Lauda: AMR has unfinished business in GTE-Am
After missing out on the GTE-Am title last year despite winning five races, Mathias Lauda believes Aston Martin Racing has a score to settle in the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship.
The No. 98 crew comprising Lauda, Pedro Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana visited the podium in every race they finished, but crucially failed to score on three occasions, including at the Le Mans 24 Hours. This proved costly in the final reckoning, as the ultra-consistent AF Corse collected 50 points for victory and opened up a buffer which ultimately proved unassailable.
After ending the year in third, 36-year-old Lauda says the team have learned valuable lessons from their disappointment and are better placed to fight for the title as a result.
“In WEC, it’s a lot about Le Mans - you need to finish because it’s double points. This was the turning point where we lost the championship, because if you don’t finish Le Mans, you lose 50 points,” he explained.
"In the end of the day, it was a great year. We had so many wins but we were just a bit unlucky by not finishing three races and couldn’t seal the title, which was really disappointing. We have unfinished business.
“This year, our full focus is on being really consistent, we will give everything not to do any mistakes and full focus to finish all the races.”
If there was a positive to take away from the season, it was that the highs and lows of the season helped make the team even closer.
2017 will be their third season together as a trio, during which time they have won eight races and finished on the podium in 12 out of 17 races.
“I would say Paul and Pedro are more than just team-mates, now we are really close friends,” he continued.
“It’s really great working with them because we know each other really well and we also have a lot of fun outside the racetrack. Together we are a very strong line-up – Paul is a very fast Am driver, I have never seen a driver who started racing so late that is so competitive.”
The trio will race the updated Dunlop-shod Vantage which carried Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen to the GT Drivers championship now eligible for the Am class.
James Newbold
