The British based Blackthorn Aston Martin Racing team were also in action in Germany at the weekend as their events programme saw them compete in not just the Michelin Le Mans Cup Series at Silverstone but also at Hockenheim within the International GT Open Series.

Their presence was also the sole AMR Vantage GT3 at the circuit with the Polish based Good Speed Racing team electing not to attend this sixth round of the 2026 season.

 

Charles Bateman would again be joined by factory driver Jonny Adam behind the wheel of their #97 Aston Martin as they and the team looked to progress their Pro-Am class efforts in time for the final round of the season from Barcelona at the end of next month.

Racing again both a seventy-minute race on Saturday before a further sixty-minute race on Sunday, the #97 car was again part of a healthy twenty-seven car line up for the event at the former home of the German Grand Prix.

With Bateman having qualified their car P14 overall/P2 in class, he would take the opening stint to the first race under the then warm and dry track conditions as he held his class position up until the first Safety Car intervention at the fifty-three-minute mark after two cars had come together. From the restart, it was almost straight into the opening of the pit window from where Bateman would hand over to Adam from P13 overall.

 

By the end of the stops, the #97 had however dropped to seventh in class with a tough twenty-five-minute sprint still ahead of the Scot where a last lap lunge would eventually see them finishing just off the class podium in P14 overall/P4 in class.

For race two, it was Adams turn to qualify the car which he did P3 overall but pole position (naturally) within class ahead of this slightly shorter race but even before the cars reached the start line, the rain was already beginning to fall with all of the cars on slicks.

 

A first corner heavy side to side contact with another car didn’t help matters either as the #97 dropped to seventh overall just before the end of the opening lap only to spin at the final corner to end up twenty third overall. From that point, it was a slow relentless climb up the order with some easy places made up as multiple cars went off in the rain for some easy drive-by places. The pit window was bisected by an ongoing FCY which would eventually be extended to allow all to pit under the same track speed conditions.

Starting his stint from P13 overall/P5 in class, Bateman would have just fifteen minutes to complete but even that was shortened by another Safety Car intervention for a car hard off into the wall. That left just five more minutes to go but with a 50% wet and a 50% dry’ish track to deal with for the #97 car to eventually finish P12 overall /P5 in class.

The series now moves onto Monza at the end of the month.

Photo credits – Fotospeedy

 

 

 

 

 

The Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Racing powered team will have left Silverstone yesterday as equally as frustrated as they did the round before at Spa Francorchamps as yet another race within the European Le Mans Series saw them struggling for overall pace.

Having had to revise the three-driver line up for the third time in as many races with Frenchman Francois Heriau this time joining his countrymen Marius Fossard and Valentin Hasse-Clot within their #59 AMR Vantage LMGT3 for this penultimate round of the season.

 

The initial settling in period for their new driver looked promising within last Thursday’s private test where the #59 figured amongst the fastest in class over those two sessions before rebounding up, down and then up through their class again during the two Free Practice and bronze driver test sessions before then heading into Qualifying.

During that session, Heriau did eventually finish third fastest within class on track at least before he was (post session) adjudged to have impeded another car for which he received a three-position pace drop ahead of the start to Sunday’s four-hour race.

 

What had, however, gone unseen by us at the time was the change in BoP for their car in-between Spa and Silverstone which meant for a big reduction in both the car’s overall power and energy availability albeit touched with a slight reduction in its minimum base weight so with Silverstone always being a speed circuit – the loss of outright speed together with longevity on track would always come at a cost overall in performance.

Track action got off to its now usual chaotic self as the forty-five cars of the LMP2, LMP3 and LMGT3 classes jostled for position during those opening laps under what was still then a warm and drying track after some overnight rain left for some tricky conditions offline. During that time Heriau settled into a mid-class P7 racing position to end his first hour behind the wheel in a similar position.

 

As the race entered its second hour, the forecasted rain eventually arrived at the Northamptonshire circuit – gently at first and not necessarily presenting itself as too much of a problem before the rain slowly intensified over time with the ever-changing track condition lead to various issues on track with contact. The first major incident came at the ninety-minute mark when two LMGT3 cars tangled at the end of the International Straight that would bring out the Safety Car for the first time.

By the time the race got back to green some forty minutes later, it was definitely full wets all round as rooster tails became prevalent as the #59 car found itself unable to make headway in class as its bronze driver finished his minimum drive time.

 

Into the final ninety minutes and the #59 car did elevate itself up to as high as sixth in class with Fossard behind the wheel so there was still time on the race clock if only the car had the speed and control in the wet as further Full Course Yellows again interrupted the racing. Fossard would, however, become victim to the next such caution as he would spend an elongated visit to a gravel trap just prior to their final stop where he would eventually swap over to Hasse-Clot. However, the damage had already been done to the teams race as since lost a lap to its rivals in class and like their memories of Spa – once you lose the lead lap, there is nothing that you can do about it with the series not operating any wave arounds.

The #59 car would again finish the last of the LMGT3 runners, tenth in class but with championship hope already long gone that mattered not other than yet another dent to their already dented pride as the series moves onto Portimao in a months time.

 

 

Two back-to-back four-hour races of the NLS season saw three Aston Martin Racing powered crews take to the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit as the German endurance series ramps up until the end of its 2026 season.

The full season AMR protagonists from the Walkenhorst Motorsport and Prosport Racing team were again on hand as both entered their own Vantage GT3 that would both be running within the SP9 Pro-Am class for their respective trio of drivers. The Prosport Racing team would also be entering one of their remaining Vantage GT4 cars with a differing crew within each race.

 

The #35 Walkenhorst crew of Christian Krognes, Mateo Villagomez and Dennis Fetzer had already achieved podium success earlier in the season and were keen for some more whilst the father/son combination of Guido and Maxime Dumarey would in fact be joined by Adam Christodoulou, taking them out of the Am class and into the Pro-Am class.

The #175 Prosport AMR Vantage GT4 meanwhile would be running with both Robb Holland and Jacques Derenne on Saturday with Derenne and Jean-Luc Behets on Sunday.

There were again chaotic scenes within the ADAC GT4 Germany Series as they also visited the ultra-fast Sachsenring circuit for their penultimate round of the season with the #4 Cosy Racing by ESM again the sole Aston Martin Racing representative.

For drivers Jan Philipp Springobb and Philipp Gogollok, they were very much within championship contention as the pairing were now just two points behind the overall leaders thanks to their recent string of pole positions and podium finishes.

 

As usual, it was Springob who would qualify the car for race one and that he did for a second row start to these reduced race distances this time around as Sachsenring would see two fifty-minute races as opposed to the more tradition hour long races – mainly as a safety consideration thanks to the high tyre degradation characteristic of the modern track.

Starting under overcast skies but dry circuit, it didn’t take Springob too long to move forward up to second overall behind the #51 BMW as that pairing quickly pulled a gap to those arguing between themselves behind.

 

A spinning Porsche into the gravel suspended the pit window as some had pitted before the FCY came out for the car off track with the #4 car one of those forced to stay out until next time around when those could then pit for a nett gain on track.

After the pit window and when the race went back to green, the #4 car was under investigation for speeding under that FCY which saw them told to take a 50kph visit to the penalty box – an elongated and slower visit at the defined corner but Gogollok was still able to hang onto P2 after all.

 

Despite dropping back from the leading BMW, the second-place finish was still vital to their cause as the looked forward to race two on Sunday with the Aston Martin Racing powered crew now at the top of the table.

Race two, however, was first delayed on Sunday by necessary barrier repairs before ultimately being cancelled as the weather closed in and the circuit was awash in rain. With the final round of the season from /Hockenheim in a months’ time, we wait to find out what will be done about this missed race today.

Photo credits - ADAC

 

 

Nicki Thiim’s DTM championship aspiration stook a massive hit this weekend at he and his Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Racing powered team again struggled with luck and fortune (if anything else) to give the Dane that extra push he needed.

Racing this weekend at the Sachensring for the penultimate round of the season, the #007 car of Thiim and the sister #008 car of Nicolas Baert would again be amongst a grid of twenty other GT3 powered crews where Thiim needed a decent handful of points to take that championship cause through into the final round of the season.

 

The usually chaotic start to any modern DTM race saw at least one car spun off into the gravel whilst others had to pit early because of damage, but Thiim still had that wind within his sails as he pushed through the mid race pitstop window to challenge for as high a fifth overall. Door banging others around sweeping corners, the Dane was forced by Race Control to hand one place back to avoid any possible penalty before going onto finish sixth overall on track but later confirmed down in eighth overall after the chequered flag.

Baert would eventually finish P16 overall and his crew would again win the fastest pit stop crew for their efforts.

 

Race two on Sunday would unfortunately be a much shorter affair for both AMR Vantage GT3 powered drivers as Baert was not able to capitalise upon his best qualifying position to date in tenth as he found himself sandwiched between at least two other cars to come away with race ending damage whilst Thiim would last until about two thirds race distance when he and Giles Gounon’s Mercedes came togther.

 

These results now place Thiim fifty points behind the now leading Porsche team with just two races at Hockenheim in a months’ time. Still holding a mathematical chance from an overall available points perspective but reality is pointing another way!

Photo credits - DTM

 

 

Yesterday’s penultimate round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup Series from Silverstone certainly threw some metaphorical spanners within the works during that two-hour race that saw one Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered team potentially lose the class win whilst making for a very nervy final round of the championship as far as their title hopes go.

Friday saw two Free Practice and one bronze driver test ran within remarkably warm and dry track conditions (once the residual of Thursday’s overnight rain had burned away) leaving for some very pleasant conditions both on and off track for the combined LMP3 and GT3 grid entry of forty-four cars.

 

The #11 Code Racing Development entry had, however, seen a further driver crew change since the last round at Spa Francorchamps with Belgian racer Stephane Lemeret joining young Brit George King behind the wheel as he (King) continues his transition from small prototypes into the GT3 category.

The #91 Blackthorn AMR car of Claude Bovet and Tom Canning was also back and in one piece after their technical issues in Belgian alongside the then GT3 Championship leading #10 Racing Spirit of Leman car of Philipp Sager and Valentin Hasse-Clot. After a points blip in Belgium, with a decent points haul at Silverstone having the possibility of securing them the title one race early – other finishes dependent.

 

Going into Qualifying, pace had been good across the three Aston Martin’s so far but it would again be the #11 Code Racing Development AMR of Lemeret who would secure class pole position with the #91 Blackthorn car of Bovet an encouraging third but with Sager again struggling with the Silverstone layout in seventh.

With the Am drivers taking the start, the opening hour was at least warm and dry as (as usual) the dominant LMP3 based entry went about tripping over each other and restricting the early laps of racing with multiple yellow flag/Full Course Yellow incidents. Whilst Lemeret looked comfortable out front, Bovet was having an entertaining battle with those behind to maintain his third spot, but Sager’s race was already going badly as, having dropped to eighth on track – he got an early ten second time penalty at their stop for not following Race Control instructions at the start.

 

First half hour done and it was the first Safety Car period for both debris on track and for another LMP3 car stopped on track – something that negated Lemeret’s then 3.5 second lead in class. Once the race got going again, Sager was fortunate not to be collected by the LMP3 car that he had just pushed wide coming out of Becketts and onto the Hanger Straight next time around.

With a very restrictive ruleset on drivers minimum and maximum drive times, the natural slot for the compulsory stop was just before the hour where most (not all) had stopped for both new driver and (then) new slicks at the first availability. The #11 car held out for as long as they could before eventually pitting from P8 overall with King going out again on slicks. Then came the rain!!

 

At first at just around parts of the circuit before it became a deluge around all of it as those who had gone out again on slicks were forced to pit again for wets with the #11 car of King having an (unseen) off track experience to drop them down to fourth as a consequence. Ten minutes later – the rain was gone and the track was drying quickly again forcing most to return to pit lane for a third time for slicks again.

Pushing hard too quickly on those slicks saw another LMP3 go off into the gravel – something that elongated second Safety Car period leaving just a twenty-five-minute dash to the flag. For the #11 crew, their race winning hopes had been washed away in that rain as King could do no more than maintain their then P4 position to the end whilst Tom Canning was suffering similarly within his #91 Blackthorn car for a P7 finish in class.

 

For the #10 Racing Spirit of Leman drivers’ championship chasing crew – Silverstone became something of a nemesis for them again as they eventually finished two laps down in nineth. That saw their earlier points domination in class slashed to just five points going into that final round of the season from Portimao in a months’ time.

 

 

The IMSA visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend also brings along the supporting Michelin Pilot Challenge Series for what will also be their penultimate round to their season featuring another bumper forty-four car entry and another increase in Aston Martin Racing powered participation.

At a circuit well suited to modern GT4 race cars last time out, the inter AMR powered results left a little to be desired after one’s race was lost to crew and team indiscipline (resulting in repeated penalties, one was sidelined through technical difficulties and two more were involved in a ‘blue on blue’ incident that saw the victim spun around and the perpetrator penalised with a time penalty at the end of the race.

For what was looking to be another decent performance from at least the latter two entries sadly turned into nothing although the two debuting CSM Motorsport Aston Martin crews did at least finish at their first time of asking!

 

Now, all of those teams and crews are back for some more from the IMS as well as a seventh AMT Vantage GT4 from a team and crew not seen since the start of the season as Christine Sloss makes a return with her #10 car. Last time out she was supported by the Van der Steur team, but they have since been taken over by the YRB Racing Car Blanche team as she is now being listed under the RaceWife Racing banner (??) alongside co-driver Glenn McGee for their bronze cup entry.

 

The #4 Medusa Motorsport AMR team return despite their struggles on track but Athan Sterling’s name is again missing from the family run team after his concussion injury sustained at the Road America event. His place was taken at VIR by Jacob Loomis.

 

Championship wise, the AMR powered crews best hopes are with the #66 Car Blanche AMR entry of Trenton Estep and Allen Patten and the #26 Heart of Racing AMR entry of Hannah’s Grisham and Greenemeir as both crews rest in P8 and P9 respectively going into next weekend’s penultimate round. Whilst the remains sufficient points to close and surpass the existing points deficit, the chances of those above not scoring many points over the remaining two races are slim!

 

 

That leaves the #14 Circle H Racing AMR of David Hampton and Thomas Merrill, a crew who started the year well but since have been dogged by both indiscipline and incident and accident to massively fall away in the championship table and the two new for VIR onwards CSM Motorsport crews of both Morgan Burkhard and Gordon Scully in the #2 car and Ismaeel Ellahi and Ayrton Houk in the #3 car.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

 

 

After a GTD only event last time out about a month ago from the picturesque Virginia International Raceway, it’s all back to happy IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship families next weekend as the full suite of classes visits Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Round ten of another eleven round season, we have all seen just how these championship battles have been heating up upon track recently where both the GTD Pro and GTD class battles have remained spirited by competitive, the battles within the headlining GTP class has almost become personal to a point of almost being dangerous.

 

That was reflected upon track the last time all the classes raced at Road America but there were still traces of some of that overzealous driver going on within the GTD ranks last time out at VIR where the then GTD class leading #27 Heart of Racing was penalised for contact which dropped them down both the race order and within the championship standing itself. Hopefully, Race Control has now made its mark, and the race next weekend from IMS will remain competitive but thoroughly respectful.

Forty-four cars are being listed across GTP, LMP2, GTD Pro and the GTD classes with one Aston Martin/Aston Martin Racing powered crew being listed within each class other than the LMP2 class (obviously). The #23 Heart of Racing AM Valkyrie of both Roman de Angelis and Ross Gunn will be back after their very encouraging P5 finish at Road America at the start of August as well as the #68 Car Blanche entry within GTD Pro (for the remainder of the season) and the #27 HoRT car in GTD.

 

Valentin Hasse-Clot again pairs with fellow AMR factory driver Marco Sorensen as he did at VIR where the new combination finished fourth in class after their P5 start whilst the #27 is again being piloted by Eduardo Barrichello and Tom Gamble for this two hours forty-minute race on Sunday.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

 

 

The end of the European GT season is rapidly catching up and the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup is just another of the SRO ran series doing just that as they will be rocking up to the Dutch coastal circuit of Zandvoort next week ahead of the penultimate round.

A record forty-five GT3 based crews are scheduled to do battle within that round’s two one-hour races as class and overall Drivers and Team’s championship titles still lay mostly unclaimed although some would need a minor miracle on the part of others to detract those away from the present leaders.

 

Five Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered teams from both the Comtoyou Racing (X3 cars) and the Walkenhorst Motorsport team as they again do battle across the Pro, Silver and Bronze classes but even one of these crews who now stand P2 within the silvers class, would almost need to win every race left for them to stand a chance of listing that end of season prize.

Last time out at Magny-Cours at the beginning of August, there was plenty of hope for these AMR crews as two had claimed respective class pole positions only for those to produce lower placed results with P3 in class the best result secured by any Aston Martin crew over that weekend. Traditionally, Zandvoort doesn’t usually allow the Vantage GT3 to show off its true potential either.

 

This week’s provisional entry list sees no apparent changes to the driver roster of any AMR with both Nicki Thiim and Kobe Pauwels again competing within their #007 in their Pro class, with the #21 Comtoyou Racing entry of Arthur Dorison and Oliver Soderstrom, the #34 Walkenhorst entry of Jamie Day and Mateo Villagomez and the #35 Walkenhorst of Gaspard Simon and Maxime Robin all competing within silver. The #11 Comtoyou Racing entry of Felice Jelmini and Marcelo Tomasoni complete the AMR powered line up within the bronze class.

 

Track action begins next Thursday with private testing before Free Practice on Friday, individual qualifying and race one of Saturday before concluding their programme of events after lunch on Sunday.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

 

 

A four-hour double header around the Nurburgring Nordschleife is the beckoning call for well over one hundred multi-classed crews this weekend as the Nurburgring Langstrecken Serie ramps up the temperature towards the end of its 2026 season.

Rounds eight and nine of the season will witness one hundred and thirty-six crews take to the track on for Saturday’s four-hour race whilst a more modest in comparison one hundred and twenty- one cars and crews will do likewise for Sunday’s four-hour race.

 

Within that number we do welcome back the ‘mostly’ full season entries from both the Walkenhorst Motorsport and Prosport Racing Aston Martin Racing powered teams as well as an AMR Vantage GT4 powered crew for the first time in a while.

The #35 Walkenhorst SP9 Pro-Am entry of Christian Krognes, Mateo Villagomez and Dennis Fetzer are back together again looking to avenge their DNF last time out within the six-hour NLS 7 event after they had secured both overall pole position and a P3 finish in class at the round before that.

 

Within the #37 Prosport Racing AMR Vantage GT3 entry, it will again be the father and son pairing of Maxime and Guido Dumarey after they also struggled in NLS 7 but also secured a P3 finish within their SP9 Am class before that.

The only change to the norm this weekend is the inclusion of the #175 Prosport Racing AMR Vantage GT4 entry for the first time since the 24Hrs which will run a split crew across the weekend. For Saturday it will be both Robb Holland and Jacques Derenne whilst on Sunday it will be Derenne and Jean-Luc Behets – competing within the SP10 class on both dates.

Photo credits – Teams / Eric Metzner

Aside from the GT Open Series and the NLS Series racing in Germany this weekend, the DTM and ADAC GT4 Germany Series are also back in business this weekend as each compete at the Sachsenring for their respective penultimate round to their seasons.

The mainstay DTM Series will be running their seventh round of an eight-round season with two more races over the course of the weekend for what will be a twenty-two-car entry. Both the #007 and #008 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 entries for Nicki Thiim and Nicolas Baert respectively are again part of that entry as the Dane chases down that points deficit to now two drivers who now stand above him at the top of the table.

 

Going into this round, Thiim is twenty points behind Thomas Preining in second and just a further point behind Marco Engel who continues to lead the class after four single point finishes over the last four races have seen his once points advantage now overtaken after his podium (and race) winning streak was thwarted by catastrophic BoP penalties.

An early outscoring performance for Thiim at the 3.67km circuit in the east of the country will be a must if a last event battle for the overall title remains on the cards.

 

Joining them, will be the nineteen cars of the ADAC GT4 Germany Series with the #4 Cosy Racing by ESM Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 Evo also again within their midst as drivers Jan Philipp Springobb and Philipp Gogollok also chase down a (smaller) points deficit.

Presently sitting second within the overall driver’s championship table, the pairing have just six points to make up to the present leaders with also four races still to come this season making nothing has been won by anyone just yet.

 

Last time out at the Nurburgring a month ago, a dominating performance in both qualifying sessions saw their mainly black liveried car start from pole position on both occasions to then bring home a race win in race one and a P4 finish in race two.

For them, it’s very much “game on!”

Photo credits – Teams / ADAC

 

 

It’s another busy race weekend for Jonny Adam this weekend as he flies back from his latest, podium winning round of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Austin, Texas with the Heart of Racing team to continue out to Germany for the sixth round of the International GT Open Series.

Competing this time around at Hockenheim, Adam will this time be back within the Blackthorn Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered alongside his co-driver Charles Bateman around the Hockenheim circuit.

 

This time around, the #97 Blackthorn entry is the sole Aston Martin Racing representative as the #14 Good Speed Racing AMR appear to be giving this one a miss having completed within all the rounds up until now with varying degrees of success.

Success has also been intermittent for the #97 crew as Bateman has shared the #97 with three other drivers according to Adam’s or Henrique Chaves international commitments but that hasn’t left him out in being able to visit the class podium once or twice so far.

 

This weekend sees a seventy-minute race being ran on Saturday with a further sixty-minute race on Sunday – both with a mandatory pitstop and driver change window and with one driver qualifying the car per day.

Competing again within the Pro-Am class, Bateman presently sits second within his Drivers Championship just five points off the class lead with still five races to come over the final three races of the year (including this weekend’s).

Photo credits - Series