R-Motorsport might be in its debut year of Blancpain GT Endurance Cup but it has quite a big investment made into it with JOTA Sport and Arden being involved, and the No. 76 Aston Martin of the Swiss team justified the effort with a commanding first victory at Silverstone, with the blistering pace of Mathieu Vaxiviere being helped by the bravery of Jake Dennis and the consistency of Nicki Thiim.
The No. 76 R-Motorsport Aston Martin held the lead at the start while a brave maneuver guaranteed third place for for the sister No. 62 car, while AKKA-ASP had all sorts of bad luck by losing two cars in less than 15 minutes, though the No. 88 Mercedes was still in second place.
The No. 76 saw the No. 88 approaching and when the first hour ended and the driver changes were done, the Aston lost the lead, only to recover it a few laps later. It was time then to put pressure on the No. 62 R-Motorsport Aston Martin, as proven by a hard-charging No. 114 Emil Frey Lexus which passed the Aston near the end of the second hour. Emil Frey was also doing well in the Silver Cup, with the No. 114 Jaguar leading the class with ease and being on 16th overall.
The final pit window didn’t promote any significant changes, though the No. 62 kept going down the table as the No. 1 WRT Audi passed it for fifth place, and while that the No. 114 Emil Frey Jaguar left the race and the Silver Cup lead as a part fell off from the right back wheel and the car couldn’t continue, handing the class lead to the No. 6 Black Falcon Mercedes.
In the final minutes the No. 76 was cruising in the lead that turned into the first R-Motorsport win this season while the No. 88 kept a solid pace for second, and behind them the No. 114 Emil Frey Lexus was holding the final podium position against the No. 1 WRT Audi, which was defended until the checkered and brought huge celebrations to the Emil Frey garage.
The No. 6 Black Falcon Mercedes kept a comfortable Silver Cup lead that turned into a class win, with the No. 49 RAM Racing Mercedes having the same scenario in the Pro-Am Cup. The No. 188 Garage 59 McLaren completed the list of class winner with a dominant triumph in the Am Cup.
Next stop now is the Paul Ricard circuit in France on June 1st, which commonly serves as a good test race for those taking part of the 24 Hours of Spa.
PHOTO: Aston Martin Racing
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