British Touring Car Championship star Tom Onslow-Cole once again impressed behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 when he contested the fourth round of the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship last weekend (27/28 July) and attended a works team test session at Snetterton on Tuesday (30 July).
The 26-year old, who recently competed in the Aston Martin Centenary Festival, drove the same Bilstein-liveried Aston Martin Vantage GT3 that won the Silverstone round of the Blancpain Endurance Series last month at Britcar’s Brands Hatch round with team mates Paul White, owner of the car, and John Gaw, team principal at Aston Martin Racing.
The weekend started off well for Onslow-Cole when he placed the car on pole for Sunday’s three-hour race in his first competitive outing in a GT3.
“What a fantastic start to the weekend”, commented Onslow-Cole. “The Vantage GT3 is incredible to drive and to take pole in my first competitive run feels very satisfying – to be able to jump in and get so much out of it so quickly is a real credit to the engineers at Aston Martin Racing. I’m sure there’s a lot more for me to squeeze out of it yet, though.”
Things continued to go from strength-to-strength for the trio as Onslow-Cole led the race for his entire stint, extending the gap to a comfortable lead before handing the car over to White.
Following suit, White put in some incredibly strong lap times, proving what a formidable force the pairing could be before handing over to seasoned GT racer Gaw. The win was theirs for the taking but four laps before the end, the fuel warning light came on and Gaw had to back off. The trio finished in second place after a splash and dash pitstop.
“It was disappointing not to win, we were definitely strong enough in terms of pace but the early safety cars played havoc with our strategy”, comments Onslow-Cole. “Paul and I make a very good pairing both in and out of the car and I’m hoping that this is the start of many more outings behind the wheel of the GT3.”
Following the weekend of racing, Onslow-Cole accompanied Aston Martin Racing to Snetterton where the pair tested White’s Vantage GTE before Onslow-Cole was invited by Gaw to complete some laps in the GT3.
“Testing with the works team, alongside the factory drivers, is a brilliant opportunity and one I tried to make the most of,” Onslow-Cole adds. “Learning any new discipline is always going to be a challenge but so far everything seems to be clicking together nicely.”
Gaw, who raced against Onslow-Cole in the 2005 Renault Clio Cup, added: “Following Tom’s first race at the weekend in the Vantage GT3, it was good to have him at the last of our World Endurance Championship factory GTE tests before we leave for the first of the five flyaway races. At the Snetterton session, Tom continued to demonstrate his calm and logical approach to racing as he spent time in both a GTE and GT3 car.
“After many weeks of dry weather testing, unfortunately the weather was a little wet at times yesterday, which curtailed some of the planned running. However, it continues to be clear that Tom has a real future in GT racing should he wish to add this is to his current BTCC racing and we are all hopeful that we can get some more outings later this year ahead of a fuller programme of activity in 2014.”
Source : Aston Martin Racing