Young Driver AMR concluded it’s début season in the FIA World Endurance Championship with a win. Christoffer Nygaard, Kristian Poulsen and Nicki Thiim took the third win of the season at the final round in Bahrain in their Aston Martin Racing run Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin Vantage GTE. Young Driver AMR claimed six Pole Positions and five podium finishes during the 2013 FIA WEC season.
Young Driver AMR was already the team to beat in Qualifying at the Formula One track in Bahrain when Nygaard and Thiim took the sixth Pole for Young Driver AMR in eight races. At the start of the race, a Porsche passed Polesetter Thiim, but the Dane reclaimed the lead in lap 21 and from that moment, Nygaard, Thiim and Poulsen never looked back and led all the way to the finish. The all Danish drivers of the Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin were not only the quickest drivers in the GTE-Am class, but also impressed with a great fuel economy that enabled them to fight with the works cars of the GTE-Pro-class. After six hours a racing mostly in the dark, Nygaard, Poulsen and Thiim took a clear victory, one lap ahead of the closest competitor.
Nygaard und Poulsen finish the season in fourth place in the FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE-Am drivers. Young Driver AMR finished also in fourth place in the FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE-Am teams.
Driver quotes after the race:
Christoffer Nygaard: „I was not sure that we will win this race until one second before we crossed the finish line. We led many races this year and always had a good speed, but we also had bad and I’m really happy that we finish the season with a victory. The car was just perfect all weekend, it was the best car we had all season.“
Kristian Poulsen: „It was a really tough season this for us, especially after we lost Allan at Le Mans. It was not an easy decision to come back, but we made it all together. After all what happened this year, it’s nice to finish the season with a victory.”
Nicki Thiim: „It was almost the perfect race for us. The start was very aggressive and I lost one position. I had to take care of my tires, but could fight back and retake the lead. The car was perfect and Christoffer and Kristian drove very strong stints. At the end it was quite easy to bring the car home and I’m happy that we finally take a win.”
Jan Struve, team principal Young Driver AMR: „It was a perfect end of the season, we couldn’t ask for more. We had a really tough season and after bad luck the recent races, we deserved this win. All three drivers drove a perfect race and the team worked like clockwork, I’m really proud of everybody. I would like to congratulate Jaime Campbell-Walter and Stuart Hall in a sister car of Aston Martin Racing for winning the FIA Endurance Trophy for GTE-Am drivers.”