Photo: MPS agency
TF Sport has expressed frustration with the Aston Martin Vantage GTE’s balance of performance and has called on the FIA World Endurance Championship to take action ahead of the next race at Fuji.
Team Principal Tom Ferrier told Sportscar365 that he feels the Astons have been consistently behind the pace this season compared to the other GTE-Am manufacturers.
Oman Racing Team No. 25 Aston Martin, led by last year’s GTE-Am champion TF Sport, finished seventh at the 6 Hours of Monza but Corvette Racing clinched the title with two laps to go.
“We were 1.4 seconds behind in Sebring, 1.4 seconds in Portimao and had a pressure of 20 millibars [turbo boost pressure increase] for Spa,” Ferrier claimed.
“In Spa I was third on the podium. [The drivers] did a good job and it was a good happy race for us. We were still nine tenths off top speed.
“If we come to Monza without any changes, surprise, surprise, we’re nine tenths off again.
“I don’t know why the Aston wasn’t examined at all. There isn’t a single metric that shows we were fast at any race this year.
“Le Mans is a separate BoP, but we’re still a long way off the Corvette and Porsche there in terms of overall speed.
“It’s frustrating for me when everyone has a clean race and we have a clean race. That’s us in eighth [on the road] At best, right? We haven’t messed anything up.”
Ferrier urged the FIA and ACO, who manage the BoP in GTE-Am and Hypercar, to consider adapting the Aston Martin ahead of September’s 6 Hours of Fuji.
A BoP change was made ahead of Monza, with the Chevrolet Corvette C8.R and Ferrari 488 GTE Evo each receiving a 10kg weight increase outside of the Success Ballast system.
The podium was eventually claimed by Porsche 911 RSR-19s driven by Dempsey-Proton Racing, Iron Lynx and GR Racing, marking the German manufacturer’s first win of the year.
The Sebring 1000 season opener was the only race where the fastest lap for an Aston Martin was less than a second slower than the best lap in the GTE-Am.
According to the FIA and ACO, the BoP in GTE-Am is determined and adjusted using data provided by competitors and manufacturers.
“Right now there seems to be reluctance to let the Astons race again,” Ferrier said.
“Every race [the organizers] make a report. It’s frustrating: They send us the driver data for all the averages of the fastest lap, theoretical lap, 60 percent of the race and 10 percent of the race.
“We’re never anywhere near the fastest car. It’s a World Cup and it’s just not really fair. They just need to make one right change to give us a better chance.”
Al Harthy, who shares the ORT Aston with Charlie Eastwood and Michael Dinan, also called for the Championship to review the BoP for the final two rounds of the season.
“During my stint I had a couple of really good early laps, but as the race started to level off a bit we saw the difference in performance compared to the others,” he said.
“My main goal was to keep us on the hunt. We were out of sync with our strategy and at that point things were actually looking good. Once we got into the third hour and second half of the race, the pace picked up even more against the others.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t be competitive with this difference.
“Top speed is essential at Monza and we just weren’t up to par so hopefully the organizers will check that before Fuji.”
Three Aston Martins, including both TF Sport racers, are expected to compete in Japan after The Heart of Racing was scheduled to be absent from the Monza 6 Hours to focus on a competing IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar race Championship focus.
Daniel Lloyd is a UK-based reporter for Sportscar365 covering the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, among others.
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