Trail-blazing Brits Richard Meredith and Phil Colley set off from Tokyo today (June 25) at the wheel of an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, with their sat-nav set for London’s Trafalgar Square.They are aiming to become the first people in the world to cross the full extent of the Asia-Pacific Highway, whilst bringing attention to road safety and raising money to increase road safety awareness among children in developing countries.
The Aston Martin Racing and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts DBR9 which triumphed at the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race, held last weekend, is set to appear before British fans at the Goodwood Festival of Speed over June 23-24.
The winning Aston Martin Racing DBR9 – numbered 009 – was driven to GT1 class victory and a remarkable fifth overall by David Brabham, Rickard Rydell and Darren Turner after 24 hours of non-stop competition, characterised by changeable conditions and several safety car periods.
has triumphed at Le Mans. The winning Aston Martin Racing DBR9 – numbered 009 – was driven to GT1 class victory and a remarkable fifth overall by David Brabham, Rickard Rydell and Darren Turner after 24 hours of non-stop competition, characterised by changeable conditions and several safety car periods.
The bad weather was in evidence right from the start of the first qualifying session, where the AMR Larbre Competition 008 DBR9 claimed pole position – before going on to finish third in the actual race.
An Aston Martin DBRS9 has made motorsport history by becoming the first bio-fuelled car to win a major motorsport event in Britain. The bio-ethanol powered Aston Martin DBRS9 driven by Lord Drayson and Jonny Cocker, and run by Barwell Motorsport won the latest round of the British GT championship at Snetterton on Sunday 3 June.
The Aston Martin racing car was developed by the Prodrive-run Aston Martin Racing team in Banbury, specifically for Lord Drayson to run in the British GT championship.
Aston Martin is preparing for a double 24 hour challenge in June. Not only are six Aston Martin Racing DBR9s competing at Le Mans on 16 th and 17 th June, but a week earlier four Aston Martins will enter a lesser known but just as grueling race – the 24 hours of Nürburgring on 9 th and 10 th June.
In an ideal warm up, Aston Martin took the first four places in class in a 4-hour VLN series race on the classic Nordschleife circuit on Saturday 26 th May. The highlight was an impressive 2nd overall and 1st in class finish for the Aston Martin Austria/Phoenix Racing DBRS9 driven by Robert Lechner and Marcel Fässler. Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24s filled the next three places in class. The best of these almost standard cars was driven by ex-Porsche Supercup race winner Oliver Mathai, occasional GT1 racer Stephan Lemeret, and journalist Richard Meaden finishing in 28 th place in a field of 200 starters. This new driver line up was closely followed by Aston Martin’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez, partnered as usual by Chris Porritt and Wolfgang Schuhbauer. Fourth in class was the Belgian Herreman team. The Vantage N24s outlasted the more highly modified race cars in the over-4 litre class.
Two Britons are to drive a factory-prepared Aston Martin from Tokyo to London on an epic journey along the newly completed Asia-Pacific Highway bringing world attention to road safety awareness and raising money to help save children from deaths and injury on the roads.
The journey is being undertaken in collaboration with the United Nations. It will promote the UN-backed Road Safety Is No Accident and the Make Roads Safe campaigns. Both are aimed at increasing awareness of road safety to help reduce the shocking toll of road-related injuries and fatalities, particularly in developing nations. Driving Home Road Safety 2007 aims to raise €100,000 to provide Chinese Children with educational books on road safety.
Aston Martin DBR9s, DBRS9s and Vantage N24s have featured heavily in GT1, GT3 and GT4 competition in a weekend of thrilling racing in the FIA GT Championship at Silverstone, held over 5-6 May.
Competing for the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy in the FIA GT Championship, the number 33 JetAlliance DBR9, driven by Karl Wendlinger and Ryan Sharp finished 4th, having started from the front row of the grid and led the early stages of the race.
Even the expertise of ‘Q’ might struggle in getting this Aston Martin ready for James Bond to use at a moments notice! Earlier this week, a 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage sold for £26,950 at BCA’s Classic & Historic sale in Bridgwater - despite being in bits. Described in the sales catalogue as a ‘blank canvas’ for the restorer to work on, the Aston Martin was a serious restoration project and not for the faint hearted. BCA had interest from as a far away as Japan for the car, and it sailed past its catalogue estimate of £10,000, eventually selling for over 2½ times that amount.
Ford Motor Company announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Aston Martin, its prestigious sports car business, to a consortium comprised of David Richards, John Sinders, Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co. This transaction is the result of Ford’s decision, as announced in August 2006, to explore strategic options for the Aston Martin business as the company restructures its core automotive operations and builds liquidity.
Ford is in exclusive talks with motor racing company Prodrive over the potential £450 million sale of its luxury car marque, Aston Martin. Sources said that Ford had selected Prodrive despite its trouble financing a bid, as revealed last week, because the racing group had offered a higher price than other shortlisted bidders. Prodrive runs Aston Martin’s racing team, although it is not owned by Ford or affiliated to it. Next year, it is due to enter Formula One with its own team. Prodrive founder David Richards is understood to be working with investors from the United States and the Middle East to fund the deal, which could be formally announced this week.
Thanks AutoMotoPortal.com