PokerStars and Aston Martin at Road America

Aston Martin Racing finished third and fourth in GT1 in the Generac 500 American Le Mans Series race at Road America, Sunday, August 20. The end result is a disappointment for the team who looked like they were in contention for their third win of the season.

The team made a promising start, Stephane Sarrazin pulled away cleanly to retain first place in GT1 in the 009 DBR9 and teammate Darren Turner raced from third to second in the 007 DBR9.

Turner lost second place on lap 12 and Sarrazin suffered a huge set back on lap 13 when the number two Audi made contact and the 009 car spun into the gravel trap at turn 12.

A full course yellow was called and officials towed the 009 DBR9 out of the gravel. The 007 car took the opportunity to pit and after an exceptional pit stop by the 007 crew, Turner rejoined the race in first place in GT1.

Sarrazin pitted and rejoined the race three laps down on the GT1 leader. He remained in the car until a second safety car on lap 29 when he pitted again to hand over to co-driver Pedro Lamy. Lamy ran well until he suffered a puncture on lap 55 and returned to the pits - Sarrazin taking to the wheel of 009 for the remainder of the race.

Turner completed two stints in the 007 DBR9 handing the car over to Tomas Enge a little before the two-hour mark. Enge left the pits in third place and a third safety car period ensued shortly afterwards. When the green flag dropped, Enge overtook for second place at turn five only to endure the heartbreak of a front left puncture minutes later. The ensuing pit stop dropped Enge back down to third with just over 10 minutes of the race remaining. Teammate Sarrazin crossed the line in fourth, five laps down.

The team are hoping for better luck when they return to the US for round eight of the American Le Mans Series, the Grand Prix of Mosport at Mosport International Raceway. The race starts at 3pm Eastern Time on Sunday, September 3. SPEED Channel will broadcast the race live and the www.americanlemans.com website will feature live coverage from American Le Mans Radio and will also feature live timing and scoring.