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Aston satisfied with LMP1's test debut

The new Lola-Aston Martin Le Mans 24 Hours challenger hit the track for the first time at Paul Ricard today

The first two Aston Martin Racing-entered LMP1 coupes were put through their paces in the official pre-season Le Mans Series test at the French track. AMR team principal George Howard-Chappell described the first test of Gulf-liveried cars as "very good so far".

"It is really good to have two brand new cars razzing around without problems," said Howard-Chappell. "The cars don't seem too bad straight out of the box and we've hardly touched them since we arrived."

Stefan Mucke, who was the first AMR driver to take to the track this morning, ended up second in the times in the opening session. His 1:43.669 best was more than a second behind the leading Courage-ORECA LMP1.

Mucke, who is sharing the 007 car with Jan Charouz and Tomas Enge, said: "So far, so good. The car feels really good and we've only had a few little issues. That time was nothing special; the important thing for us is to get all the systems running correctly."

The 007 Lola-Aston was given a brief shakedown, without either a nose or a tail, at the MIRA proving ground last week by Darren Turner. The 009 entry, which Turner is sharing with Harold Primat and new signing Miguel Ramos, didn't turn a wheel for the first time until this morning.

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