An Aston Martin Vantage GTE was crowned the victor at the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) World Endurance Championship (WEC) BAPCO 8 Hours of Bahrain. The latest win increased the brand’s FIA WEC title tally to 11 championships.
The winning Aston Martin Vantage GTE was under Aston Martin Racing Partner Team TF Sport whose drivers, Ben Keating and Marco Sørensen, were hailed as winners.
“This is a fantastic achievement for all of us. There have been a lot of crucial moments across the year; Le Mans – which I’d never won before — being the biggest; one that’s very special to be able to put on your CV. When it comes to winning a world championship, you must have a group of drivers who can show pace over a whole season and a car that can help them deliver it. We’ve been consistent at most of the races and not made any bad mistakes. That’s how you win in the WEC and we’ve had an outstanding team performance all year to achieve this,” said Sørensen.
TF Sport has beaten its rival and fellow Partner Team, NorthWest AMR.
Manning the #33 car, Keating, Sørensen, and Henrique Chaves began the 8 Hours of Bahrain with a 20-point advantage over NorthWest AMR’s #98 car driven by Paul Dalla Lana, two-time WEC champion Nicki Thiim, and David Pittard.
However, the TF Sport team lost ground due to a pair of Full-Course Yellow periods immediately after their first two green-flag pitstops. Nevertheless, they bounced back to finish fourth; enough to clinch the title by 23 points over the NorthWest AMR crew, who came home fifth.
“Today is an incredible day for Aston Martin and Vantage that wraps up an extraordinary season on the racetrack. Huge congratulations to TF Sport, to Ben Keating, and to Marco Sørensen on their World Endurance Championship titles, and to NorthWest AMR for their success in the magnificent one-two finish in the GTE Am standings. These latest successes — which take the Vantage GTE to 11 FIA World Endurance titles since the formation of the championship in 2012 — are a testament to not only the production model from which it is derived but also to the hard work and dedication of our Partner Teams that have worked so hard to achieve the greatest prize in endurance racing. In a year in which the Vantage GT3 has clinched the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and the Vantage GT4 has recorded multiple titles around the world, success in WEC GTE Am is the crowning glory and a worthy testament to the performance and durability of a truly great endurance racing car,” commented AMR Partner Racing Head Huw Tasker.
Photos from Aston Martin
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