Day One

Turning a wheel for the first time on track, the brand new JMW Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT2debuted yesterday (Sunday 7 March) at the Le Mans Series official test, held at Paul Ricard HTTT, France.Driven by Rob Bell and Tim Sugden, the team are using these two test days as a continuation of the Dunloptyre testing they began in Portugal last month which was heavily disrupted by rain. Though there wereintermittent rain showers at Paul Ricard HTTT, and it was bitterly cold, the team made great progress withthe added bonus of being the quickest GT2 car in the morning session. This promising pace continued intothe afternoon session, with the team posting the second fastest GT2 time.

Tim Sugden echoed the feelings of the team after the day’s sessions: “We are all very pleased. This is thefirst time we have run the car and there have been no issues, it has run beautifully. We are using this testto continue our work with Dunlop. The different compounds and constructions are proving very promisingand we’ve certainly identified a number of solutions and areas to work on. We have the second half of tyresto try out tomorrow.

“There’s lots to do, and whilst at a test such as this you can’t draw direct comparisons with yourcompetitors, I think it’s fair to say our pace today is encouraging and stands us in good stead as weapproach the season’s opener”.

The first Le Mans Series race takes place on 11 April 2010 at Paul Ricard.