Sweet spot missing at Silverstone for Beechdean AMR

REPORT - British GT Round 6

The Beechdean AMR team had a memorable race at Silverstone on Sunday, which was unfortunately memorable for all the wrong reasons.

After struggling to get a good set up on the #99 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 during the two practice sessions, both team boss Andrew Howard and Aston Martin Racing works driver Darren Turner pushed hard in qualifying but came out in eighth place on aggregate.

Howard was behind the wheel for the start of the three-hour race and immediately reported in that he was having difficulties with the car.

“That was probably the hardest car I’ve driven for years,” he said. “There was something wrong and I was unable to push forward or defend so I was a sitting duck. We just didn’t get it hooked up today for some reason.”

Turner was up next and he reported the same issues as Howard so the pair had to just slog it out for the three hours of the race, crossing the line in ninth place.

“We just didn’t find the sweet spot this weekend,” said Turner. “My final stint was for 40 minutes and with less fuel and a rubbered-up track the car started to feel a bit better. To finish ninth after three hours of racing though is disappointing and it has broken our strong run of podium finishes so we need to come back fighting at Spa.”

“Considering the pace we both showed in our recent test at Silverstone we’re both very disappointed,” said Howard. “Obviously we need to find out what the issue is and I know that the team will do what it needs to do and we will be back at Spa with a car that we can again fight for podiums in.”

ANDREW HOWARD TO RACE WITH DAVID RICHARDS AT LE MANS THIS WEEKEND

The Beechdean AMR team now heads to Le Mans for the Aston Martin Racing Festival, which is a special 45-minute race held ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which gets underway next Saturday (16 June).

Andrew Howard will race the #1 Aston Martin Vantage GT4, alongside Prodrive chairman David Richards. They will be up against an incredible field, including ex-Beechdean racers, Paul Hollywood and Jamie Chadwick; Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer, Sky F1’s Martin Brundle and British Olympic hero Sir Chris Hoy, to name but a few! Follow the hashtag #AstonMartinFestival on Twitter for all the news on the day.