Tuesday 20th June 2006

Stock Aston finishes 24hr race

Almost showroom and race ready

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V8 Vantage at the 'Ring

A factory prepared Aston Martin V8 Vantage finished a credible fourth in class and 24th overall at the Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race, among a field of largely motorsport-homologated cars.

Negotiating a field of 220 cars, the four drivers: AM boss Dr Ulrich Bez; AM engineering manager Chris Porritt; Horst von Saurma, editor-in-chief of Sport Auto magazine, and development driver Wolfgang Schuhbauer all raced flawlessly through more than 130 laps on one of the most demanding circuits in the world.

Built at Aston Martin’s Gaydon headquarters the V8 Vantage was almost entirely production standard, including the engine and transmission. The only modifications made were for safety and pit-lane efficiency, with the full mandatory safety cage, special fuel tank and fire system, racing seat, and built-in air jacks.

Conditions tested the drivers to the extreme with track temperatures reaching 43 degrees C and from the initial 220 cars on the starting grid, only 141 finished. Despite these conditions, the V8 Vantage kept a steady pace avoiding traffic, resulting in a smooth race from start to finish.

Bez said: “We delivered exactly what we set out to do by finishing the 24 hours without any technical problems or team issues. It is a real achievement to complete the race in the top 25 with a standard production V8 Vantage and shows the true capabilities of both the car and the team.”

Porritt said: “This has been a real test of endurance for the car and the whole team. It’s been a thrilling 24 hours and a real challenge for us all.”

Dave King, Aston Martin’s Team manager concluded: “We are all delighted with the team’s progress throughout the event, it is a testament to all the members to finish with this result considering it is our first 24 hour race.”

[m raks]

now that shows a feat of engineering and questions the normal ethos that Aston use the Ford parts bin...

[groomi]

But Ford parts will have been tested to destruction over many thousands of hours and miles in vicious climates etc etc. so driving for 24 hrs non-stop would be a walk in the park.

In the pre-ford days the Aston parts would never have had anything like that amount of testing and as such would probably have encountered some sort of problme over 24hrs.

A testament to the modern Aston design & construction process which could not have happened without Ford.

[Ratten]

at least with a stock aston they would have been nice and comfy with the aircon and 10 speaker stereo going. Perhaps even some drinks from the fridge.

nice.

[dinkel]

Ulrich

[scotty_917]

should've lent one of their clutches to the Le Mans boys!

[fwdracer]

m raks said:

now that shows a feat of engineering and questions the normal ethos that Aston use the Ford parts bin...

Make that the Jaguar parts bin.......

[turbobungle]

Is it just me or does 130 laps not seem very impressive? A lap is, apparently, 8.4835 miles which means they covered 1103 miles in 24 hours making an average speed of under 46mph! On a race track in a 175mph car! Me and the lads manage to cover 500 miles to Magny Cours in about 9 hours and thats stopping to eat and enjoy scenery etc. Surely they covered more than 130 laps???

[rossp]

turbobungle said:

Is it just me or does 130 laps not seem very impressive? A lap is, apparently, 8.4835 miles which means they covered 1103 miles in 24 hours making an average speed of under 46mph! On a race track in a 175mph car! Me and the lads manage to cover 500 miles to Magny Cours in about 9 hours and thats stopping to eat and enjoy scenery etc. Surely they covered more than 130 laps???

I think the 24Hr includes the Nordschleife thus extending it to around 21 miles a lap.

[ridds]

THink you'll find it was 25Km (16m)odd, Nordschelife (sp) and the GP circuit.

[ridds]

So that's an average of 86mph with stops for wheel, tyre and driver changes and a set of discs and pads maybe.

Pretty respectable.

[axels]

turbobungle said:

Surely they covered more than 130 laps???

Considering that the record for the 24h race was 147 laps until last year and was raised by the winning Porsche to 151 this year the 130 is no mean feat for a first time entry.

[turbobungle]

My fault! Assumed Le Mans 24 hrs as its just happened and didn't mention which 24 hr race in the text! Should've read text by picture!

[axels]

axels said:

...no mean feat for a first time entry.

Then again, if you look at the full results you'll see that they were beaten among others by a BMW 120d (5th overall), several Vauxhall Astras and a Hyundai Coupe...

[turbobungle]

Still can't read! It did mention the 'Ring in the text, I'll engage brain before replying in future!

[RainerM]

Hi,
just look at the results,
click the race-number, then details unfold, incl. lap-times,
gefahrenen runden = total laps,driven,
gesamtfahrzeit: total driving-time
/0geschwindigkeit: average speed
schnellste runde: fastest lap
beste geschwindigkeit: best (average) speed

there is even a lap-to-lap time info :-)

Hope it helps a bit to understand.

Regards,
Rainer-Switzerland

[Andrew Noakes]

groomi said:

In the pre-ford days the Aston parts would never have had anything like that amount of testing and as such would probably have encountered some sort of problme over 24hrs.

In the pre-Ford days Aston Martin regularly based production cars on their endurance racing machinery, which often meant they cured the bugs on the track before the cars hit the streets. The old V8 is a case in point.

[:J:]

axels said:

axels said:

...no mean feat for a first time entry.

Then again, if you look at the full results you'll see that they were beaten among others by a BMW 120d (5th overall), several Vauxhall Astras and a Hyundai Coupe...

......"among a field of largely motorsport-homologated cars."

[Dino D]

axels said:

Then again, if you look at the full results you'll see that they were beaten among others by a BMW 120d (5th overall), several Vauxhall Astras and a Hyundai Coupe...

That 120d beat a number of M3's as well so it is definitely was very very very very special 120d indeed....

[groomi]

Andrew Noakes said:

groomi said:

In the pre-ford days the Aston parts would never have had anything like that amount of testing and as such would probably have encountered some sort of problme over 24hrs.

In the pre-Ford days Aston Martin regularly based production cars on their endurance racing machinery, which often meant they cured the bugs on the track before the cars hit the streets. The old V8 is a case in point.

Which is exactly my point - any bugs would appear on track, so a trouble free 24hr race would be less likely.

Also, since the 50s DBRs, Aston have only had minor involvement in motorsport including privateer V8s and the Nimrod programme. Apart from the engine, there wouldn't have been much carry over to production from the Nimrods...

[axels]

Dino D said:

That 120d beat a number of M3's as well so it is definitely was very very very very special 120d indeed....

Article on the 24h homepage mentions 250 PS - looks to me like the "standard" 120d race car offered to private teams at € 85k by BMW (not on only one on the grid either).

And looking at the interior picture of the AMV8, some weight saving has obviously taken place over the stock model...

Nevertheless though, if you look through the entire race results, you'll find some amazing gear - from the Wiesmann GT to old BMW 850i and various Italians (430, 4200GT, Gallardo) and plenty of hatches in race tune.