• Aston Martin partner teams D'station Racing and Heart of Racing aim to build on strong start to FIA World Endurance Championship season
•New Aston Martin Vantage GT3 chasing first win at the top level in 2024
•Final chance for WEC teams to get race ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
•Heart of Racing targets first Laguna Seca podium as IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns to action
•25 Aston Martin Vantage GT3s now in active competition around the world
Aston Martin's new Vantage GT3 continues to build competitive momentum following its strong start to the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC season in Lusail (QAT) and Imola (ITA), as the series returns to action in Spa-Francorchamps (BEL), with the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa on Saturday, 11 May.
One of the most famous of European endurance races, the 6 Hours of Spa marks the final opportunity for Aston Martin's partner teams D'station Racing and Heart of Racing HoR to fine-tune their battle readiness in WEC race conditions ahead of the season showpiece, the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA), which takes place on the 15/16 June.
Both teams sit inside the top five in the LMGT3 championship standings and both have already recorded a podium finish already this season, while HoR's team principal and driver Ian James (GBR) has not qualified lower than fifth so far in 2024, and started on the class front row at Imola, last month.
James will be partnered once again this weekend by Daniel Mancinelli (ITA) and IMSA race winner Alex Riberas (ESP) as the trio goes in hunt of its first victory at WEC level, on the circuit the US-based team made its WEC debut on a year ago.
D'station Racing has also enjoyed its best start to a WEC season, finishing third in Qatar behind HoR and following that up with another points finish in Imola. The team has also confirmed that Aston Martin works driver Marco Sørensen (DEN), a three-time WEC champion in the GT classes, will now prioritise this year's WEC programme over the calender conflicts he faced in his Japanese Super GT schedule, in an effort to maximise D'station Racing's title chances. He is joined by Erwan Bastard (FRA) a French and European GT4 title-winner and by Clément Mateu (FRA), a 24 Hours of Spa class winner.
HoR also returns to action with both its GTD Pro and GTD class Aston Martin Vantage GT3s in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship at Laguna Seca this weekend. Returning alongside 2022 IMSA GTD champion Roman De Angelis (CDN) will be Magnus Racing regular Spencer Pumpelly (USA) in #27 GTD machine, while Mario Farnbacher (DEU) joins Ross Gunn in the #23 GTD Pro car.
The new Vantage GT3 has already shown huge promise as it continues to debut across various high-profile championships around the world. Only last weekend, partner team Racing Spirit of Léman finished third in the LMGT3 class in the second round of the European Le Mans Series ELMS at Paul Ricard, with a car driven by Derek DeBoer (USA), Casper Stevenson (GBR) and works driver Valentin Hasse Clot (FRA). This was the third LMGT3 class podium in four races (in both WEC and ELMS).
Already, just three months after its launch at Silverstone, there are 25 examples of Aston Martin's spectacular GT3 challenger contesting more than 10 significant GT series, including WEC, IMSA, the Fanatec GT World Challenge series in Europe, Asia and US, as well as the Japanese Super GT Championship. That figure is expected to grow to at least 35 by the end of its first season of competition.
The new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and GT4, which descend from a succession of multiple world championship-winning predecessors and share the mechanical architecture of the new ultra-luxury Vantage road car, were unveiled in February this year. Built around Aston Martin's proven bonded aluminium chassis and powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine, the Vantage GT3 features all-new nose-to-tail aerodynamics, comprehensively revised suspension and state-of-the-art electronics, endowing this latest-generation Aston Martin GT racer with world-beating potential.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: 'The new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 continues to prove it is a highly competitive proposition with each series that it makes its debut in. Having already made a strong start in both WEC and IMSA, we're beginning to understand the car's strengths in different conditions and at different circuits, on different tyres in race conditions. This is all useful data as we turn our attention to the month of June, where it will compete for honours in no less than three major 24 Hours races, one of which of course is the 24 Hours of Le Mans.'
Official practice for the 6 Hours of Spa begins on Thursday, 9 May at 1130 local time (1030 BST) with the race beginning at 1300 (1200) on Saturday. Practice for the IMSA event at Laguna Seca begins on Friday, 10 May, at 1315 local time (2115 BST) with the race starting at 1210 (2010 BST) Saturday. Follow details of the all event via the official series websites and Apps.
Photo credit: Aston Martin The Americas posted on conceptcarz.com
