Nürburgring, 18 May 2013 - Aston Martin has qualified in second place for the 41st ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 Hours (N24) in its #007 V12 Vantage GT3. The front row position was secured in a dramatic top 40 shoot-out under glorious sunshine in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans.
The blue and yellow Bilstein-liveried V12 Vantage GT3, run by Aston Martin Racing, performed faultlessly throughout six hours of the earlier two qualifying sessions to secure its spot in the top 40 shoot-out. Five-times N24-winner Pedro Lamy was then tasked with completing two flying laps in the dramatic new qualifying format and was the second car to be flagged away following a lottery draw for the starting order.
Seventh fastest after his first flying lap, Pedro improved his time by more than two seconds on his next lap to post a time of 8:18.362, good enough to secure a front row place.
Earlier in the day, Aston Martin also successfully qualified its unique Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S with all four drivers completing at least a lap on pure hydrogen.
The #005 close-to-production specification V12 Vantage has some bad luck with traffic on its qualifying lap and will start from an unrepresentative sixth in class having topped the class in Friday’s night qualifying.
David King, Head of Motorsport at Aston Martin comments: “Given the strength of the competition here that’s a remarkable performance by the Aston Martin Racing team. What a great way to set us up for our centenary celebrations – the whole team is absolutely delighted.”
Pedro Lamy adds: “It was great that I could start from second position and get past the first place car in the warm up lap. I got two clear laps and the car was perfect, the set up allowed me to push hard and the team did a great job. I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
The 2013 Nürburgring 24 Hours starts at 17:00 CET on Sunday 19 May. Follow the team’s progress in the dedicated area of the website www.astonmartin.com/n24, on Facebook www.facebook.com/astonmartinracing and on Twitter using @amr_official
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Notes to editors:
The Hybrid Hydrogen system comprises a hydrogen fuel rail, storage tanks and proprietary engine management system. This enables flexibility in the control of the combustion process according to each particular driving situation: either pure hydrogen, gasoline or a arbitrary blend of both can be selected to ensure optimum power, acceleration and CO2 reduction. This control results in a powerful and dynamic propulsion system that provides sports car performance but with a carbon footprint more akin to that of a supermini.
Safety is paramount, of course, and the system includes four ultra-high strength carbon fibre tanks holding a total of 3.5kg of hydrogen stored at a pressure of 350bar – two tanks housed next to the driver and two in the boot of the car. Meanwhile the entire hydrogen system developed by Alset Global and its partners is approved by German motorsport’s governing body, the DMSB.
The Hybrid Hydrogen race car is based on the new Rapide S four-door sports car that is arriving in Aston Martin showrooms worldwide this month.
Redesigned and re-engineered to offer even greater style and significantly enhanced performance by virtue of its new AM11 6.0-litre V12 naturally aspirated engine, the new Rapide S is capable of 190 mph and sprints from 0 to 62 mph in only 4.9 seconds.
Full technical information on the Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S, including details of engine modifications, hydrogen storage and the refuelling procedure, can be found via this link: www.alsetglobal.com