Young Driver AMR took the third win of the season at the fifth round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) at Fuji in Japan. The all-Danish trio of Kristian Poulsen, David Heinemeier Hansson and Nicki Thiim showed a strong performance in the Aston Martin Racing entered Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin Vantage GTE on the way to their third GTE-Am class victory this season and the fifth consecutive podium finish of Young Driver AMR. Young Driver AMR and championship leader Poulsen and Heinemeier Hansson further extended their lead with three rounds to go.
Nicki Thiim started the race in the #95 „Danish Express“ and took the class lead in lap 17. The Danish sportscar star went not only into the class lead: Before he handed the Aston Martin to David Heinemeier Hansson, Thiim was the leading GT car on track. Heinemeier Hansson then maintained the lead during a double stint and handed the #95 Aston Martin to Kristian Poulsen for another double stint. Poulsen briefly lost the class lead to „Young Driver“ Christoffer Nygaard in a sister car of Aston Martin Racing, but was then able to retake the first position in his second stint. Thiim then took over from Poulsen for a final single stint and secured the third victory of the season after Silverstone and the 24h of Le Mans.
„It was another great race and an all race long battle with our sister car made it quite exciting for us“, Jan Struve of Young Driver AMR was pleased with the performance of his drivers. „Everybody made a really good job, but what Nicki showed during the first hour, when he eventually put our car into the GT lead, was outstanding. At the end, our trip to Japan was perfect. The performance of our Michelin tires was very good, the team did again brilliant work during the pit stops and our driver didn’t make any mistakes. This is how to wins races and at the end of the season, hopefully to win the championship.“
„We had some problems during the practise and also Qualifying didn’t went as expected, but for the race, we were there“, Poulsen said. „I had some nice battles during my stints. I briefly lost the lead as I thought it was Mücke in the Pro-car behind me and I Iet him through, but then I noticed it was Nygaard and it a battle for the lead. During my second stint I could retake the lead, so it wasn’t a big problem.”
„It’s great to be leading the Championship,” commented Heinemeier Hansson. “The Vantage GTE makes it easy for gentlemen drivers like Kristian and I to be mixing it up with the professional drivers. If a car is easy to drive, like the Aston Martin is, the difference between the Am and Pro is smaller and that’s what wins Pro-Am races.”
„I can’t get any better as this race today“, Nicki Thiim was happy about his third win in as many races. „We struggled a bit in practise and qualifying and made some changes for the races, that paid of. The first stint was great and lot of fun, the car was great to drive. At the end, Kristian built a gap during his last stint, so I didn’t need to push very hard and had to concentrate to bring the victory home.“
With three rounds to go in the 2014 season, Young Driver AMR leads the GTA Am teams championship by 39 points, Kristian Poulsen and David Heinemeier Hansson have an equal lead in the driver’s championship.