonio Garcia handed 009 over to Darren Turner just before midnight, having put in a series of quick laps to edge out a little bit more of a cushion in the category lead. After 12 hours: Aston Martin in the thick of the battle David Brabham, currently at the wheel of the 009 DBR9, is competing on his 15th Le Mans 24 Hours. With the halfway point of the race just gone, the gap between 009 in the lead and the second-placed Corvette in GT1 is just over half a minute, with around 2000 kilometres of competition already completed. After 15 hours: 009 leads but 007 hits trouble The 009 DBR9 has once more extended its advantage at the head of the GT1 category in the Le Mans 24 Hours, despite a sudden period of rain that made the circuit extremely unpredictable. At one point, the 009 car held a lead of less than four seconds over its closest rival, the Corvette, in conditions that were extremely slippery. Nonetheless, thanks to some calm and collected driving Antonio Garcia kept his rival at bay. Things were not quite so straightforward for the 007 car though. Whilst Andrea Piccini was driving it developed an electrical problem that required a change of alternator. However the Aston Martin Racing mechanics were able to quickly carry out the work in the pit garage, and the car only lost two places after about 15 minutes of repair work.
24 HEURES
After 18 hours: 009 enters final quarter of the race
Aston Martin victorious at Le Mans for the second consecutive year
The Le Mans 24 Hours is entering its final quarter with the 009 car still leading the GT1 class – but as driver Darren Turner points out, this is still a race in itself. The car is in the hands of David Brabham.
The suspense remained right up until the end of an epic race. More rain fell within an hour of the finish at 3pm on Sunday, making every decision crucial. A wrong tyre choice, or the smallest mistake from any of the drivers, would have cost the coveted victory. As it was, all the drivers as well as the car were flawless throughout the 24 hours. Brabham, Garcia and Turner represented the perfect blend of youth and experience, each bringing their own area of expertise to the challenges of the 14-kilometre circuit.
Following an alternator change in the early hours of the morning, the 007 DBR9 is back up to fourth place – currently in the hands of Karl Wendlinger. After 21 hours: Le Mans 24 Hours set for dramatic finale More than ever, these closing stages of the 76th Le Mans 24 Hours are illustrating that endurance racing is a true team sport. Darren Turner is currently driving the car, but he is backed up by constant support from the Aston Martin Racing technicians on the radio, and track condition updates from his team mate in the 007 car.
David Richards, Chairman of Aston Martin, commented: “For me, Le Mans is the greatest motor race in the world and to win it for the second consecutive year is a brilliant endorsement of a fantastic team effort – particularly in the iconic colours of Gulf.” The second factory Aston Martin DBR9, 007, finished fourth in class thanks to an excellent drive from Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Andrea Piccini and Karl Wendlinger. The 007 car was running in a strong third overall when it encountered an alternator problem just after 5am on Sunday morning. Some excellent pit work from the Aston Martin Racing team meant that the car was out again in just 15 minutes, and then ran faultlessly to the finish.
24 HEURES
RACE FACTS • No. of spectators 290,000 • No. of DBR9s 3 • No. of DBR9s that finished the race 3 • Chassis no. 8 • No. of sets of tyres used 12 • Km’s covered 4685 • No. of laps 344 • Top speed 315.8km/h • Litres of fuel 2244 • No. of gear changes per lap 60 • No. of pit stops 28 Antonio Garcia: Darren Turner: David Brabham:
15 June 1980, Spanish, completed Le Mans 3 times 13 April 1974, British, completed Le Mans 6 times 5 Sept 1965, Australian, completed Le Mans 15 times
WINNING THEN, WINNING NOW, WINNING IN THE FUTURE... 2008 marked the 40th anniversary of Gulf’s first outright win at the worlds greatest endurance motor race – The Le Mans 24 Hours.
Gulf affiliates from all over the world, some as far as Asia and South America came together at Le Mans and celebrated in style with an incredibly hard and busy weekend. Gulf Oil International commemorated their 40th anniversary of Gulf's first and Pedro Rodriguez's sole win at Le Mans in 1968, with a beautiful tribute from Scuderia Rodriguez (the family and friends of Pedro) as they handed on their "racing colours" to Aston Martin Racing. With all the affiliates arriving into France on Friday 13 June, the affiliates began their 40th anniversary convention by being treated to the Aston Martin Racing VIP experience. Through out their jampacked five day convention schedule, all guests kicked off their weekend at the team’s exclusive Partner barbeque.
Through out the race weekend, the Gulf affiliates drank in the atmosphere and buzz of the Le Mans circuit and enjoyed tours of the pits, relaxed in the race team hospitality unit and benefited from Aston Martin Lagonda’s trackside viewing.
After a grueling race with the Corvettes, a hard fought victory in the GT1 class saw the title strongly defended by the Gulf liveried Aston Martin DBR9 number 009, driven by David Brabham, Antonio Garcia and Darren Turner.
After much celebration in the Aston Martin unit, Gulf’s busy schedule did not conclude after the race. All delegates returned to their hotel in Tours for a much earned rest before their two day conference.
Joined by Aston Martin Racing team members for a presentation on the team and the opportunities that the Partnership offers to all the affiliates on the Monday morning, delegates took part in workshop activities and presentations alongside their colleagues.
Monday ended with a superb dinner at the Chateau D’Artigny attended again, by members of the Aston Martin Racing team as well as team driver Andrea Piccini and winning car 009.
Affiliates worked through some of Tuesday before traveling back to their respective home countries, no doubt looking forward to a rest after an energetic few days. It was never expected that in front of the assembled ranks of Gulf affiliates from all over the world, the iconic blue and orange colours of Gulf would be flying so high. The result was undoubtedly the best ever way to commemorate the anniversary and introduce the global affiliates to the newly signed long term partnership between the two iconic brands.
It’s fair to say that in successfully defending the title, Aston Martin Racing created another memorable chapter in Gulf's long and glorious motorsport history!
Q&A OILEXCO
For the 76th race of Le Mans, following a win the previous year, Aston Martin Racing invited four Oilexco engineers to become part of the race team for the worldʼs most renowned and gruelling 24 hour endurance race.
We have caught up with a couple of the engineers since their time at Le Mans to give us their account regarding the experience of being immersed in one of the most competitive race teams in the world and how they coped with the pressure. Glynn Pritchard and Steve Barker speak on behalf of the Oilexco engineers.
What was your job description whilst with the race team at Le Mans, followed by a brief description of what you were doing during your time with the team? Glyn: The four Oilexco engineers shared the two job titles Aston Martin Racing defined for us. The two roles were Assistant Race Engineer and Data Analysis Engineer. Until the cars started on the track we helped the team build the pit complex in whatever way we could. When the cars were on track we performed two main functions both of which centred on gaining intelligence on the performance of AMRʼs competitors. How were you chosen for this position within Oilexco? Steve: As an ex motorcycle racer my love of bike racing and motorsport in general was well known (I have the steel plates in my legs to prove it) and I brought some of this knowledge with me, to say Iʼm converted to four wheels now is an understatement
What do you think was the main reason for having engineers from Oilexco working with the race team? Glyn: Firstly, as a potentially competent resource we were dedicated to an important and valuable task which if performed by AMR staff would have depleted their resources Steve: And the idea was to see how AMR worked as a team and see if there was anything we could bring back to improve Oilexcoʼs team performance. What were the most challenging things you had
to do during your time with the race team? Glyn: Accurate data manipulation and analysis at 3am on Sunday morning, having been up since 6:30 am the previous day! What were your toughest moments? Steve: Telling the nice but somewhat overzealous race official at Arnage corner that we werenʼt spying with our radar gun…honest!
Glyn: Staying on my feet at the celebration party on Sunday night in Le Mans town.
What were your best moments? Glyn: Being driven full racing speed by Antonio Garcia around the Paul Ricard circuit in the 009 race car during the test week in March. Awesome!
Steve: For me it has to be standing on the pit wall screaming my head off like a madman as the 009 car crossed the finish line to win, knowing YOU were part of that victory!
Did you think you were able to transfer any knowledge from your area of expertise? Glyn: I hope we did, however that would have to be confirmed by the AMR team. We did receive feedback from them that we did the job well and integrated into the team, but did they learn anything from the oil industry engineers? I donʼt know. I think we clearly demonstrated that we were competent, organised and motivated. Was there anything you could take from your experience with the race team and transfer this to your own role within Oilexco? Steve: Simple…teamwork and organisation, everyone muck in, no matter what the job. Glyn: I would agree with Steve, teamwork is everything. Would you do it all again? Steve: Whereʼs my pit pass? Glyn: Yes, yes and yes!
What would be your advice to any of your colleagues joining the race team in 2009? Steve: Its awful, donʼt go! Iʼll take the pain again for you in 2009….!!
STEVE BARKER OILEXCO
Operations superintendent, is responsible for everything that happens offshore on the Balmoral Floating Production Vessel
GLYN PRITCHARD OILEXCO
Balmoral projects manager for Oilexco North Sea Limited production vessel
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
THE WINNING
DBR9
Since the Aston Martin DBR 009 car won Le Mans we talk to the three drivers to help get an insight as to what it’s like to have a Le Mans victory. Since winning Le Mans has anything changed for you?
Brabham: For sure my profile has gone up as a two time winner, but nothing else has changed. Garcia: It’s a really great feeling to win and is something incredible to add to my race career. However, after Le Mans I had to focus on my other races so it felt like it was all over very quickly. Turner: I guess it’s been easier getting drives since winning for the first time in 2007. Also it’s given me more confidence in my driving and what can be achieved. Can you describe the feeling of standing on the winner’s podium at Le Mans?
Turner: It Has to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life, in 2007 I don’t think I was able to take it all but this year for me it was even more emotional. Seeing all the team and the Aston Martin flags nearly brings a tear to your eye! What preparations whether mental or physical do you have to do for such a demanding race?
Turner: Like most of the drivers a couple of months before the race you start to increase your training program and also
take more care with your diet. This year was the first time that I used a personal trainer in preparation and it really made a difference. Garcia: In terms of mental focus it is just a case of being confident with you own ability and being focused and ready for anything. At the start of the race or your first stint in the car, what is running through your mind?
Brabham: Not a lot, because I have done many starts at Le Mans and it is best not to think too much as it can cloud and chock ones driving. Better to be free and drive on instinct. Two hours in the car sounds like a long stint compared to other race series where you may only have two 20 minute races, does the time pass quickly? Garcia: From the moment you get in the car and start driving everything else just fades into the background. You are so focused during your time in the car that the time passes very quickly. There was never a time I felt I was struggling in the car and wanted to change drivers. What is the hardest stint to drive and why?
Turner: For me the most difficult is dusk. With the sun coming down and by that time in the race the windscreen is pretty dirty it makes it hard to see even the edge of the circuit at times.
Brabham: When at night, and it starts to rain, it is hard to judge what speed you should take in the corners. Are you aware of all the activity going on around the circuit or are you just focused on your driving?
Garcia: The only thing you really notice is the smell of the barbeques in the evening then some of the fireworks during the night. The only spectators you can really make out are in the grandstand opposite the pit lane. During your time in the car what information do you require from you engineer?
Turner: I feel sorry for my engineer Dave Wilcock as I do rant a fair bit on the radio! For me the main thing I want to know is the pace of the other cars. With a sprint race you always see your competition so it’s easy to know how you are getting on but with long races you might not even see the guy you are racing for the whole stint, so lap times are crucial in pacing yourself. How much input do you have in the set-up of the car or do you have any preferred setting that you request?
Turner: All three drivers need to be happy with the balance of the car. This year we were lucky that Antonio, David and I have a similar driving style so it means we are all hunting for the same setup. Brabham: I always have an input into the set up of the car
as my team mates and I work hard to get a fast car that you can race hard for 24hrs. Garcia: It’s very important that all three drivers are happy with the set up and the feel of the car when driving. How do you find driving the DBR9 compared to any other race car you have driven at Le Mans?
Turner: The DBR9 is a pure pleasure to drive at Le Mans; it really does suit the circuit very well, I feel very privilege to be part of Aston Martin Racing and to have been able to race the DBR9 at Le Mans, it’s what boyhood dreams are made of. Brabham: Driving for Aston Martin at Le Mans is always special. How did you celebrate winning Le Mans?
Brabham: We had a get together with some close friends of ours and had a few drinks and a nice meal. Turner: After celebrating with the team at the hospitality suite I went back to motor home to shower and have a quick drink with family and friends. Then we went into the town with the team to enjoy more celebrations that went on late into the night. Garcia: My girlfriend and I joined all the team to celebrate in Le Mans town after the race.
OWN A PIECE OF THE TEAM Aston Martin Racing has more exclusive memorabilia items added to their collection from Le Mans 24 Hours 2008. Once again we are offering partners and fans alike the opportunity to own such items. Authentic unique items, such as drivers’ race suits, car parts, commemorative posters and pictures, and other team belongings are available. All items of memorabilia from Aston Martin Racing will be supplied with a genuine certificate of authenticity, and in many cases the items will be signed by our celebrated drivers.
Aston Martin Racing memorabilia has already been sold to keen collectors at Bonhams Automobilia Auction at Festival of Speed on the 11th July. Hundreds of enthusiasts packed into the sale marquee to witness the six-hour-long sale by Bonhams and several more world auction record prices being set. This was Bonhams’ 17th consecutive year of holding sales at The Goodwood Festival of Speed and the result of the entire sale of 369 Lots of Sports, Competition and Collectors’ Motor Cars and Automobilia was greater than ever. A further selection of items from our collection will be sold at the Fine Automobilia Auction at Olympia, London, on 1 Dec 2008. For information about the Bonhams’ auctions and available lots please visit its website at www.bonhams.com.
Alex Reade Motorsport has been appointed an official supplier of Aston Martin Racing memorabilia. They will be selling a wide range of team memorabilia from wheels, bodywork, driver items, and signed photos. Alex Reade Motorsport has an impressive flag ship store in Bromley with over 1000 sq. ft of motorsport related merchandise and memorabilia as well as a store at the Brands Hatch Circuit.
To see what items Alex Reade Motorsport has available please visit their website at www.alexreade.net or call their order line on 0870 224 0646.
RACING LINE
UP AND COMING EVENTS Throughout 2008 Aston Martin Racing has a packed schedule of events and activities for all our Official Partners, each Newsletter will serve as an opportunity to inform all our Partners of forthcoming events. For September we have the Goodwood Revival package, including a visit to the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel for champagne, dinner and cocktails. InterContinental is a long-standing Partner to Aston Martin Racing, so this event will also offer the opportunity to introduce the brand at the highest level. On the 25th September we are running an Aston Martin road car drive experience for Hackett at Millbrook test and development centre. (Stand alone drive days are available to all Partners, please contact your Account Manager for further details).