Aston Martin Racing will race at Silverstone next weekend with a stellar driver line-up of Frédéric Makowiecki, Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner.
The Banbury based squad have entered their home race with an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with an eye on the Total Spa 24 Hours at the end of July, which they intend to compete in, subject to full confirmation from the Aston Martin factory.
We spoke to ‘Fred’ Makowiecki about the exciting news and about his and teams aims and objectives for the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Silverstone on 1-2 June.
FREDERIC MAKOWIECKI Q&A
You must be delighted to be back in the Blancpain Endurance Series, and this time as a work driver for Aston Martin!
“Yes, it is great for me to come back to this great series, especially with the factory Aston Martin because we started our collaboration together this season and I am really proud to represent them this year. It is a home race for us at Silverstone that is why we would like to do a nice race and to keep proving ourselves because the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is such a great car.”
It is your second visit to Silverstone this year, where you finished third in class back in April. Is there anything you could take from that race that will benefit you next weekend?
“Yes, it is the second time for the team at Silverstone, we will see because it is sometimes a bit difficult to arrive in a series just for one shot at it, so we will have to wait for what the result can be. I think that our package (the car, the driver line-up and the team) can get a great result though. For sure the objective is to win the race but we will see what our performance against the other cars is like next weekend.”
The last time you were in the series was last year when you won with Stef Dusseldorp and Alvaro Parente at Navarra, so you personally have some momentum?
“Yes, for me it shows that last year with the McLaren and Hexis we did a good job at Navarra and it was great to win the race. We will see for this year but I think that we have a good package to do the same at Silverstone and I hope we will be able to do so. The level is a bit higher this season, especially with 60 cars. So, it might be difficult to get a clear lap, especially for the qualifying in order to start in the front for the race. I am confident about this race though.”
What is your overall impression of the level of competition this season in Blancpain Endurance Series?
“I think the level in the Blancpain Endurance Series is very high with really nice teams, drivers, manufacturers, and this is great. It is the first time that I drive with more than 20 Pro cars with very good drivers and it will be a fantastic spectacle. That is why, even if we are confident to do a good result, we need to know where we stand regarding the performance of the other cars.”
What have you made of the Aston Martin so far?
“The first thing is that with McLaren we have a front engine while with Aston we have a rear engine, and turbo-charged engine for the McLaren, so it is really different. We have two very different cars but two cars with really strong points, and honestly it will be my first proper time in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3, because until now I drive the GTE car. So I have still to discover it. However, I know the performance of the car, and normally, with the regulation of the GT3 all the cars have the same performance, that is why we will see where we stand exactly. I can’t wait until next weekend.”