Time passing galleries - Part 4 V12 Vantage GT3 arrives
Friday, April 17, 2020
As published on this website back on 5th November 2011, Aston Martin Racing began testing their latest generation of race car utilising their new Vantage range of road car chassis, a car which would then go onto replace the ageing DBR9 and DBRS9 range of cars in what was to become GTE and GT3 rules.
AMR drivers Darren Turner and Jonny Adam were a couple of the first drivers to clock up some initial mileage within the converted GT2 car at Prodrive's proving ground before hitting the race tracks around the UK later over the winter of 2011/12.
Photo credit - AMR
Whilst ultimately not hitting the high numbers of production compared to other OEM machinery across its racing life within mainstream customer racing (with only forty five chassis numbers being created between 2012 and 2018), the AMR V12 Vantage GT3 went onto become the most successful AMR race car to date and an ultimate fan favourite.
Who had what and where you may find them today can be found within this chassis history post http://www.the-advantage.org/2018/12/pictorial-history-of-aston-martin.html or if not at https://www.facebook.com/Aston-Martin-V12-Vantage-GT3-Chassis-Number-Tracking-1723838931179807/
We first came across the new AMR GT3 car and its first customer team testing at Snetterton in early 2012 ahead of their next season within the British GT Championship for the Beechdean Motorsport team with drivers Andrew Howard and Jonny Adam and their car chassis number VANTAGEGT2-X3 (the GT2 to GT3 development car) having stepped up from their ageing DBRS9 from the season before.
The MD of Prodrive, John Gaw would also compete in the national championship that year with chassis VANTAGEGT3-001 and co-driver Phil Dryburgh at latter rounds of the season with their Cyber Racing prepared car. Both cars were again captured together by us at the final round of the Championship from Donington Park 2012.
The first race win for the new Vantage GT3 in British GT wasn't too far away for both Howard and Adam either!! Luckily the new car turned out much better than its original livery render!!
With race wins and podiums both in the UK and in Europe, the racing pedigree had already been set for the new customer teams who would sign up to the AMR marque in year two of the V12 GT3.
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