When Scottish racing driver and historic automobile dealer Gregor Fisken signed to race for Aston Martin Racing Larbre this season he realised a boyhood dream. With works support from Aston Martin, the French team are flying the flag for the famous marque in the Le Mans Series this season and at the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend will carry numbers 006 and 008 as they join the Prodrive-run works machines in a four-car assault on the world’s most famous motor race.
For Fisken, to drive for a works team of Aston Martin’s stature is almost beyond his wildest dreams, but to drive for them at Le Mans, a race with which he has enjoyed a love-affair for most of his life, is truly incomprehensible!
“It’s a phenomenal honour and a lifetime dream to drive for a factory team as prestigious as Aston Martin. I spent a childhood in awe of their cars watching them compete in the many classic 1000km races and of course at the Le Mans 24-hours, so it’s no exaggeration to say that it is beyond my wildest dreams to do this. When you walk down the pit lane and see four factory Aston’s lined up outside the pit box all looking the same it’s just unmistakably Aston Martin and you think ‘wow, I can’t believe I’m part of this’. ”
Fisken has, however, endured his frustrations in the Le Mans Series this year. A mechanical failure in the opening round at Monza denied him the chance of a single race lap, whilst round two at Valencia saw him involved in a couple of incidents on an impossibly twisty track. However last weekend’s test day at Le Mans sent spirit in the Larbre camp soaring and left Gregor thrilled with the car’s performance.
“It felt like finally the big dog was off the leash! The car was very confidence inspiring and just felt totally at home at Le Mans. In many respects this may be the true home of the DBR9 because it felt fantastic right the way around the track. It was really impressive through the Porsche curves, very good under braking and the aerodynamic package felt superb. I can only imagine that it will get even better for the race because we’ll finally have the air conditioning system in the car, which will give us a smaller restrictor and a bit more horsepower. ”
Gregor’s appearance in the GT1 class this year completes his personal set of all four Le Mans categories having competed in LMP1 (’06), LMP2 (’05) and GT2 (’04) over the past few seasons. Whilst he’s thoroughly enjoyed his previous experience, this year is set to be extra special.
“Le Mans is so special, not just because I’m racing, but the whole event. I love racing prototypes but the thrill of driving the Aston Martin hits you as you exit Tertre Rouge and pull onto the Mulsanne straight. There’s a great big howling V12 up front and you just sit back and think, ‘my god this is the business’. But off-track too is simply amazing. Larbre’s presentation of the cars, the pit box and hospitality is just fantastic. Team principal Jack Leconte and his crew have really gone to town and Le Mans this year with Aston Martin and Larbre Competition is just phenomenal. It humbles me to be part of it really. ”
There’ll be an extra special moment for Gregor on the Saturday morning before the 24 hours gets underway. The Le Mans Legends support race, which this year is co-sponsored by his company, Fiskens Historic Automobiles, will see Sir Stirling Moss re-united with the Aston Martin DBR1, a car he contested the 1958 and 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours in. Following in the footsteps of his boyhood idol by racing for Aston Martin is the icing on the cake of Fisken’s perfect weekend.
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