Misano finally gave the two Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 powered crews something to cheer this weekend as both silver and Pro-Am classed crews took home silverware for their efforts in the GT4 European Series.

Hitting the back stretch to the 2026 season, recent races have been difficult for team especially for the #74 Pro-Am entry which needed a new driver after the opening round to partner Florent Grizaud with Kevin Kullmann eventually stepping forward at the eleventh hour. The #72 silver class entry of Clement Seyler and Pedro Garcia started well at Paul Ricard but since then, mistakes have been made by both drivers.

 

Starting race one into the late afternoon saw the #74 getting a decent starting slot P9 overall with the sister car not too far behind in P13 as both Seyler and Kullmann took the start with the Safety Car annulling the first starting charge thanks to a stranded car in track. Both cars held their relative places on track through the two starts and up until the start of the pit stop window.

Whilst Garcia did hold station when he got behind the wheel to the #74, Grizaud did drop back in the overall stakes but did still hold onto P6 in class at the time. As the shadows got longer towards the end, Garcia found himself defending heavily from the McLaren behind for what would turn out to be a P4 overall finish for the Seyler/Garcia combination with Grizaud/Kullmann car finishing P8 in class at the end.

 

For Sunday’s race, the grid had already been determined in qualifying yesterday with Garcia claiming a P11 overall starting position over the P25 place for Grizaud.

Another clean start to the race but another early Safety Car was avoided after two slow cars on track managed to find places of safety beside the track without causing any further issues. Like race one, the #74 car ran safely within the top ten whilst the #72 car this time ran fourth in class by the time of the pit window.

 

Stops over and Seyler maintained their top ten position whilst Kullmann soon moved up to second in class with just over twenty minutes remaining before a smoky Mustang brought out a Full Course Yellow seven minutes later.

 

Getting back to green with little over five minutes to go had of course brought the pack back together bringing on three very busy final laps of the race. Originally crossing the line sixth overall, a post-race penalty for a car ahead elevated the #74 car up to fifth with the #72 car second in Pro-Am for their first podium finish of the season. Garcia would also be awarded the Rookie of the Race award to sweeten previous racing disappointments in the series.

Photo credits – Team / Series

 

 

 

The Blackthorn Aston Martin Racing powered squad did their class championship aspirations a power of good this weekend as the #97 Vantage GT3 of Jonny Adam and Charles Bateman secured the double at this weekend’s International GT Open visit to Paul Ricard.

Round five to the season, this weekend came off the back of a very disappointing one for both Aston Martin Racing powered runners last time out at the Hungaroring two weeks ago as both the Blackthorn and Good Speed Racing efforts suffered performance wise over that weekends two races as well as a near last lap accident for the #14 Good Speed Racing AMR in race two.

 

This time around, things started well for the #97 Blackthorn effort after AMR factory driver Jonny Adam secured overall Pole Position for the weekend’s opening seventy-minute race whilst the solo driven #14 car of Piotr Wira only managed a P25 overall start out of the grid size of thirty runners.

 

If you weren’t able to get o either the Spa Classic or the more recent Le Mans Classic and old cars are definitely your thing – there is always next weekend’s Silverstone Classic or rather the BRDC Classic as it is now known to think about.

With race cars from between the two world wars to more recent icons featured within the events three-day programme, our attention is immediately turned to the Motor Racing Legends – GT3 Legends entry for the event.

 

Featuring a spread over twenty-eight GT3 based chassis from between 2006 and 2015, there will also be seven Aston Martin Racing powered entries in either Vantage GT3 or DBRS9 format.

We have picked up upon this series several times now across their season so far and an AMR powered car has always been at the sharp end of the racing with car re-established to a former livery design of their time just for added spectacle.

 

 

Both Jonathon Mitchell’s #007 ex TRG AMR Vantage GT3 and Graham Davidson’s #47 ex Oman Racing Team AMR Vantage GT3’s have certainly been doing the rounds recently with many of these cars entered having also raced around the Circuit de La Sarthe at the Le Mans Classic just a few weeks ago.

Shaun Lynn will also be in attendance with his former TF Sport Salih Yoluc car as will Nick Sampson with his former Massive Motorsport Vantage GT3. Christian Albrecht will also be in attendance with his recently acquired factory liveried car.

 

Robert Oldershaw is the odd man out as he enters what looks like a former Vantage Racing DBRS9 with James Parker completing the AMR powered entry with a car we cannot quite work out whose that was historically.

They will again enjoy two hard fought races over the weekend.

Photo credits – Teams / GT3 Revival / social media

 

 

 

 

 

The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup Series are back out again this weekend at Misano, Italy for what is still only their second round of the season with the GT4 European Series again in support.

Since the season opener from Brands Hatch back in early May, the Endurance Cup Series has then taken precedence within the race calendar as they built their way up to the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa event at the end of June but this and the next three rounds of Sprint Cup will now follow in quick succession.

 

Forty-four crews have been confirmed for this weekend’s two one-hour long pit stop punctuated races with both the Comtoyou Racing and Walkenhorst Motorsport teams fielding five Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered crews between them.

Nicki Thiim and Kobe Pauwels again head the Comtoyou Racing entry with their #007 Pro class entry alongside their #11 bronze class entry of Marcello Tomasoni and Felice Jelmini and the #21 silver classed entry of Oliver Soderstrom and Arthur Dorison.

 

Within the Walkenhorst camp, they will again field two silver classed entries for both Mateo Villagomez and Jamie Day aboard their #34 and Maxime Robin and Gaspard Simon aboard their #35 car.

The best results of last time out in the UK came from the #34 Walkenhorst car after they secured (after post-race penalties had been applied) P3 in race one and P4 in race two so for the other crews – there is much to improve upon this time out with the #11 Comtoyou Racing car competing within their first race of the year having skipped Brands Hatch.

 

Within the supporting GT4 European Series, thirty-eight crews have been confirmed within the provisional entry with both Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s again being listed.

David Kullmann and Florent Grizaud again compete within the teams #72 Pro-Am entry with Clement Seyler and Pedro Garcia within their #74 silver classed entry within what will be for them, their fourth round of the season having raced already in France, Italy and Belgium.

 

Last time at Spa Francorchamps during the SRO’s Speed Week became something of a torrid affair for the two full season entries with neither crew finishing higher than P11 in class having been outshone by the guesting Grange Motorsport AMR from the British GT Championship.

They too will race two one-hour pit stop punctuated races over the course of the weekend.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s down to the Mistral Circuit this weekend for the International GT Open Series as they embark upon their fifth round of the season with another seventy plus sixty-minute race format over the weekend at Paul Ricard.

Thirty multi-classed GT3 crews are again in the attendance with both the #14 Good Speed Racing and #97 Blackthorn Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 Evo powered crews amongst them.

 

Last time out at the Hungaroring two weeks ago was something of a disappointing affair for both Aston Martin powered crews as the best that the #97 crew of Charles Bateman and (then) Kobe Pauwels could offer was a P5 in Pro-Am in both races whilst the #14 crew of Piotr Wira and Tomasz Magdziarz could only manage a P5 in race at the end of race one before experiencing something of an odd incident going into the final right hander at the end of race two that saw the green livered car speer into the inside barrier causing significant front end damage.

Whilst the #14 crew remains a constant again (and with the car suitably fixed and repaired), the #97 car resorts to its advertised full season crew of both Bateman and Jonny Adam in lieu of Pauwels after the Scot has flown back from Brazil and his latest exploits within the FIA World Endurance Championship last weekend.

 

Track action begins on Friday with Free Practice before Qualifying 1 and the opening seventy-minute race later on Saturday. Qualifying 2 and the sixty-minute race will again be run on Sunday.

Results so far this season would mean that Bateman would need something like a minor miracle over the remaining rounds of the season to narrow down his points deficit within Pro-Am whilst Wira does remain in contention in Am, being just seventeen points behind the class leader.

 

Photo credits – Series / Teams / social media

 

 

Despite some racing hardships for some of the other Aston Martin Racing powered entries within various series around the world last weekend, there was something to cheer about for the two Vantage GT4 crews racing in last weekend’s Campeonato de Portugal de Velocidade visit to Vila Real.

As bespoke event around the improvised street circuit layout saw twenty-five entries being ran for the two fifty-minute races including the #28 Racar Motorsport AMR entry of Vasco Oliviera/Manuel Giao within GT4 bronze and the #777 RV7 Am class entry for Ruben Vaquinhas.

 

Race one on Saturday proved the perfect end to the days proceedings as the #28 car finished P4 overall and P1 in class with the #777 car P13 overall and P1 in class as well. That was nearly replicated in Sundays finale as the #777 car this time finished P9 overall/ P1 in class but for the #28 car – a mistake over a high kerb launching the bright orange Aston Martin around nose on to into the armco barrier.

 

Eyes now look towards the next round of the mainstay Iberian Supercars Series from Valencia towards the end of September.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

 

 

 

 

The seventh round of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship proved itself to be another struggle for the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTD powered teams after another gruelling two hours and forty-minute race from Canadian Tires Motorsport Park at the weekend.

The #27 Heart of Racing AMR of Eduardo Barrichello and a deputising Roman De Angelis (thanks to another diary clash with the FIA World Endurance Championship down in Brazil) had earlier claimed pole position within the GTD class whilst the #68 Car Blanche AMR of Valentin Hasse-Clot and (this time) Scott Andrews saw the ex Van Der Steur team step up to GTD Pro in only their second race under their new format.

 

With the race being run under fine dry conditions, the #27 car of Barrichello maintained his lead position in class whilst Andrews had lost one place from his qualifying position in P6 during those opening laps but front offside contact from another car would suggest that issues were then being experienced as they the Aussie soon dropped positions.

Barrichello was looking comfortable first in class as the team then called him in for a strategic service call after just forty minutes of racing for what turned out to be a disastrous service as wheel guns and tyres were seemingly not ready in time. They then got pinged for having too many people over the wall at the time – that would be a drive through penalty for them to compound the issue.

 

A lengthy Safety Car period at the top of the hour wasted fifteen minutes off the race clock but even with just under two hours remaining, both Aston Martins have suffered sufficiently on track for them not to be able to recover within the time permitting.

With just an hour remaining, De Angelis took over the reins of the #27 car whilst Hasse-Clot had done similar within the #68 car which in GTD Pro, was something of an impossible task as they eventually came home still a very credible P10 in class (considering what has been happening within the team of late) whilst the #27 did manage to elevate themselves up to P6 in GTD to rescue some vital championship points.

 

For the #68 Car Blanche crew – they achieve their first championship points within GTD Pro whilst Barrichello maintains his solo championship lead within the class as IMSA moves onto Road America next time around.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Six Hours of Sao Paulo was something of a mixed bag of results for the Heart of Racing team as their Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 crews struggled for pace whilst their Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar powered colleagues chalked up another milestone within the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Earlier rain had left the Interlagos circuit at least damp in places ahead of yesterday morning’s start as the #007 Valkyrie of Tom Gamble/Harry Tincknell had beaten the sister #009 car of Ale Riberas/Marco Sorenson into Hyperpole to qualifying P9 against the #009’s P15 but each of the LMGT3 crews were nearly at extreme ends to third grid.

 

Gray Newell, Kobe Pauwel and Jonny Adam had secured their first ever FIA WEC LMGT3 pole position within their #23 car whilst the sister #27 car of Ian James, Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi had uncharacteristically struggled to also end up no better than P15 in class.

Come the start, Newell’s inexperience at the head of the group quickly showed within the degree of racing talent around him and the #23 car quickly tumbled down the order during the opening laps as both Valkyries also slipped back as well with both Vantages then running nose to tail to one another just prior to the end of the first hour.

 

Just after the opening hour, the #23 car also suffered a spin as another Hypercar came around the outside and whilst no real damage was done, the time lost in returning to track was considerable. A later rearward impact from the yellow Ferrari Hypercar for the #23 car (with Pauwel then behind the wheel) would result in rear defuser damage – something that would hobble the car for the rest of the race in addition to the immediate spin.

Further up the order, the respective running positions of the two Valkyrie’s was similar to that of the two Vantage LMGT3 crews for the Heart of Racing team as nether class set were seemingly able to progress themselves up the order outside of the natural cyclic movements up and down the order as each class went through the pit stop strategies.

 

Beyond the halfway point, the sunshine and residential warmth of the day began to drop as both Valkyries finally both made it into the top ten in class and with the #27 Vantage still several cars ahead of the #23 despite a drive through penalty of their own for tyre pressure irregularities.

Going into the final ninety minutes, the ambient temperature had dropped to just sixteen degrees C as the mist began to drop around the periphery of the circuit leading most to believe that rain was on its way as the two Valkyries received their final stop for service with little under fifty minutes remaining as they both defended their top ten positions in class.

 

In the glum of the Brazilian evening, the fourth round of the FIA WEC finally came to an end with the #007 taking P7 and the #009 P9 on track at least. The #27 would eventually finish P13 and the #23 P18 in class to end what quickly became for them a very disappointing weekend and with both crews failing to add a championship point to their tallies. A post -ace penalty for the #20 BMW Hypercar, however, would see the #007 car elevate up to P6 in class – the two Aston Martin Valkyries best combined finish to date within the Championship.

The next round will be the Heart of Racing's effective home race at the Circuit of The Americas at the beginning of September.

 

Photo credits – Team / DPPI / social media

 

 

The latest member to the extended Aston Martin Racing powered family enjoyed similar success to more established teams and drivers this weekend as Ismaeel Ellahi secured a class win at the end of the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge Series visit to Canadian Tires Motorsport Park earlier today.

No stranger to either the series or in GT4 powered racing as a whole, this was both Ellahi’s and his supporting CSM Motorsport’s first racing exploits into the real world with their new AMR Vantage GT4- something that only arrived within their workshop the week before.

 

More akin to the Porsche chassis both within the States and Europe, this weekend’s two forty-five minute GSX classed races looked comfortable for all as Ellahi first took a P3 qualifying position for race one yesterday to secure a P3 in class result before some better for race two. For that, Ellahi converted his P3 starting position into his first AMR powered class win within the series which he and CSM will see out to years end.

 

A great start for all concerned.

Photo credits – social media

 

Good times finally came the way of the Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Racing powered team this weekend as their silver graded crew finally made it through to a podium finish early today to take an overall race win within the ADAC GT Masters Series.

Racing this time from the Nurburgring, the #39 AMR Vantage GT3 of Jamie Day and Baudoin Detout benefitted from this weekend’s adjustment in Balance of performance for the turbo charged Vantage to take full benefit of that fact within Sunday’s hour-long race although opportunities were lost within Saturday’s race.

 

With Detout qualifying the car tenth out of the sixteen strong grid for the hour-long race yesterday, the Luxembourger was penalised not only for his false starting position (for which he received a visit to the penalty lane) but also had the effects of that exaggerated with being spun out at turn one for only the second time around.

From that point, and despite the support of DTM racer Nicki Thiim being within the camp this weekend, there was no return for the AMR pairing throughout the hour -long race and they had to make do with another P12 finish.

 

Sunday was, however, a completely new day and Day literally made the most of his qualifying run by securing his first pole position within the series this year.

Also taking the start to race two of the weekend, Day managed to maintain his race lead throughout his half-hour stint before he eventually handed over to Detout with a gap to second place of no more than two seconds. This time, a faultless stint from Detout saw the #39 car running unchallenged at the head of the grid whilst those from second to fourth were left to squabble over the remaining podium places.

 

At the end, the #39 Comtoyou Racing AMR team took their best results of the ADAC GT Masters Series so far with a fine lights to flag race win – Aston Martin Racings first in the series since 2012!!

Photo credits – ADAC / Social media

 

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park proved itself to be another brutal racing affair for the three Aston Martin Racing powered entries with IMSA’s Michelin Pilot Challenge Series despite things beginning very well for some.

On Friday, the #26 Heart of Racing AMR Vantage GT4 of Hannah Greenemeir had snatched the crew and teams second consecutive pole position of the year after Hannah Grisham had done likewise Watkins Glen two weeks earlier.

 

However, unlike last time out, the domination of the blue #26 car only lasted until the fourth corner when an over ambitious lunge from a car behind spun the Aston Martin around leaving it mid corner and at the full mercy of the chasing GS and TCR classes. Luckily, the car was avoided by all and the crew where then helped by the calling of a quick Full Course Yellow because of this and another incident just a few corners on.

Within that secondary incident, the #66 Car Blanche AMR of Allen Patten found himself making inadvertent contact with another car – all of whom were avoiding the #26 car on track only to spin the championship leading McLaren around, but the #66 car managed to maintain its P5 position within the order.

 

Just twenty minutes further in, a significant incident involving both a GS and TCR car saw an immediate Safety Car being called as both the drivers and the circuit damage were being attended to. Eventually when the pitlane was opened, both the #66 and #14 Circle H Racing AMR’s pitted only for the #66 to get later pinged for speeding within the pit lane (getting a drive through penalty for their efforts) whilst the #14 would get later spun around at the final corner. That would see the car hobbled with a puncture which would later turn out to be serious suspension/steering issues that would force the Hampton/Thomas Merril driven car behind the wall and into retirement.

Despite their earlier issues on track, the Hannah’s had made progressive moves through the GS class order for Grisham to be running as high as eighth during the earlier parts of her stint, but an untimely black and orange flag for rearward parts of the car hanging off dropped them back down again. Like Watkins Glen, the ladies earlier pace in qualifying was rewarded with a lower placed finish at the end – this time way down in P15.

 

It was the #66 Car Blanche car of Patten and Trenton Estep who again came off the best out of the three AMR powered runners as despite their earlier contact and later pit lane violation, still came through to claim a P4 finish at the end to keep their championship hopes alive as the crew now find themselves in sixth with just four races to go.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

 

 

 

 

 

 

The FIA World Endurance Championship dream continues for the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 crew earlier today as they went from their P3 podium finish at Le Mans last time out to LMGT3 Pole Position at the end of todays class Hyperpole.

Racing this weekend in Brazil with the fourth round of the FIA WEC season and the six hours of Sao Paulo, saw Gray Newell first set up the teams assault within Hyperpole by finishing fourth during class Qualifying before team substitute driver Kobe Pauwel go for gold in the second session.

 

Today’s results in qualifying and Hyperpole across the LMGT3 and Hypercar classes saw the #27 AMR Vantage LMGT3 finish a surprising P15 in class and not make it through to Hyperpole wilts the teams two Hypercar entries rotated on the usual qualifying format.

 

This time it was the #007 car of Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell who progressed through to the second stage with their P10 result and will start tomorrows race from nineth on the grid whilst the #009 car of Alex Riberas and Marco Sorensen start P15 overall.

Photo credits – DPPI / Team / social media