RICHIE STANAWAY - PROGRESS Following is a brief report on Richies activities at both Abu Dhabi in the final Porsche GT3 event and at Shanghai in the Aston Martin GTE Pro World Endurance Championship Team. Porsche GT3 Supercup Championship - Abu Dhabi 2nd Nov In Dubai Richie completed his final event as the only real rookie in the Porsche GT3 Supercup Series. By that I mean he was the only driver not also competing regularly in these cars throughout the year. Richies lack of experience and regular practice put him at a huge disadvantage in this class which is arguably the toughest and most competitive class in the world. Notwithstanding, Richie was consistently among the quickest driver and almost always inside the top 10 all year. At Abu Dhabi he qualified 8th but was put back to 12th on the grid for an infringement that was later found not to be his fault. In race one he was constantly attacked or blocked by slower drivers and as a result lost both time and places through contact. He was given a drive through penalty. Following the race at the stewards hearing, Richies in-car camera footage proved that he was not to blame for the incidences. Unfortunately, although the stewards apologised to him, the instant penalty ruined his race. This was very disappointing as it resulted in Richie failing to impress through no fault of his own. In race 2 he had an eventful race near the front of the field finishing a very credible 4th. While not on the podium he was happy and all who understand the pressures of this class considered it to be an excellent demonstration of his talent. Aston Martin World Endurance Team - Shanghai 9th Nov Aston Martin entered 2 cars in the World Endurance Championship. (WEC) They were 2nd in the Championship ( GTE-Pro class ) closely behind Ferrari so they put their best team together in an effort to overhaul the leaders. The leading Aston Martin car in the GTE-Pro was driven by Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke. The 2nd car was driven by Pedro Lamy, Bruno Senna (Both ex-F1 drivers) and Richie. Team instructions were for the 2nd car to do everything possible to ensure the leading team gained maximum points. It was a perfect weekend. Richie qualified his car (faster than the F1 drivers) only 200ths of a second behind Turner for a 1 & 2 on the front row of the grid. During the race the 2nd car ran interference on the Ferrari and allowed the leading Aston to have a cruise at the front. During the last stint Richie and Bruno increased pace and caught the lead Aston - crossing the finish only a couple of seconds behind their team mates. That now puts the Aston Martin Team ahead in the championship with a good chance to sew it up in Bahrain because they are sending the same 2 teams to repeat their performance. Richie was the star of the team. His team acknowledged that his car could have easily won but was delighted they followed instructions and strengthened the team position. Richie set the class lap record and was consistently the fasted driver on track throughout the race. Richie will be in Bahrain on 30th November for the final round and hopes to do another good job for Aston Martin.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 07:36:27 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015