The Aston Martin teams experienced some ups and downs at the second round of the Nürburgring VLN endurance racing championship. The customer teams in particular had every reason to celebrate some good results. In the GT4 class, Dmitriy Lukovnikov (RUS), Michael Czyborra (Wandlitz/ Germany) and Mathias Hüttenrauch (Schlangen/ Germany) in an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 finished in second position and the podium was completed by another Aston Martin driven by Thomas Heinrich (Ladenburg/ Germany) and Scott Preacher (Rothenburg o.d.T./ Gemany) who became third. After a difficult start, the crew entered by the Aston Martin Test Centre also scored a good result. Regular drivers in the team Egon Allgäuer (Austria) and Wolfgang Schuhbauer (Brilon/ Germany) who were this time supported by Marcus Mahy (Guernsey) finished fourth in class SP8 after almost 170 minutes racing. No reason to celebrate in contrast had Stuart Leonard and Paul Wilson from Great Britain in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with start number 32. After a good result in the timed practice, the driver duo achieved eighth place on the grid with a lap time of 8:10.706 minutes and a strong performance in the race, the British duo retired from the race one lap before the end. A tyre damage on the rear left side following a collision with another competitors stopped the GT3 sports car in the race.
The whole Aston Martin team was shocked when the TV cameras followed the yellow-black GT3 race car driving at slow speed around the Grand Prix Circuit. Up to their retirement Leonard and Wilson had a strong and superior race and were temporarily even shown in fourth place; the podium seemed within reach and at the moment they had the tyre damage they were in seventh place overall. \”That was rather a dramatic finish\”, said a disappointed Wilson. \”Our package today was really fantastic and we could have achieved a good result. Unfortunately luck was not on our side today. We have nevertheless gained a lot of experience in the first two VLN races – so we are looking forward to the remaining races with new motivation.\”
For the car with start number 144 entered by the Aston Martin Text Centre, this seconds VLN race finally had an agreeable end. After a difficult first part and the loss of many positions, Allgäuer, Mahy and Schuhbauer were fighting their way back up and finished the race in fourth place in class SP8 and 44th overall. Mahy who has already competed in several races in an Aston Martin race car described the second round as one of the \”most difficult races\” in which he has ever participated at the Nürburgring. \”In the first part of the race, there had been a lot of accident, particularly after the start – everybody was fighting for each and every centimetre on the track. If you don\’t want to be involved and take risks, you have to back off. Even though I didn\’t find my rhythm in the race, I managed this quite well but unfortunately lost some positions as well\”, said the 53 years old business man who has been competing in races since 2008. \”It is really a very great pleasure for me every time when I have the opportunity to race at the Nürburgring with Aston Martin. The spirit in the team is fantastic and the Nordschleife is always a very special challenge of course.\”
Between the timed practice and the race, Egon Allgäuer was driving not to fight about positions but for a good cause. He participated in a benefit corso around the legendary Nordschleife in an Aston Martin. The corso is part of a campaign which collects donations for marshals who suffered injuries in executing their duties and who need financial support.
The second round had to be suspended after an accident in the 51st race minute. The re-start for another two hours race duration was given at 16:15hrs. Both parts of the race were classified separately and the final result was established by adding the two parts.
