It may be widely considered as one of the toughest challenges in motorsport, but the 24 hours of Le Mans couldn’t beat Beechdean Aston Martin Racing (AMR).

The team successfully completed the full day of racing as Wycombe Wanderers chairman Andrew Howard, and fellow drivers Liam Griffin and Gary Hirsch guided their car around the track safely.

Their 318 completed laps earned them a respectable 36th placed finish overall and an even more impressive seventh in the GTE Am class.

Howard previously told the Bucks Free Press of his desire to finish the race in his debut appearance and was clearly delighted to have done so.

He said: “Le Mans delivered everything I could have asked for. It was intimidating, it was amazing. We had a great team and I had great co-drivers. It was very emotional.”

The experience clearly meant a lot to Howard and his sentiments were echoed by Griffin who claimed Le Mans had lived up to its lofty reputation.

“Some say that you should never meet your heroes but I have to disagree. Le Mans was everything I had hoped it would be,” he said.

“It really is the greatest race in the world and to be part of it is a real privilege. Beechdean AMR provided a bullet proof car and a strategy to get us to the end. To finish seventh feels amazing.”

A torrential downpour provided treacherous conditions at the start of the race, but the weather soon cleared and the track dried to provide an ideal racing environment.

Nonetheless the AMR Beechdean crew still had to be at their best to produce 24 faultless pit stops as the Vantage V8 GTE clocked up 4,324.8km. This desire to attain perfection helped minimise time spent in the pits which is an essential aspect to endurance racing.

The inclusion of ELMS Champion Hirsch was also an important factor in Beechdean’s success and he quickly settled into the team’s set-up.

Having not raced in the GT class for a number of years, Hirsch understandably had some rust to shake off, but still found the experience thoroughly enjoyable.

“Beechdean AMR instantly made me feel welcome and I enjoyed racing with Andrew and Liam,” Hirsch said.

“Having not driven a GT car for five years, I am happy with the time it took to adapt to the different driving style. I hope to race an Aston Martin again at Le Mans.”

While completing Le Mans represents a watershed moment for Beechdean AMR, their season is far from over.

The team’s next race is in Spa Francorchamps where the GT3 and GT4 will compete in British GT.

The GTE then returns for the third round of the European Le Mans Series in Austria at the Red Bull Ring.