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Tuesday, 16 April, 2024, Imola: Aston Martin’s new Vantage GT3 continues its hunt for glory on the earth’s two most prestigious endurance racing collection, because 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 go to to one of many continent’s best-known circuits, earlier than heading to Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) on 11 Could, after which the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 15-16 June. In the meantime IMSA heads to the world well-known Lengthy Seashore avenue monitor for its first dash race (100 minutes) of the season.
A second-place end within the brand-new LMGT3 class for the Coronary heart of Racing (HoR), and third for D’station Racing, made Aston Martin the one one of many 9 GT producers current to attain a WEC double podium end on the season-opening 1812km of Qatar in March. It means each groups arrive in Italy in robust kind.
These outcomes offered a superb WEC debut for the brand new Vantage GT3, which descends from a succession of a number of world championship-winning predecessors and shares the mechanical structure of the brand new ultra-luxury Vantage highway automotive, unveiled earlier this 12 months. Constructed round Aston Martin’s confirmed bonded aluminium chassis and powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine, the Vantage GT3 options 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.
Aston Martin’s WEC accomplice groups are amid a scorching streak, with HoR and D’station Racing having loved a profitable spell within the Center East. The US-based HoR took its maiden podium end with third within the final ever LMGTE Am race in Bahrain in 2023, after which went one higher to start the LMGT3 period with second in Qatar.
HoR crew principal and driver Ian James (GBR) is partnered by Daniel Mancinelli (ITA), who’s competing on dwelling soil, and IMSA race winner Alex Riberas (ESP) because the trio goes in hunt of its first victory at WEC degree, and in addition a maiden win for the brand new Vantage GT3; having participated within the automotive’s international debut in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Success can also be the goal for D’station Racing, which completed second in Bahrain to shut the 2023 marketing campaign and started the brand new season with third in Qatar. Aston Martin works driver Marco Sørensen (DEN), a three-time FIA WEC champion within the GT courses, 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 has shuffled its driver line-up for the IMSA race at Lengthy Seashore, the place it’s going to run a single new Vantage GT3 within the GTD class (GTD Professional doesn’t contest the Californian avenue circuit spherical). Becoming a member of 2022 IMSA GTD champion Roman De Angelis (CDN) will probably be Magnus Racing common Spencer Pumpelly (USA). He replaces Zacharie Robichon (CDN) who can also be collaborating within the WEC occasion at Imola.
One other accomplice crew, Flying Lizard Motorsports, will make a one-off return to IMSA at Lengthy Seashore – considered one of its native circuits. Elias Sabo (USA) will probably be joined within the a number of IMSA-title profitable crew by Andy Lee (USA), because the crew enters its model new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 within the GTD class.
D’station Racing can also be on a number of duties this weekend, with crew proprietor Satoshi Hoshino (JPN) and crew principal Tomonobu Fujii (JPN) contesting the opening spherical of the SRO -run Fanatec GT World Problem Asia at Sepang, in Malaysia.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, stated: “The brand new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 loved an encouraging begin to its WEC profession and there’s no cause to count on it to be any much less aggressive in Imola than it was in Qatar. Equally, we’ve got seen promising indicators from the automotive within the opening races at IMSA, so we’re trying ahead to seeing what Vantage can obtain on either side of the Atlantic this weekend. I’d additionally prefer to want Flying Lizard Motorsports good luck on its return to IMSA, and equally D’station Racing because it embarks on its Fanatec GT World Problem Asia marketing campaign.”
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