Mixed emotions for Gulf Aston Martin Racing teams at Le Mans
Sixth place for Gulf-liveried 007
The Le Mans 24 Hours at Circuit de la Sarthe provided a weekend of varying fortunes for the Gulf Aston Martin Racing competitors in cars 007 and 009.Starting at eighth and ninth on the grid respectively, the 009 of Juan Barazi and British duo Sam Hancock and Darren Turner looked set to achieve an impressive fourth place finish until - with just under an hour of the event remaining - they were denied.
With smoke emanating from the rear of the car, the crew was forced to retire with a blown engine on their 368th lap near Arnage corner.
The 009's sister car, driven by the team of Adrian Fernandez, Stefan Mücke and Harold Primat, set the pace among the petrol runners and was at the forefront of the action until Sunday morning.
A gearbox bearing failure then resulted in an unscheduled stop at the garage. Despite having never repaired a gearbox fault of such complexity during a race before, the pit crew completed the task and the race resumed for 007 in under an hour.
Having bravely fought their way back up from 14th to sixth, there was yet more late drama to come as the car picked up a puncture with only 25 minutes to go.
007 was still able to hold its position for a sixth place overall finish in the world's toughest endurance race.
Despite proving to have the fastest petrol-powered cars at the event, further success was not to be on this occasion for Gulf Aston Martin Racing.
Audi's R15 TDIs took the top three spots, with the Oreca 01 emerging as the highest placed petrol runner in fourth.
"The Le Mans 24 Hours is rightly one of the most celebrated events in motorsport," explains Keith Jewers, Director, Gulf Retail. "This year's race provided all the thrills and spills we have come to expect."
"Darren and Sam should be proud of their performance and they have once again shown that they are great competitors."
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