Aston Martin Racing’s five-car entry for next month’s Six Hours of Sao Paulo will feature a new and returning driver to the factory British squad.
Nicki Thiim will make his debut with AMR, filling the seat of Allan Simonsen, who lost his life in an early race accident at Le Mans. Thimm will be joined by fellow Danes Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen, who both currently sit fifth in the GTE-Am drivers’ championship.
The trio will be at the wheel of a brand-new No. 95 Aston Martin Vantage V8, which completed a successful test at Snetterton last month.
AMR’s third GTE-Pro entry, meanwhile, will see New Zealand open-wheel standout Richie Stanaway return to the squad, joining Paul Dalla Lana and Pedro Lamy in the No. 98 Aston Martin.
“We were really strong in the second half of last year and we have built on this in 2013,” said AMR team principal John Gaw. “We won both classes at Silverstone and came second in both at Spa.
“Le Mans was a terrible blow for the team, and indeed for the whole sports car racing family, and the race result itself paled into insignificance beside the tragic loss of Allan Simonsen.
“However, our cars ran competitively, leading the GTE field for long periods of the race. Knowing how close we came to victory at Le Mans, we go to Sao Paulo with increased focus, great energy and real tenacity and with the aim of re-creating the momentum that served us so well in 2012 and enabled us to fight for the World Championship, which is again our aim in in 2013.”
