Sebring – Modest goals for Aston Martin

The GT season of?Aston Martin begins this weekend at the 12 Hours of Sebring, Florida. For this clock tour, the British brand is entering two Vantage GTEs, one of which has the 2013 improvements. As announced earlier, the new car, which carries the number 97, is entrusted to Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke, two factory drivers for years, as well as the newcomer, Bruno Senna, the former driver Williams F1. Vantage n°007, which has 2012 specifications, will be in the hands of Billy Johnson, Pedro Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana.

If the Aston Martin sports program, which is celebrating its centenary this year, was presented as one of the most ambitious in the history of the brand, the objectives for this first meeting of the year are rather modest. “We always race to win, but Sebring is more part of our pre-season testing program for 2013”, explains John Gaw, the team principal of the team. “If we can collect the data we need and get a podium with one of our cars, then we will have achieved our objectives”, he emphasizes.

“We continued to focus on improving the durability and drivability of the Vantage GTE while optimizing its performance by driving a lot during testing sessions at Portimao and Road Atlanta », says John Gaw. “The idea is to run two complete life cycles with the 2013 car before the start of the season. WEC and we are on track to do that. Both cars run well and we are happy with the data we have gathered. »