In his 11th start in the prestigious Nurburgring 24 Hour endurance race, Mal Rose has scored yet another podium finish, coming home third in the SP8 class aboard Aston Martin’s latest N430GT.
Rose, who was sharing the car with Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez, Wolfgang Schuhbauer and fellow Australian Peter Leemhuis, finished 94th outright, staging a strong recovery after some early-race teething problems.
The podium finish is an addition to Rose’s previous class podiums in 2004, 2005, 2012 and 2013.
A leaking driveshaft seal cost the team 25 minutes on the opening lap, but the car ran faultlessly for the next 22 hours before the car was nursed to the line with a late-race transmission glitch.
All four Aston Martin entries in the race scored class podiums, while the N430GT models finished second and third in the SP8 class.
Rose completed one afternoon and two night stints, and loves the race as much as ever.
“In endurance racing, it’s all about anticipation and being able to think on your feet, and we did that this weekend,” Rose said.
“I was thrilled the team entrusted me with the race start and it was great to have support from some of the German fans as well.
“Scoring a class podium in a brand new car is quite an achievement so we’re very happy,” Rose concluded.
