Archived Motorsport Sector News - 2007

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Historic year for Aston Martin Racing

Aston Martin Racing at 74th Le Mans

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Historic year for Aston Martin Racing - November 2007

2007 has been an exciting and historic year for Aston Martin Racing and, as Aston Martin Racing's official composite materials supplier, Advanced Composites Group can be proud of their own contribution in supplying a wide range of LTM®, VTM® and MTM® prepregs to the proud constructor of these exquisite race cars.

Top of the pile for 2007 has to be Aston Martin Racing's 1st place at Le Mans in the GT1 class. The winning Aston Martin Racing DBR9 - numbered 009 - was driven to class victory and a remarkable fifth overall by David Brabham, Rickard Rydell and Darren Turner after 24 hours of non-stop competition. The Aston Martin Racing Larbre Competition 008 DBR9 claimed pole position - before going on to finish third in the actual race.

Aston Martin's double podium underlined the impressive performance and reliability of the DBR9, which is closely based on the DB9 road car. The winning 009 car started from fourth on the grid at 1500 on Saturday, and was locked in a fierce battle for the lead with its sister 007 car for the majority of the race. The cars were in visual contact with each other right up until dawn on Sunday morning, but in the end the 007 DBR9 had to settle for fourth in class.

In total, there were six DBR9s entered for this year's 75th Le Mans 24 Hours - two each for Aston Martin Racing and Aston Martin Racing Larbre Competition, plus single-car entries from Aston Martin Racing BMS and Team Modena. Of the 54 cars that started the race only 29 cars finished. All six of the DBR9s made the finish of this gruelling 24 hour race.

The second noteworthy event of the summer came when an Aston Martin DBRS9, driven by Lord Drayson and Jonny Cocker, and run by Barwell Motorsport, won round five of the British GT championship at Snetterton on Sunday 3 June. In doing so, it became the first bio-fuelled car to win a major motorsport event in Britain.

The DBRS9 was developed by the Aston Martin Racing team and Barwell Motorsport, specifically for Lord Drayson to run in the British GT championship. Lord Drayson said, "This is not a one-off, the car has been competitive all season, taking two pole positions, and it now leads the championship. It goes to prove that running a car on bio-fuel doesn't mean any compromise in performance. I hope we can get this message across to motorists everywhere."

The Aston Martin DBRS9 is based on the Aston Martin DB9 road car, but with several modifications to make it suitable for racing. While it retains the DB9's six-litre V12 engine, the fuelling system has been modified and the ECU recalibrated for the bio-ethanol fuel. The drive train and general suspension configuration has also been retained from the road car, but the DBRS9 has racing springs and dampers, as well as a sequential racing gearbox and composite bodywork to help reduce the weight.

Image courtesy of Aston Martin Racing: www.astonmartinracing.com

For further details contact ACG Sales Department.

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Aston Martin Racing at 74th Le Mans - June 2007

Since our March 2006 news item, Aston Martin Racing confirmed its participation in the 74th Le Mans 24-hours, and the driver line-up for the race, which took place on June 17-18.

Aston Martin Racing's two DBR9s were granted permission by The Automobile Club de l'Ouest, which is celebrating its centenary this year, to use the numbers 007 and 009. The cars were driven by Tomas Enge, Andrea Piccini and Darren Turner, who will shared car number 007. In car number 009 were Pedro Lamy, Stephane Ortelli and Stephane Sarrazin. French driver Stephane Sarrazin summed up the team's determination, "I love Le Mans. It is one of the biggest races in the world and is special for any driver but for a French driver like me, it is extra special. Our podium finish last year was a great achievement, but of course we always want to win". The podium eluded the AMR team this year, but no doubt a new challenge will be made next year.

The extensive programme of development continues with ACG working alongside Aston Martin Racing and Prodrive Composites on the manufacture of the DBR9. Signed up for 3 years as an Official Technical Supplier to Aston Martin Racing, and with a concurrent supply agreement with Prodrive Composites, ACG is fully committed to the partnership, which provides an ideal opportunity to test bed several exciting new composite technologies.

For further details contact ACG Sales Department.

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