The first change is that the #10 Van Der Steur AMR Vantage GT4 of Ben and Christine Sloss is not there after they recently confirmed a downturn from their full season experience of last season. We do, however, see another (and what we believe to be a full season entry) from the same team and a new driver line up of Trenton Estep and Allen Patten within their #66 entry.

We still await confirmation of the remaining driver alongside that of Johan Schwartz aboard the #8 89X Motorsport entry – last time out we saw team owner Mike Fitzpatrick share the car with Schwartz and Kevin Stadtlander.

 

We will see consistency from the Heart of Racing team as Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeir again compete within their #26 car with David Hampton and Thomas Merril again listed within the #15 Circle H Racing AMR (Archangel Motorsport) as well as the return of the Rebel Rock AMR crew of Robin Liddel and Frank DePew.

Daytona was something of a GS Class triumph for most of the Aston Martin powered runners after the #71 Rebel Rock crew took the overall race win with the #14 Circle H Racing crew coming home just behind in second after that four-hour race opener whilst the #8 and #10 crews finished P2 and P3 respectively within the Bronze Cup class.

 

Track action for this series will begin on Wednesday with the first Free Practice session before Qualifying later on Thursday and the start to this two-hour race at 14:00hrs local.

Photo credit – Teams / Series / social media

 

Under the watchful and guiding eye of Levy, both were able to fulfil early ambitions of success with the pairing taking Am class podium finished at various rounds including a class win at Spa Francorchamps.

This year, however, will see more expectation placed upon the team as the crew get ready for the five round season that kicks off again at Nogaro in early April.

Photo credits – Team / Series

 

With all three cars entered into this year’s ADAC Ravenol Nurburgring 24 Hour event later this year, these early NLS rounds will prove pivotable to all in the 24-hour preparations.

Today’s provisional entry list saw father and son, Maxime and Guido Dumarey confirmed within their 327 SP9 Am classed entry with both Christian Krognes and Mattia Drudi confirmed within that German teams #34 Pro class entry.

The #35 Walkenhorst Pro-Am entry of Felipe Fernandez Laser, Matteo Villagomez and Dennis Fetner were also confirmed ahead of this weekend’s four-hour opener with an expected combined grid entry of over one hundred and thirty cars.

Photo credits - Teams

 

These three Aston Martins help to make up the ten strong GT3 class this season.

Photo credits – Team / AMR

  

 

We will also be welcoming back to the GT Winter Series entry an Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 Evo from the Comtoyou Racing team but this time it won’t be in its more traditional green and yellow markings.

Racing for the first time as a unit, the team will be entering one of the Vantage GT3’s with a driver line up of Tom Coronel alongside Jan Jaap Von Roon as the Dutch hotel customer data platform looks to go GT racing at a European level with the multi-World Touring Car champion.

 

Obviously with just one round left, this will be as far as things go for the dup within the GT Winter Series, but we look forward to hearing about any summer programme although the renders number board does give some clues!

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

 

 

 

Races two and three on Sunday were at least ran in dry conditions as Peters was again out within the #007 car whilst Mucke was still keeping something of a low profile from the cameras in his customers #700 car. Not too sure of when the German last raced, his best efforts within the older specification Vantage but all he could muster was a P10 position overall (being the sole Club class entered car this weekend) whilst Peters did manage to go one better in class with a P6 overall/P2 finish in race 2.

The racing luck did, however, run out for Peters at the start of the hour-long race three when contact with the championship leading BMW alongside saw the white Aston Martin plough through the gravel trap of turn 2 and into immediate retirement with front corner damage. For the Mucke #700 crew though, they were able to pull off their bets result of the weekend with a P8 overall finish.

Social media from the team already show them out testing at Paul Ricard

Photo credits – Team / Series

 

 

Last season a four-driver line up but for this year just Nicki Thiim, Mattia Drudi and Christian Krognes reconvene within the #34 car whilst their #35 Pro-Am entry will feature an all-new driver line up of Matteo Villagomez alongside German racers Felipe Ferdandez Laser and Dennis Fetzer.

The is still something to be proven around the infamous Nurburgring Nordschliefe for any AMR Vantage GT3 driven entry having never won overall, so Walkenhorst will be hoping to rewrite the record books at this year’s event in mid-May.

Photo credits – Team / AMR

 

 

The German based Walkenhorst team return for another pair of entries within both series but with differing drier line ups to previous seasons as AMR Drivers Academy and GTWCE Sprint Silver Cup champion Jamie Day joins their all-Pro class driver line up of both Henrique Chaves and Christian Krognes aboard their #34 car.

Their #35 silver class car meanwhile will comprise of a returning Mateo Villagomez alongside team newcomer Ethan Ischer whilst their third man remains unconfirmed at the moment.

 

The team will also field a two-car entry into the sister Sprint Cup Series as Day and Villagomez partner up again within the #35 car whilst Maxime Robin and Gaspard Simon try their luck togther within the sister #34 car. They also join the three Comtoyou Racing powered entries already announced.

That news was then rounded off earlier today as the Ecurie Ecosse lead Blackthorn AMR team also confirmed their step up to the Endurance Cup Series with a familiar pairing of both Giacomo Petrobelli and Jonny Adam alongside that of Lorcan Hanafin. Their #56 car will compete within the Bronze class alongside that of the #11 Comtoyou entry.

 

First up for all will be the Prologue Test at the Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France over the 8th and 9th of April before the Endurance Cup gets underway for their first event at the circuit the weekend after whilst the Sprint Cup runners will have to wait just a bit longer before their opening round to the season at Brands Hatch at the beginning of May.

Having had to be satisfied with just one, two or even no AMR powered runners over the past few seasons, someone has again been working their magic to come up with eleven coherent racing packages spread across both series this year.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

 

 

 

I can’t wait for the season to start with Townsend Racing powered by Fox Motorsport. I know James well from our time togetherpreviously in British GT and with Fox being a proven race-winning British GT team in both GT4 and GT3, I don’t think we could be in a stronger position” He said.

Photo credits - Team