In the Driving Seat

Founded in 1913, British luxury car company Aston Martin began producing racing vehicles in 1923, and featured among the earliest competitors at Le Mans, winning the race’s Biennial Cup in 1932, and providing the car (the Aston Martin DBR1) for overall champions Carroll Selby and Roy Salvadori in 1959. Though Aston Martin Racing took a long hiatus shortly thereafter, the division relaunched in 2004 via a partnership with motorsports company Prodrive. Twenty-three year-old German driver Stefan Mücke joined Aston Martin in 2008 and has already achieved considerable success at the famed track, with three top-ten finishes to his name. He shares his thoughts on the thrills—and trials—of racing through the night.


How did you first become interested in driving?

My father has been involved with racing for about 35 years, and ever since I can remember I was on the racetrack. I started quite late with racing, at the age of 12, but I had a car with a petrol engine since I was five years old.

How does Le Mans compare to other racetracks?

Le Mans is very special. When I raced here for the first time in 2007 I thought it was just a normal race, but after a year there I noticed it’s completely different. [The commotion] has already started one week before the actual race. The track is very special because parts of it are on normal roads and it is very fast. There are a lot of corners, from very fast corners to very slow ones. Then around the track there are so many people—it’s unbelievable what’s going on here at the weekend. At three in the morning you can see people standing in the roads having barbecues, and sometimes the smoke blows across onto the track.

What is your favorite track to drive on?

Le Mans is definitely one of my favorite circuits, but there are other amazing tracks. Spa-Francorchamps is very nice, although it’s also quite long; there’s no 24 hour race there—it's lots of sprint races. Le Mans is the biggest race in the world and I think for every driver it is the most impressive.

Are there any drivers throughout history that you would like to have raced against?

There are a lot of great drivers on the grid this year—some very big names. It’s good for someone young like me to race against these drivers. There are so many names who have driven here in the past, but in Le Mans everyone comes together––the young, new drivers and the older drivers with a lot of experience––and that’s what makes it so interesting; you can compare yourself to everyone else.

Off the track, is there an iconic car that you prefer?

I really love old cars from the 60s and 70s. My first car was from 1971—a Ford Escort MK1—and I still have it. It needs some things doing to it. Hopefully one day I will get around to doing them and be able to drive it again.