Aston Martin has a long, and pretty successful, motor racing heritage. And the modern company has capitalised on that with success at Le Mans with the DBR9, winning the GT1 title for the last two years. But Aston are looking to go one better, and are challenging for the overall Le Mans title with two works LMP1 cars.
Aston Martin will challenge for the overall Le Mans Champion in 2009
Aston Martin won the overall title in 1959 – 50 years ago with the DBR1 driven by Caroll Shelby – and are aiming to bring the title back to the UK with the new car, which is based on the 2008 Charouz Racing System Lola, and powered by the same V12 engine seen in the title winning DBR9s of the last two years.
The car will carry the famous Gulf Oil colours, and is being funded in partnership with Lola, Michelin, Koni and BBS. And this is a good time to pick to challenge for the title. Diesel cars have dominated the category recently, but regulation changes for 2009 make the chances of a petrol-engined car once more a possibility.
In order to focus on the overall title, Aston Martin has decided not to defend its title in the GT1 category, but is offering support for the DBR9 to partners and customers.
David Richards, Aston Martin boss, said:
“2009 is a hugely significant year for Aston Martin at Le Mans and the challenge of reclaiming victory in this famous race for Aston Martin and Great Britain was simply too great to ignore. However, we do not underestimate the task. While we have won the GT1 class for the last two years, competing against the proven speed and endurance of the diesel-powered cars with all their years of winning the prototype class, will be a massive undertaking. Nonetheless, I see this as a great opportunity to showcase the ingenuity of British engineering talent.”
Good luck, guys, It would be great to see Aston Martin as Le Mans champions after a 50 year gap.
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