Victor Gauntlett looked the happiest man in the world at Brands Hatch on July 23, after seeing David Leslie and Brian Redman drive the Aston Martin AMR-1 to fourth place overall in only the car’s third World Sports Prototype Championship race. Initially the Max Boxstrom-designed Group C car had not created a good impression on its first outing at Dijon in May, but the subsequent 11th place at Le Mans was better.

“But fourth! I never dreamed we could do so well, so soon” exclaimed Aston Martin’s chief executive, who is also the team’s keenest supporter.

Maybe he is the second-keenest supporter, because the title should go to Peter Livanos, a director of Aston Martin Lagonda Limited, who pledged £26 million to Aston’s World Championship programme over a period of five years – longer in fact, than any other manufacturer has committed itself. Gauntleft and Livanos were side-by-side for an hour as they leaned over the pit rails at Donington in September, putting up with the thunderous noise in a way that some other motor magnates might avoid.