It’s been a very quick rise for the Leonard Motorsport this season. Seemingly out of nowhere, the plucky British duo of Stuart Leonard and Paul Wilson started racing a GT3 Aston Martin in the VLN championship along with selected Blancpain rounds, after only a brief one off race in a Mercedes SLS in 2013.
Starting off a campaign at the top level of such a gruelling series to many would have been overwhelming. But from the beginning the team turned heads in the paddock right off the bat at the first round of the championship, with a ton of confidence and a seventh place finish overall in such competitive field of SP9 runners.
There have been challenges too though with the unique combination of differently paced traffic proving a tough environment to master in Germany.
DSC sat down with Wilson and Leonard at Spa ahead of their first 24 hour race to learn their story:
“We were watching the VLN series last year, and the idea was that going into GT3 was very appealing,” Wilson told DSC. “So we looked around at the start of this year, to see what sort of programme we could get going.”
“Deciding which manufacturer to go with was a long process really, we were looking at a few manufacturers before the season, but we felt that Aston Martin offered the best package for us as a team going forward. So we decided to stick with them,” added Leonard.
Diving straight into the VLN is no easy feat for a new team. But with help from Aston Martin, a relatively easy transition was made possible for Leonard and Wilson.
“It wasn’t as challenging, as you might think, starting out in the VLN,” said Wilson. “To be honest, the Aston guys we had, have been doing this sort of thing for a long time. We did a one off GT event at the six hour VLN round during August in 2013 too, so we kind of knew what to expect as a whole.”
Running in the Blancpain GT Series at Silverstone and Spa presented the pair with further challenges. Nevertheless, their performances have been very respectable, providing a worthy addition to the Pro-Am class.
‘It’s a different experience to VLN, that’s for sure!” Exclaimed Wilson. “The Pirelli tyres are difficult to get your head around, there’s a lot for us to learn, especially as it is our first year in GT3. We need to develop as a team really.”
And turning up to a very damp Silverstone for the first time with the Vantage back in May was not exactly the debut in the series they’d hoped for.
“The Vantage was just changed over from VLN to Blancpain spec in the week before Silverstone,” he continued. “It was a real baptism of fire for us, not being able to test the car before hand, and then having the rain coming down at the start of the weekend before becoming dry on the Sunday, so we were really thrown into it. As a result, the car just wasn’t where we wanted it to be. We have had to work extra hard to get it fully ready for Spa, so we could have a much more competitive showing.”
Joining the team at Spa was Aston Martin factory ace, Pedro Lamy. The Portuguese veteran was one of an array of AMR talent at the 24 driving for the customer teams. It was undoubtedly a beneficial experience for both Stuart and Leonard, whose racing experience in comparison is very limited.
“He’s a great character, so it’s great for us to be able to learn from someone like him. He’s able to teach us so much about the car and the circuit,” said Leonard.
“Yeah definitely, having him around is just fantastic for us. We’re so lucky to have a fully fledged F1 driver with us who’s blindingly quick and reliable is teaching is a lot,” added Wilson without hesitation.
So how was their first experience at Spa? A driver’s track by nature, the windy course in the Ardennes never fails to provide everyone with some scary moments – especially during the learning process. But to the British duo, it was almost a step down from their previous appearances at the Green Hell – arguably a tougher circuit, with a more unpredictable field.
“It’s a great circuit, but we’ve just come from the VLN,” chuckled Leonard. “So all the things we were warned about, like how enduring and intense this circuit can be but for us it is a bit more relaxing to what we are used to. It’s still a fantastic circuit though.”
The team brought the #32 V12 Vantage GT3 home at Spa after a slightly disjointed run, that in itself proof of the stamina that lies within the set-up.
It’s clear though that their heart lies at the ‘Ring, and with that they hope to return to the mythical circuit in the future, with more experience under their belt. Wherever the future takes them though, DSC will be sure to keep an eye out.
Stephen Kilbey
