Aston Martin Racing will need to rely on warmer track temperatures during today's Six Hours of Spa Francorchamps to bridge the pace deficit experienced in qualifying, according to Aston Martin Racing Managing Director John Gaw.
The pair of Aston Martin Vantages set the seventh and eighth quickest times in GTE-Pro, putting them at the back of the class grid some two seconds off the pole-sitting Ferrari 488.
Gaw admitted that the Astons would continue to struggle to match the pace of Ferrari, Ford and Porsche if the track temperatures remained lower than 25 degrees celsius.
"As at Silverstone two weeks ago, the temperatures don't really suit the package we have for the weekend," he told Motorsport Week.com.
"At the first race we didn’t have a solution for the track temperature which was lower than expected. So far this weekend it’s been exactly the same."
"During winter testing there was a focus on developing the tyres for colder conditions but that wasn’t the primary focus."
"We put a lot of work into wet weather performance, and we haven’t yet found the solution for the cold conditions."
"With the package we’ve got right now we really need a track temperature of at least 25 degrees, so fingers crossed for the race."
AMR is expecting its performance to improve significantly this afternoon with the onset of a clear weather band, although the current temperatures could push the team into running its hard compound tyre, which has undergone less testing compared with its medium compound alternative.
Despite the drop in GTE-Pro qualifying times, Gaw remains confident that the team's approach to the 6 Hours of Spa – and to the 2017 season in general – will greatly enhance Aston Martin's odds of retaining the drivers' crown it won last year with Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen.
"This year we’re focusing on optimising the package that we’ve got, and one of the big things we’re focusing on is improving the performance of the team," he said.
"As a team, we’re working on something called ‘thinking clearly under pressure’, which involves trying to figure out as many of the ‘what if’ scenarios before arriving at the track, as opposed to making those decisions at the track."
"It’s really difficult in a high-pressure racing environment to make the correct decision, because there’s so much data and information flying about. It’s much easier back in the office where you’ve got time on your hands and there's no constant stream of data, to make decisions."
Gaw uses England's Rugby World Cup winning squad from 2003 to exercise his point of how working a predetermined solution to every plausible scenario can yield the highest grade of results.
"That's a good example of what we're doing in the World Endurance Championship," he said.
"[England's 2003 coach] Sir Clive Woodward will tell you that he knew five minutes before the end of the event that they were going to win the World Cup, if they executed correctly, because he knew that if the game was in the position that it was in, the game plan that everyone had and everyone knew that it was to end with a drop goal."
"It's the same in WEC: we know exactly how to react when a full course yellow comes out, at any specific minute, and our entire team knows the game plan for every eventuality."
"When the balance of performance is close, tyre development is relatively equal, and you’ve got really competent drivers in each car, there's a need to define what the edge is."
"It’s part of the recent evolution of GT racing. We’ve had to get so many aspects right, from fuel to drivers to car balance – this planning aspect is the next step. If we do that well then we will get better results and that will move us forward into the future."
Aston Martin, Porsche, Ford and Ferrari will line up on the grid for the second round of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship this afternoon (May 6th) at 14:30.
Nicki Thiim, Marco Sørensen and Richie Stanaway will share the wheel of the #95 car, whilst Jonny Adam, Darren Turner and Daniel Serra team up in the #97 machine.
The GTE-Am class Aston Martin Vantage will start from pole position, with Pedro Lamy, Paul Dalla Lana and Mathias Lauda driving.
