Aston Martin Vantage GT3 makes its debut in the first round of the world’s most competitive GT series

2024-04-08 12:05:17

Paul Ricard: Aston Martin returns to the top category of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS for the first time since 2022 with its strongest line-up at Paul Ricard as the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 makes its debut in the first round of the GT series most competitive in the world this weekend.

Two powerhouse GT teams, reigning Fanatec GT Europe Endurance Cup Gold Teams champion Comtoyou Racing and 2018 Spa 24 Hours overall winner Walkenhorst Motorsport, have joined Aston Martin Racing’s roster of partner teams. for 2024 and both bring with them stellar driver lineups. . Their combined entry amounts to seven new Aston Martin Vantage GT3s across the various classes of the series.

Meanwhile, in North America, the decorated Flying Lizard Motorsports team will race a new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the opening round of the GT World Challenge America at Sonoma Raceway, sending eight new Vantage GT3s racing around the world this weekend.

“The fact that there are eight new Vantage GT3s competing in major championships on both sides of the Atlantic speaks for itself in terms of the reception the car has received from new and existing partner teams.

Having two important and established teams such as Comtoyou Racing and Walkenhorst Motorsport signed up to the AMR partner list is a strong indication of the level of confidence we share in the new Vantage and its ability to meet the specific challenges of the GT World Challenge in Europe. and elsewhere,” said Adam Carter, director of Endurance Motorsport at Aston Martin.

“The car is still in its infancy, but has already shown great potential in both the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. “The Fanatec GT World Challenge has always proven to be a tough nut to crack for Aston Martin, but we expect this new Vantage to be our most competitive GT3 car yet in this particular arena.”

Leading Comtoyou Racing’s four-car attack is a familiar duo. Three-time FIA ​​World Endurance Champion Marco Sørensen (DEN) teams up with his old friend and two-time FIA ​​World Endurance Champion Nicki Thiim (DEN) to revive the ‘Danish Train’ ‘. The duo will be joined by reigning Fanatec GT Europe Sprint Champion Mattia Drudi (ITA), who makes his AMR debut in a fully factory line-up for the number 7 Pro Cup spot.

Comtoyou Racing will run two Silver Cup cars, the #12 for reigning Gold champion Nicolas Baert (BEL), Sebastian Øgaard (DEN) and Finlay Hutchison (GBR) and the #21 for Sam Dejonghe (BEL), Matisse Lismont ( BEL) and Charles Clark (GBR). The Belgian team will also use a Bronze Cup car for the first time; The #11 Vantage GT3 will be driven by John de Wilde (BEL), Job van Uitert (NED) and Kobe Pauwels (BEL).

Walkenhorst Motorsport’s line-up is equally impressive and is also led by an attack of Aston Martin drivers in the Pro Cup. The #34 Vantage GT3 will be driven by 2023 Nürburgring 24 Hours winner David Pittard ( GBR), 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Henrique Chaves, and IMSA GTD Pro class race winner Ross Gunn (GBR).

The German team will also use the #35 Silver Cup car for Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy 2022 graduates Romain Leroux (FRA), Lorcan Hanafin (GBR) and Maxime Robin (FRA), and the #35 Silver Cup car for Romain Leroux (FRA), Lorcan Hanafin (GBR) and Maxime Robin (FRA), and the #35 Silver Cup car. Bronze Cup #36 for Tim Creswick (GBR). )), Mex Jansen (NED) and Ben Green (GBR).

Aston Martin is very well represented in the GT4 European Series, which also starts at Paul Ricard this weekend. Eight Vantages, four of which are new GT4s, mean the British ultra-luxury sports car brand represents almost a fifth of the grid, thanks to partners GPA Racing, Mirage Racing, PROsport Racing and Racing Spirit of Léman.

Meanwhile, in the US, the opening rounds of the Pirelli GT4 America Championship will see the return of Heart of Racing with a two-car entry for Gray Newell (USA) and Roman De Angelis (CDN), in the Pro-Am class and a revised everything. -Female crew consisting of Hannah Grisham (USA) and Hannah Greenemeier (USA) in the Am category. Flying Lizard Motorsports also runs a car for Todd Parriott (USA) and Tom Dyer (USA) .) in Pro-Am.

Five more entries in the separate GT America race on the same card, including those from ProSport Competition and Archangel Motorsports, mean that no fewer than 24 Aston Martin Vantages will compete in major SRO-run series this weekend.

Official practice for the opening round of the GT World Challenge Europe begins on Saturday, April 6 at 09:00 local time (0800 BST) and the race begins at 13:00 (1400 BST) on Sunday. GT World Challenge America practice begins at 10:10 local time (18:10 BST) on Friday with racing at 15:05 (23:05) BST on Saturday and 14:15 (22:15 BST) on Sunday. Find out more details regarding both series on the series’ official websites.

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