Aston Martin returns to the top class of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS for the first time since 2022 with its strongest ever line-up at Paul Ricard as the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 makes its debut in the opening round of the world’s most competitive GT-only series this weekend.
Two powerhouse GT teams, the reigning Fanatec GT Europe Endurance Cup Gold Teams’ champion Comtoyou Racing and the 2018 Spa 24 Hours overall winner Walkenhorst Motorsport, have joined the Aston Martin Racing partner team roster for 2024 and both bring stellar driver line-ups with them. Their combined entry amounts to seven new Aston Martin Vantage GT3s across the series’ various classes.
Meanwhile, in North America, the decorated Flying Lizard Motorsports team will race a new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the first round of the GT World Challenge America at Sonoma Raceway, making eight new Vantage GT3s racing around the world this weekend.
“The fact that there are eight new Vantage GT3s racing 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 significant and established squads like Comtoyou Racing and Walkenhorst Motorsport sign-up to the AMR partner roster 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, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport.
“The car is still in its infancy but has already shown great potential both in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The Fanatec GT World Challenge has always proved a tough nut for Aston Martin to crack, 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) links up with his old friend and two-time FIA World Endurance champion Nicki Thiim (DEN), to revive the ‘Dane Train’. The duo will be joined by reigning Fanatec GT Europe Sprint champion Mattia Drudi (ITA), who makes his AMR debut in an all-works line-up for the #7 Pro Cup entry.
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 run a Bronze Cup car for the first time; the #11 Vantage GT3 will be raced by John de Wilde (BEL), Job van Uitert (NED) and Kobe Pauwels (BEL).
Walkenhorst Motorsport’s line-up is just as impressive and is also led by a full works Aston Martin driver attack in the Pro Cup. The #34 Vantage GT3 will be raced by 2023 Nürburgring 24 Hours race winner David Pittard (GBR), 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Henrique Chaves and IMSA GTD Pro class race winner Ross Gunn (GBR).
The German team will also run the #35 Silver Cup car for 2022 Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy graduate Romain Leroux (FRA), Lorcan Hanafin (GBR) and Maxime Robin (FRA), and the #36 Bronze Cup car for Tim Creswick (GBR), Mex Jansen (NED) and Ben Green (GBR).
Aston Martin is extremely well represented in the GT4 European Series, which also kicks off at Paul Ricard this weekend. Eight Vantages, four of which are new GT4s, mean that the British ultra-luxury sportscar brand accounts for nearly one 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 Heart of Racing return with a two-car entry for Gray Newell (USA) and Roman De Angelis (CDN), in the Pro-Am class and a revised all-female crew 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 further entries in the separate GT America race on the same bill, including those from ProSport Competition and Archangel Motorsports means that no less than 24 Aston Martin Vantages will compete in significant SRO-run series this weekend.
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Formula E and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) have today revealed the next generation of race car, the new all-electric GEN3 Evo, capable of 0-60mph in 1.82s.
Leveraging a roster of innovative technical upgrades, the GEN3 Evo unveiled at H.S.H Prince Albert II’s Private Car Collection will debut in Season 11 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship where some of the world’s greatest manufacturers and drivers race wheel-to-wheel in iconic locations around the globe.
Developed by specialists from Formula E and the FIA, the latest GEN3 Evo edition marks a significant leap in electric racing technology, with acceleration 0-60mph 30% faster than a current F1 car, and 36% faster than the GEN3 car.
Capable of accelerating nearly a full second faster than its predecessor – the GEN3 – that was the world’s first race car designed for street racing, it sets an even higher standard in performance, sustainability, and efficiency. The GEN3 Evo serves as a formidable ambassador for the future of motorsport, embodying cutting-edge advancements and a commitment to environmental responsibility.
On Saturday, April 27th, Abu Dhabi will host a groundbreaking event, welcoming 10,000 spectators to witness the inaugural ASPIRE Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) at the iconic Yas Marina Circuit. This brand-new autonomous racing competition marks a significant milestone in motorsport history, billed as the largest league of its kind globally.
Eight teams will compete: Code19 Racing (one of the first independent autonomous racing entity from the USA), Constructor University (based in Germany and Switzerland), Fly Eagle (representing Beijing Institute of Technology from China and Khalifa University from the UAE), HUMDA Lab (a member of the Széchenyi István University Group from Hungary), KINETIZ (a collaboration between Singapore Nanyang Technological University and Kintsugi based in the UAE), PoliMOVE (representing Politecnico di Milano from Italy), UNIMORE (also from Italy - University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), and Technical University of Munich - TUM (from Germany), vying for a substantial prize purse of US$ 2.25 million.
Aston Martin’s new Vantage GT3 continues its hunt for glory in the world’s two most prestigious endurance racing series, as the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship [IMSA] resume this weekend.
The WEC begins its European leg on Sunday with the 6 Hours of Imola (ITA), and an inaugural visit to one of the continent’s best-known circuits, before heading to Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) on 11 May, and then the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 15-16 June. Meanwhile IMSA heads to the world famous Long Beach street track for its first sprint race (100 minutes) of the season. A second-place finish in the brand-new LMGT3 class for the Heart of Racing (HoR), and third for D’station Racing, made Aston Martin the only one of the nine GT manufacturers present to score a WEC double podium finish at the season-opening 1812km of Qatar in March. It means both teams arrive in Italy in strong form.
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