Austin, Texas/USA. Young Driver AMR dominates in Texas: Marco Sørensen and Nicki Thiim continued their strong performance in the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) and took a spotless victory in the sixth round at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. It was the first victory for Young Driver AMR since moving up to the GTE Pro category of the World Championship with the Aston Martin Racing entered Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin V8 and the eight World Championship victory for Young Driver AMR overall. As the Danish Duo of Sørensen/Thiim also claimed Pole Position in Texas, they got maximum points this weekend and not only extended Young Driver AMR lead in the team championship, but also took the lead of the GT driver’s world championship.
The race started under hot conditions in the late afternoon and went perfect: Sørensen took the lead from Pole Position and from that moment onwards, the two drivers of the #95 Aston Martin never looked back. On the way to victory, they led all but four laps and crossed the finish line after 6 hours of racing with margin of 11,8 seconds ahead of two Ferrari.
„This result is better then a dream, I’m really proud of everyone in the team and of our drivers, everybody did an excellent job”, said Young Driver AMR´s Jan Struve. “Marco and Nicki were more motivated then ever before and delivered under all conditions a strong performance. On top of that, our work in the pits was excellent. That we lead the drivers and team championship makes this win even more special. We are now in a very promising position for the remaining three rounds.”
Thiim, who brought their car to the chequered flag said, “It’s about time we took a win and it’s been a long time since I’ve taken the top step. The guys have done a great job and the team have been working over their limits in the conditions. After the mistake I made in Mexico, it was important for me to go out and do a good job today. The progress throughout the year has just been phenomenal and I hope we can continue that through the rest of the season".
Sørensen, who took his maiden victory in GT racing, said: “I’m really happy for me, Nicki and the team that we’ve taken the win that we’ve been wanting for quite some time. It was a tricky race with the Ferrari just behind for a large part of it and especially when they were pushing to get us right at the end. My radio wasn’t working during my last stint so it was really stressful out there during that part, but we did what we needed to do and once Nicki was in the car for the final time, we knew we were in a good position for the end”.
6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas GTE Pro class
| 1 | Sørensen/Thiim | Aston Martin Vantage V8 |
| 2 | Bruni/Calado | Ferrari 488 GTE |
| 3 | Bird/Rigon | Ferrari 488 GTE |
| 4 | Franchitti/Priaulx/Tincknell | Ford GT |
| 5 | Turner/Rees | Aston Martin Vantage V8 |
GT Drivers World Championship
| 1 | Sørensen/Thiim | Aston Martin | 109 points |
| 2 | Bird/Rigon | Ferrari | 97 points |
| 3 | Turner | Aston Martin | 96 points |
| 4 | Bruni/Calado | Ferrari | 80 points |
| 5 | Stanaway | Aston Martin | 80 points |
GTE Pro teams World Championship
| 1 | Young Driver AMR | Aston Martin | 109 points |
| 2 | AF Corse | Ferrari | 97 points |
| 3 | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin | 90 points |
| 4 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Ford | 84 points |
article : www.youngdriver-amr.com
