Podium finish for Aston-powered LMP1 on race debut
Everyone knows that when it comes to Le Mans-class racing, Aston Martin has its game on. But dang! On its race debut, the Aston-powered Lola B08/60 took on the best of the best to score a third-place finish at this past weekend's Le Mans Series race at Barcelona.
Now competing in GT1, GT2, GT3 and GT4, Aston Martin inked a deal with Charouz Racing Systems back in January to flip around the 6-liter V12 from the DBR9 GT1 racer and shoehorn it into a Lola prototype chassis. The idea was to dice it with the best gasoline-powered LMP1 racers on the grid – which the Charouz Lola-Aston did emphatically – but before the race was over, the car was giving even the diesel-powered Audis and Peugeots, slightly behind which it ultimately finished, a reason to worry. Jan Charouz and Aston/Prodrive chief David Richards were thrilled, vowing to build on the spectacular race debut towards success at the title Le Mans 24 Hours race in mid-June. With competition this fierce, we'll be watching.
[Source: Autosport]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
retsel 8:55PM (4/07/2008)
is it just me... but... this car is ugly... but it win.. so there...
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Dustin 8:25PM (4/07/2008)
Does Aston Martin really make its own engines?
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Nick 8:35PM (4/07/2008)
Yes, they pick up Ford Mondeo V6 cores at the scrap yard, slap 'em together and voila!
ALEXDB9 8:36PM (4/07/2008)
Nice, but Audi is tough. Eh, maybe we can win that class too.
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Nick 8:52PM (4/07/2008)
And Peugeot is faster!
zamafir 8:37PM (4/07/2008)
Didn't the R8 get first during it's race debut... like the top of the podium? Weren't the other two cars on the podium also R8s? Yeah, It's nice Aston managed to hit 3rd the first time this car raced LMP1 but really, given the recent history of LeMans, I'm not that impressed. Give me a 1-2-3 finish like the R8 during it's first time out in 2000 and i'll start to pay attention. Dominate the sport for quite a few consecutive years and my interest will perk.
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pmiddle5 8:46PM (4/07/2008)
^^^^ give them the budget and maybe its possible. Lord ya cynic
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Quattrofan 12:26AM (4/08/2008)
Exactly. Audi is a factory team with deep pockets, when Charouz is a privateer, a Czech team with fraction of the budget.
This was a great first showing and good luck to my countrymen at Charouz. If that DBR9 mill is as reliable as it looks - this season sure looks like fun.