Aston Martin has work to do, admits Brabham.
15/07/2005
David Brabham has warned British sportscar fans not to expect the same sort of dominant performance that they saw at Silverstone, when the two Aston Martin DBR9s return to FIA GT action at the Spa 24 Hours later this month.
Speaking to Crash.net, the Australian confirmed that the sole Aston Martin Racing entry present at the pre-event test day earlier this week was off the frontrunning pace, and still had some catching up to do if the team was to be able to repeat the 1-2 result it took on home soil in May.
While AMR regular Pedro Lamy set the pace at the wheel of his alternative ride, the Larbre Competition Ferrari 550 Maranello, the best the Aston Martin squad could manage was fifth, albeit only half a second off the pace in the second session, but fully two seconds shy of the Ferrari on best combined time.
The team, however, had no previous data for the DBR9 at Spa, and was using the single day of testing to try and find a basic set-up. It was also a chance for new recruit Marc Goossens to get his first taste of the car, having been drafted in to add his weight of Spa knowledge to the effort.
"I'm looking forward to the Spa 24 Hours very much," Brabham admitted, "The car has proved to be fast and reliable, although the team tested there on Tuesday and were a bit slower than we thought we would be. Obviously, we've still got a bit of work to do, and it's not going to be easy. It will be a tough one for us to win."
Despite the work ahead, however, Brabham has fond memories of the Belgian event, and will be trying his best to put the DBR9 back on top of the podium.
"It's an event I won back in '91 with a Nissan Skyline GTR, and that was great - a great experience and a great race," he said, "To go there with the Aston Martin and try to win it again would be, well, really nice."
The Spa 24 Hours takes place on the last weekend of July.
|
|
|
|
