Aston Martin crews coming together for Bathurst 12Hr

Tuesday, January 14, 2020


With two Aston Martin Racing Partner teams entering two V8 Vantage GT3's apiece into the 2020 Bathurst 12Hr, today sees another drive line up confirmed leaving just one outstanding ahead of the event that starts at the end of the month.

Following on from their announcement late last year from Swiss based R-Motorsport running a top level all Pro line up in the #76 car, today sees the team announce another trio of drivers (also entered into the full Pro class) but this time made of a trio with mixed racing experience.


Long time team racer Marvin Kirchhofer this year joins up with the first new recruit signed by the team for their 2020 campaigns in Luca Ghiotto who will in turn be joined by GT3 debutant yet already a single seater and GT4 Champion Ollie Caldwell.

Italian racer Ghiotto has spent the majority of his racing career to date in single seaters with the last three seasons racing in the FIA F2 Championship. This season he has also raced with Ginetta LNT in the World Endurance Championship in their LMP1.

Caldwell meanwhile has been completing most of his racing calendar last year abroad in the Formula Regional European Championship, at the Macau Grand Prix in an FIA F3 car as well as the German ADAC F4 Series - all from which he earned himself as a top ten finalist in the 2019 Aston Martin Autosport Young Driver of the Year.

In 2018 he also secured the overall GT4 class win in the Gulf 12hr in a Mercedes with Ram Racing's Ian Loggie.

This will be Caldwell's first visit to the Mountain and his first GT3 race, similar to how it was with Matt Parry last year with the team when the (birthday boy today) raced in the teams #760 normally aspirated Vantage GT3 with the two team Principles for the first time. Parry also served as Caldwell's personal driver coach during his 2019 season.


This trio lines up alongside Jake Dennis, Scott Dixon and Rick Kelly who have already been confirmed by the team within their #76 car, a car that will this time run in a Castrol Oil livery. Despite the depth and quality of these names, this will also be the first time that multiple Indycar Champion Dixon has ever raced at the circuit whereas former V8 Supercar racer Kelly obviously has many times and with Dennis who was part of the trio that finished a very close second at last years event.


These two cars are of course joined by two from the Garage 59 stable with team co-owners Alex West and Chris Goodwin again partnering up with their resident Pro driver Come Ledogar in their #188 Pro-Am entry.

They will be joined by the as yet unconfirmed trio of Silver ranked drivers aboard their second car.


The 2020 12hrs of Bathurst also starts off the 2020 Intercontinental GT Challenge - a five race series which will also take most of these GT3 runners to Spa Francorchamps, Suzuka, Indianapolis before concluding again in Kyalami, South Africa.

Track action for the Bathurst 12Hr runners begins with the first Free Practice session on Friday 31t January.

Photo credits - IGTC / R-Motorsport / Garage 59


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