Aston Martin CEO’s maiden racing outing comes up trumps

Dr Andy Palmer, CEO, Aston Martin, enjoyed a good racing weekend along with his team comprising Aston Martin chief creative officer Marek Reichman, British motoring journalist Andrew Frankel and 22-year-old racer Alice Powell, who tackled the gruelling Dunlop Britcar 24-hour endurance event with aplomb in their V8 Vantage GT4. The team battled changeable conditions as wet weather played a key part in determining the team’s strategy throughout the late evening.

Team Aston Martin did well as Beechdean AMR took victory and the British marque’s factory entry finished fifth in the 2015 MSA Dunlop Britcar 24hr race at Silverstone.

Both the V8 Vantage GT4 of Beechdean AMR and Speedworks Motorsport entries enjoyed a trouble-free 24-hour race. With a line-up completed by Aston Martin Evolution Academy racers Jamie Chadwick (GB) and Ross Gunn (GB), the former circulated the 5.9km Northamptonshire-circuit a total of 529 laps to take overall victory with the latter finishing fourth overall and second in class.

The Castrol-liveried Vantage GT4 has been maintained by the skilled engineers and technicians of Aston Martin’s Special Projects division; responsible for delivering Vantage GT12 and Aston Martin Vulcan..

The V8 Vantage GT4 is equipped with the model’s hallmark 4.7-litre engine and an identical chassis to its road-going sibling. As the marque’s most focused model in the range, it provides the perfect basis for a competitive racing machine.

Andrew Frankel said, “It has been better than you could have possibly expected. The car has performed perfectly, the team have been fabulous. I think that Andy, Marek, Alice and I have come together extremely well.”

Following the team’s success, Alice Powell commented, “It was an amazing few days. The car’s been absolutely outstanding and with three Astons in the top five, it doesn’t get much better. The guys have done an outstanding job and for the level of experience they have, they’ve done brilliantly”.

Dr Andy Palmer added, “It was a fabulous weekend. My main aim was to understand how a race team works as it’s so intrinsic to our brand. It was of unbelievable proportions with every season imaginable. However, the main thing for me was that the team pulled together and really looked after each other throughout the race”.

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