A record number of aspiring young GT drivers have registered for the 2024 Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy as the British ultra-luxury sportscar manufacturer begins a new search to endorse an eighth graduate from the successful and prestigious initiative.
A huge variety of racers, 32 in total, from 13 countries spanning five continents, will collectively compete for at least 14 different Aston Martin partner teams in 2024 including those new to the brand this season; Comtoyou Racing, Walkenhorst Motorsport, Forsetti Racing and EastSide Motorsport. This international intake ensures AMR Academy’s reach covers nearly every significant international endurance series in 2024, including the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Fanatec GT World Challenge, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and key national series such as those based in Britain, Germany and France.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance, said: “The Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy is now a proven and established method for us to assess emerging talent from within our partner network. It allows the brand to contribute back into the sport in a constructive and supportive manner that benefits all concerned. You only have to read back through the alumni to understand the impact the initiative has for GT-focussed drivers, of which there are a growing number of exciting prospects with every passing season.”
The initiative, which has grown exponentially in popularity and significance since it began in 2014, is designed to fast-track talent from within Aston Martin Racing’s thriving partner team network and is a way for AMR to contribute back to motorsport by investing in and honing future talent. The scheme has a high success rate and is proud to have furthered the careers of several rising GT stars including IMSA Sprint Cup champion Ross Gunn (GBR), British GT4 champion Tom Canning (GBR), reigning Le Mans Cup champion Valentin Hasse-Clot (FRA), IMSA GTD champion and Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona winner Roman De Angelis (CDN), and most recent winners Romain Leroux (FRA) and Mike David Ortmann (DEU).
Indeed, Ortmann steps up to Germany’s prestigious ADAC GT Masters series in a new Vantage GT3 with Walkenhorst Motorsport in 2024, having reigned supreme in ADAC GT4 Germany category with a PROsport Racing Vantage over the past two seasons.
An unrivalled platform for learning and development with an established manufacturer, this essential initiative is fine-tuned every year and improved to effectively coach drivers in the early stages of their careers. Competitors aged between 16 and 26 with Vantage GT3 and GT4 race programmes in recognised championships are eligible. The prize on offer for the successful graduate includes financial support towards their 2025 race programme, as well as assistance and guidance from the factory, tailored to their season plans.
Last week, the candidates benefited from a three-day seminar that included a tour of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team Technology Campus, media training with FIA World Endurance Championship commentator Louise Beckett, simulator training at Base Performance, a comprehensive fitness assessment, including a bespoke training programme and nutrition plan, Aston Martin Racing in-house commercial training and a factory-based engineering workshop to further their understanding of how to competitively set-up Vantage. The participants will now be comprehensively assessed through the season as the judging panel receives feedback from team and AMR engineers at events.
The judging panel, which includes three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona GTD class champion Darren Turner (GBR), four-times British GT champion and two-times 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Jonny Adam (GBR), former Academy winner and works driver Hasse Clot, Head of AMR Academy Rachel Adam, AMR Head of Performance Gus Beteli and Head of AMR Partner Racing Huw Tasker. They will evaluate each drivers’ ability to manage the strategic, teamwork, commercial and public relations aspects of their role. Finally, the outstanding candidate will have demonstrated the most potential to develop their talent for the future at the end of the season.
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Nissan Formula E Team is excited to announce a four-year global partnership with Petromin Corporation, a leading mobility solutions provider in the Middle East. The partnership will be primarily focused on the company’s EV charging subsidiary, Electromin, as the business looks ahead to a wider adoption of electric mobility in the region.
The Mercedes-AMG ONE has been the fastest production car on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife since October 2022 and has been unrivalled ever since. The only rival is the ONE itself. Now Mercedes AMG brand ambassador and DTM driver Maro Engel has once again significantly improved the lap time he set. With an officially measured and notarised time of 6:29.090 minutes for the 20.832-kilometre track, the hypercar with Formula 1™ technology beat its own record for production vehicles by over five seconds. This makes the Mercedes AMG ONE the first road car to beat the magic mark of 6:30 minutes. It is also the only series hybrid hypercar to date to have taken on the world's most demanding racetrack and is the undisputed leader in the super-sports-car class. In order to achieve the lofty goals they had set for themselves, meticulous preparation was necessary. In addition, the track conditions had to be ideal in order to beat the 6:30 minute target. On September 23, 2024, at 6:56 p.m., on his third timed lap, Maro Engel achieved the new record. With temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius (air) and 20 degrees Celsius (asphalt), the legendary Nordschleife was dry throughout and offered perfect grip.
Like Lewis Hamilton and George Russell on their Formula 1™ race weekends, Maro Engel also had to make the best possible use of the hybrid drive's electrical energy. This is particularly challenging, especially with a track length of more than 20 kilometres. Therefore, it is immensely important to use the right sections of the track to recuperate during braking phases and thus store energy in the batteries again.
To do this, Maro Engel utilised the AMG ONE's four-stage Energy Flow Control (EFC) system and in some cases deliberately took his foot off the accelerator a little earlier than he normally would. In technical jargon, this is known as “lift and coast”. Preliminary tests in the driving simulator in Affalterbach and on the Nordschleife itself provided the necessary insights, which the team and driver were able to optimally implement for the record lap. In accordance with the specifications of Nürburgring 1927 GmbH & Co KG, the vehicle was tested and documented by TÜV Rheinland to ensure that it was in standard condition. A notary confirmed that the record drive had been carried out correctly.
The new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 heads into this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA) finale – the Petit Le Mans 10-hour race at Road Atlanta – deep in the hunt for its first major title.
The new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 has enjoyed a stellar debut season of international competition. The car recorded a historic victory in the centenary edition of the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa in June, a first for the British ultraluxury sportscar brand in the modern GT era. It also achieved Aston Martin’s first ever Autobacs Super GT class victory in Japan in the same month. As well as this, Vantage has clinched class wins in the FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA, the Nürburgring Langstrecken Series and ADAC GT Masters through the summer.
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