GT3 Aston wins and loses on debut
Ross Gunn gave Aston Martin’s 2019 Vantage GT3 challenger a perfect start with an on-the-road ‘victory’ in the
Aston Martin Le Mans Festival.
Gunn, driving the unrestricted and yet-to-be-homologated car, was forced to start at the rear of the field, having failed to qualify after he burned out the clutch while making his way through traffic on the way to the circuit.
That meant Aston’s Vulcan hypercar starred at first in the hands of Peter Dumbreck and then Top Gear host Chris Harris before Gunn’s early progress – making up over 30 places in the opening laps – made a dent in the Vulcan’s lead. Gunn moved ahead after four tours.
The 2014 British GT4 champion continued to extend his lead over the Vulcan to claim a commanding on-track win, but he was not classified as the winner since it was considered a “demonstration run”, meaning the Vulcan of Dumbreck and Harris claimed the ‘real’ victory.
That was not considered to be a disappointment, since the purpose of running the new Vantage was to demonstrate its performance.
“We’ve already seen a high level of interest from potential customers and we only expect that to grow as the car evolves closer to its homologation date [in seven months],” said AMR president David King when the Vantage’s debut was announced.
The new Gt4-spec Vantage also made its public debut at Le Mans, sitting on display in the AMR Festival paddock.
The Festival grid also featured Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer, British cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy and his racing team-mate, Formula 1 commentator Martin Brundle.