6 Hours of Spa - World Endurance Championship
Charlie Eastwood

With some excellent results in the bag throughout the long super-season, it was time for the mighty TF Sport Aston Martin to rev up once more in the Ardennes hills, for the 6 Hours of Spa. Newly-announced Aston Martin Racing Junior Driver, Charlie Eastwood joined his teammates in the #90 Vantage GTE.

Making his qualifying debut on Friday alongside Salih Yoluc, the guys kicked things off in style, putting in blistering pace that edged them ahead of their rivals. Their lap times were enough to set an all-time lap record in the class, averaging a 2:16.061 lap, Charlie and Salih netted pole position for the GTE-Am field. A fierce achievement for Charlie’s first qualifying session.

“It was really close, we had to go for another set of tyres and Salih pieced it all together to get the pole we’ve been looking for all year. Not a bad run in my first ever WEC qualifying session! My best lap was the best lap I’ve ever had in the Aston, and it came at the right time.” Charlie commented.

The race took a unique turn on Saturday morning, as snow had settled in overnight, it posed a chilling challenge. Although the snow had melted and the track was dry for the race start, soon enough the field were diving into the pits as rain set in. This rapidly developed into snow and so a chaotic race ensued, filled with safety cars and an almighty challenge against the elements. Leading for much of the race, it wasn’t until 70 minutes that the Porsche managed to take the position from Charlie, Salih and Ewan. With safety cars holding back their opportunity to challenge, the weather called a red flag with 15 minutes left to run and the race was settled. Climbing to an impressive second place finish in such difficult conditions was a strong result for Charlie and the team.

Director of Infinity Sports Management, Harry Soden comments:

“Charlie and the team continued their strong season with a pole position and podium finish leaving the championship all to play for at the season finale at Le Mans. Charlie now switches his attention to Blancpain at Silverstone this weekend.”

Blancpain GT Sprint - Brands Hatch
‍Ricky Collard

At the wheel of the #76 R-Motorsport Aston Martin, Ricky Collard tackled familiar ground at Brands Hatch for the season-opener this weekend. His debut with the team, with talent on his side, it was sure to be a positive first run.

With the R-Motorsport team putting together a strong contender, Ricky took honours in the first qualifying session, netting P9 in his first weekend at the reins. Battling wheel-to-wheel, Ricky and his teammate Marvin fought to take a P7 finish in the opening race.

Confident that they could push further, we joined Ricky on the grid as he geared up for an exciting Race 2, after the pair qualified on the second row. Holding their own in a challenging race, the #76 crossed the line in 5th place, a promising start for the team’s debut weekend.

Harry recaps:

“It was Ricky’s first race with R Motorsport in Blancpain where he ended the weekend with a strong P5 in Race 2. With it being a new car and the team’s first race in the sprint series, a lot was learnt by all and it’s definitely going to be an exciting season ahead”

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‍Looking ahead...

From the GT paddocks to single-seaters, we look ahead to this weekend when the inaugural FIA Formula 3 season gets underway in Barcelona. Hitting the track as part of the Formula 1 weekend, we join our trio of talented racers who all vie for a shot at the title.

Teaming up with ART Grand Prix, David Beckmann and Max Fewtrell come hot off the back of strong pace in the pre-season tests. With British F4 and Formula Renault titles to his name, Max is in a strong position as he prepares for his debut in Formula 3 machinery.

After storming onto the GP3 grid last year, where he collected 3 victories, David is in a prime position with the French team, ready to fight for wins from the off.

Joining the Carlin Buzz Racing team once again, Logan takes the step up to Formula 3, with some impressive results to his name, we’re sure he’ll be one-to-watch when the season swings into action.

Director of Infinity Sports Management, Gary Catt looks ahead on what will be an exciting season:

“For Logan and Max it is their first season in the category, so the structure of the races on the weekend of the F1 programme will be new to them, but they will both be aiming at getting good results to start their season. For David he already has experience of these race weekends as he raced and won in the old GP3 series last season, so he will have high expectations coming into the weekend.

For sure it’s going to be a tough season, as there are many good drivers racing in the series this year. A lot has been learnt by all the teams and drivers over the winter testing, so it will be exciting to see how it all goes in the first round of the year.”

Following practice sessions this morning, FIA Formula 3 action kicks off today, with qualifying at 17:50 CEST.

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