Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA

Aston Martin qualifying 1 report

Aston Martin Fastest in Petrol and GT1 Classes at First Le Mans Qualifying Le Mans, 10 June 2010. Three Aston Martins hold the top three positions in the unofficial 'petrol class' after first qualifying at Le Mans last night, which was held ...

Aston Martin Fastest in Petrol and GT1 Classes at First Le Mans Qualifying

Le Mans, 10 June 2010. Three Aston Martins hold the top three positions in the unofficial 'petrol class' after first qualifying at Le Mans last night, which was held between 22:00 and midnight. Conditions remained dry throughout free practice and qualifying, enabling all the drivers to get in plenty of consistent running as they took to the track for the first time.

The two Works Aston Martin LMP1 machines, numbered 007 and 009, hold eighth and ninth positions respectively behind seven diesel-powered cars.

Aston Martin 008, run by the Signature team, is a provisional 10th fastest. In addition to this, the AMR Young Driver team has set fastest time in the GT1 classification.

Stefan Mucke set the quickest time for the 007 car, with a benchmark of 3m26.680s. This compares favourably with his eighth-fastest time on last year's Le Mans start grid, achieved with a time of 3m27.180s. "I think there's still a bit more to come as the track is getting quicker all the time," he said. "But it really depends on the weather conditions tonight."

Darren Turner in 009 was just behind his German colleague with a time of 3m26.747s. He said: "Yesterday went reasonably well. It was nice to get back in action, and now it's just a question of making a plan for the three of us to be comfortable in the car so that we can look forward to a solid performance over the weekend."

Car 008 is run by the Signature Plus team from France, with Franck Mailleux setting a time of 3m29.774s to put him in a provisional 10th. "It felt really good," said the Frenchman. "Driving this car is a huge pleasure for me and I'm looking forward to qualifying tonight."

The AMR Young Driver team's GT1-leading time of 3m55.025s was good enough to place the Aston Martin DBR9 in 25th overall, out of a field of 55 cars. Tomas Enge, a noted qualifying specialist, set the time.

The Aston Martin Vantage run by JMW Motorsport was 13th in the GT2 class with a time of 4m06.391s set by Rob Bell.

Two qualifying sessions remain to decide the grid for the start of the 78th Le Mans 24 Hours. The first session will take place between 19:00 and 21:00, while the final session is scheduled to run from 22:00 until midnight.

Normally, the times should get quicker tonight but with intermittent rain conditions will be uncertain. Qualifying is never the most crucial element of a 24-hour race, but Aston Martin is aiming to start as it means to go on -- by being fastest of the petrol cars.

-source: aston martin

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Peugeot qualifying 1 report
Next article Ferrari preview

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA