Lynn: Aston Martin back in the game after difficult 2018 Le Mans

Last year, Aston Martin was the slowest of the six GTE Pro class manufacturers at Le Mans in what was only its second race outing for the latest-generation Vantage.

Aston then went on to win two rounds of the World Endurance Championship at Shanghai and Spa, both held in wet conditions, with Lynn and team-mate Maxime Martin taking victory in the latter.

At the Le Mans test day earlier this month, the #97 car that Lynn shares with Jonathan Adam proved to be ninth-fastest and 0.582s off the pace.

The sister #95 machine was 1.2s adrift of the pace-setting Corvette C7.R, but Lynn believes Aston is in a promising position.

"We're back in the game," Lynn told Autosport. "Honestly it's very close and that's great. The test day was very positive for us, the car has come on a very long way.

"We sort of knew that already from Spa, but I'm pleased we cemented that in the test day. The question is whether it's enough on Saturday.

"It's only then we're going to know who's got what - we just hope we've got enough!"

Aston Martin Racing technical director Dan Sayers added: "We're more confident than last year.

"Last year was just the second race for the car - now we've had a whole season.

"The Balance of Performance has improved, the car has improved, so we go in more optimistic than last year."

Aston's main problem in the 2018 race was a chronic lack of straightline pace, but a new aerokit has been introduced in a bid to alleviate the issue.

The Vantage GTE remained 2.4km/h off the class-leading Corvette C7.R during the test day, but Sayers says Aston is still working on optimising its new package.

"We have a new aerokit which we're getting to grips with; the test day was the first time we used it," said Sayers.

"We're trying to eke out a bit more speed, reduce the drag.

"Last year we had a huge amount of downforce, we couldn't remove enough with the aerokit we had.

"That's why we have a new aerokit this year, which brings us more in line with the other manufacturers."

Sayers believes that reliability will be less of a decider in the race, which means the GTE Pro field is more likely to be a "24-hour sprint".

"The reliability of all the cars, all the manufacturers, is exemplary at the moment," said Sayers.

"Barring any driver mistakes, you know some cars will have a completely clean run, so you've got to attack from the start. You can't afford mistakes or contact, but it's still a sprint.

"You have to qualify as high as you can because you need to stay in the lead pack.

"If you start dropping off, you get slow zones, and before you know it you can be a lap down."