Fourth place overall and a superb 1st in GT1 class was the final result for Aston Martin Racing after 12 hours of hard day and night driving at Sebring, Florida.

The number 57 car, driven by David Brabham, Stephane Ortelli and Darren Turner, managed to leapfrog the formidable Corvette team on its home ground, while car 58 (Peter Kox, Pedro Lamy and Stephane Sarrazin), having suffered some collision damage, finished in 8th place GT1, 15th overall.

David Brabham (the son of former works Aston Martin driver in the ‘50s, Sir Jack), took the chequered flag and said afterwards "Aston Martin is back! This is just such a fantastic achievement for everyone involved in the programme. The team were just superb - to come here and beat such a strong Corvette team is a massive achievement for Aston Martin Racing."

Team Director, David Richards added: "This marks the beginning of a new era for Aston Martin."

The race was won by the Kristensen/Lehto/Werner Audi R8, the team celebrating their sixth consecutive 1-2 victory at Sebring. The Bertolini/de Simone/Barbini Maserati MC12 finished in 9th place overall, 22 laps behind the leading Aston Martin.

Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Aston Martin Racing - Strictly Copyright