Nine Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4s line up at FFSA GT4 opener from Nogaro next weekend

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Just over a week since its sister SRO GT4 European Series announced its provisional 2023 entry list, today saw the French national FFSA GT4 Series confirm their actual entry list for its opening round of the season from Nogaro in just over a week’s time.

Like the GT4 European Series, this year’s FFSA GT4 Series sees another thirty-six cars confirmed for Nogaro’s opening double header with entries again spread across its available Silver, Am and Pro-Am classes with a mighty nine from various established Aston Martin Racing powered teams.

AGS Events Racing, Mirage Racing, GPA Racing and the Racing Spirit of Lemans teams all return to the series having competed within it last season with different drivers, but some have returned to carry on from where they left off whilst others step over or up to the series for the first time.

Nicolas Gomar’s AGS Events team sees himself this time partner team returnee, Hugo Bac aboard their #89 Pro-Am car with fellow Am class returnees Didier Dumaine and Christophe Carriere this time look towards the overall top step in class in their #98 car as something of a reduced entry format for the team this time around.

The Mirage Racing team up their FFSA package to three cars with Yves Lemaitre and Vincent Beltoise steps across the team garage from their Alpine of last season to the Aston this year with silver class pairing Louis Meric and Romain Carton pairing up in the #7 car this season. The team’s third car will be driven by Ruben Del Sarte and David Kullman, who steps up from single seaters in the silver class this time around in the #5 car.

The Racing Spirit of Lemans team brings another silver and AM class pairing in Mateo Villagomez and a returning Victor Weyrich aboard the #92 car as well as a returning Ronald Basso and new driver Clement Dub aboard the #73 Am car.

Finally, but certainly by no means least, sees the GPA Racing team again field two Aston Martins, one for their very successful Am pairing of Kevin Jimenez and Florent Grizaud as they embark upon a dual FFSA/GT4 European Series season adventure within their #72 car as well as a team swapping Tom Verdier. He swaps from the AGS Events Racing team to the #39 GPA Racing Pro-Am car to partner former motocross rider Baudouin Detout as he steps up to car racing for the first time.

Like all SRO GT4 Series, next weekend’s race weekend will comprise of Free Practice and Qualifying ahead of two, hour long pitstop punctuated races – both available live via the series social media channels. Many of the teams will already have tested at the circuit a couple of weeks ago at the series official Prologue test.

Photo credits – Teams / social media / FFSA

Labels: AGS Racing Events, Am, Aston Martin Racing, FFSA GT, GPA Racing, gt4 European, Mirage Racing, Nogaro, Pro-Am, Prologue, Racing Spirit of Leman, silver, Vantage GT4

Ohhh to have been in Adelaide last weekend!!

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Something that you sadly do not see much of, yet alone hear these days is a V12 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3. Something that you see even less of is a said V12 Vantage GT3 thundering along a well-attended public street at an unabated speed.

For those lucky enough to be at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival last weekend, that is precisely what they got as Mike Bailey’s KMB Motorsport team (and others) took one of their Aston Martin GT3’s for a weekend ‘jaunt’ down the city’s High Street as part of that Australian spectacle.

The rest of us can only dream but thanks for sharing the photos at least!!

Driving it like he's stolen it too!!!

Labels: Adelaide Motorsport Festival, Aston Martin Racing, Bailey, kmb Motorsport, Vantage GT3

Another quartet of Aston Martins take on the Green Hell this weekend in NLS2 (UPDATED)

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

After a rather successful opening round to the season two weeks ago sees another four Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 and GT4 platforms take to the infamous Nurburgring Nordschleife this weekend for the second round of the NLS Series.

With this week also seeing some test days take place for wannabe entries into this year’s Nurburgring 24, this weekend’s entry sees the same number of cars but not necessarily in the same order and format as last time.

The big news today was of course the announcement that the Dorr Motorsport team (of ADAC GT4 Germany fame) who will this year be stepping up to the AMR Vantage GT3 platform (for the second time in recent years ) to compete at this year’s 24 with brothers Ben and Phil Dorr sharing their new GT3 with none other than Le Mans 24 and N24 Class winner Darren Turner.

That relationship starts in earnest this weekend as Phil Dorr partners Turner for the first time in the team’s #24 SP9 Pro entry whilst Ben Dorr again competes within one of the team’s SP8T (enhanced GT4) entries alongside his new ADAC GT4 Germany partner Theo Nouet within the #150 car.

They join the now regular NLS entry from the locally based Prosport Racing team as they again field the SP9 Am Class winning duo of Maxime Dumarey and Christoph Breuer within their #17 Vantage GT3 and Guido and Guillaume Dumarey again share the #176 SP10 (GT4) car with Ukrainian Yevgen Sokolovskiy after that car also had a run out two weeks ago albeit with a differing line up.

We don’t this time see the team’s #37 SP9 Pro car that Mike David Ortmann and Nico Verdonck raced to P14 overall last time, but that car was out this week in the hands of Alex Brundle and co as they also readied themselves for the N24 entry.

Saturday’s race will follow the usual format of early morning Qualifying ahead of a midday start for this four-hour affair around the Green Hell.

UPDATE

PROsport Racing now list some slight changes with their GT4 driver line ups with Guido Dumarey now pairing with Yevgen Sokolovskiy aboard the #176 car and with Mike David Ortmann now joining Guillaume Dumarey and Jorge Viebahn aboard the #175 car.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

Labels: Aston Martin Racing, breuer, Brundle, Dorr, Dorr Motorsport, Dumarey, N24, NLS, Nouet, Prosport Racing, sokolovskiy, Testing, Turner, Vantage GT3, Vantage GT4, VLN

Feathers fly the AMR flag at GT Cup opener this weekend

Monday, March 27, 2023

As expected, it is just the sole Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 entry from the Feathers Motorsport team that help to make up the twenty-nine car, multi-class entry ahead of this weekend’s opening round of the GT Cup Championship from Donington Park.

Having taken something of a sabbatical from actual racing events last season sees the 2022 GTH Class gentleman driver of James Guess return with his red, white and blue Aston Martin with former AMR Drivers Academy Champion Tom Canning beside him within their #82 full season entry.

Again competing within the GTH Class, the #82 squad will be up against eight other entries within that class, principally within either McLaren or Mercedes AMG GT4 machinery.

Saturday morning will feature early Free Practice sessions before quickly moving into Qualifying ahead of the weekend’s opening twenty-five-minute Sprint race at 14:40hrs and then the longer pit stop (driver change) punctuated race later at 17:55hrs. The weekend’s events will then be wrapped up on Sunday with a second Sprint race and endurance race to conclude the four-race opening race card of the season.

Photo credits – Team / social media

Labels: Aston Martin Racing, canning, donington, Feathers Motorsport, gt cup, GTH, Guess, Vantage GT4

Success for both Aston Martin runners at BEC opener at Silverstone yesterday

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Saturday turned out to be a good day for the two Aston Martin’s that competed in the opening round of the 2023 British Endurance Championship from Silverstone.

Making use of a private testing day around the Northamptonshire circuit, the #6 Venture Innovations Aston Martin Vulcan of Gleb Stepanov and Stephen Tomkins and the #50 MKH Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 of Peter Montague and Stuart Hall both came of the blocks quickly over the course of Saturday’s quick fire Free Practice, Qualifying and then three-hour race.

Despite its speed, the #6 car strangely qualifying down in P13 overall (P3 in its allotted A Class) thanks to the circuit being between slicks and wets whilst last year’s D Class champions weren’t too far behind in P18 (P4 in class) by the end of the morning Free Practice and straight into Qualifying sessions.

Starting under warm for the end of March but importantly dry conditions, Stepanov quickly fell back behind the Mercedes and Audi GT3 specification cars ahead as Montague also looked to make up places in class.

As the race progressed, three of the twenty starters were lost to technical issues but what also became apparent were the deteriorating weather condition towards the Stowe end of the circuit but towards the end of the race, it would be both technical and track limits that would threaten the success of the two Astons.

Having just made their final stop, the #6 Vulcan was soon back in pit lane with oil pressure issues where the delay would threaten their overall and class podium position whereas the #50 MKH Racing Vantage GT4 would get pinged for exceeding track limits and therefore earning themselves a drive through penalty.

Fortunately for all, the rains never materialised and delays served in pit lane were not enough for the #6 Vulcan to claim their overall and class third place whilst the #50 MKH crew were to come home sixth overall and at the top of the D Class podium.

The next round of the Championship will be around the Indy loop of the Brands Hatch circuit in just over three weeks time.

Photo credits – Teams / Jacob Ebrey / Stephen Jackman

Labels: Aston Martin, Aston Martin Racing, brands hatch, Hall, MKH Racing, montague, stepanov, Tomkins, Vantage GT4, Venture, Vulcan AMR Pro

More packed grids as the GT World Challenge and GT4 America kick off in Sonoma with the GT America Series too

Saturday, March 25, 2023

The two remaining SRO America series kick off their 2023 season next weekend from the Sonoma Raceway for what will undoubtedly be another season of highly competitive GT3, GT4 and mixed class racing.

Whilst the GT America Series for single, bronze ranked drivers started their own season around the street/airfield circuit of St Petersburg in Florida at the start of the month, next weekend sees the remaining GT World Challenge America and GT4 America Series kick off their season action as the trilogy of series reconvene in California.

For the GT World Challenge America Series for the solely GT3 runners, 2023 sees the rekindling of the relationship between The Racers Group (TRG) team and the Aston Martin Racing organisation as Kevin Buckler’s team get their hands upon a newer turbo charged generation of AMR Vantage GT3 for the first time since those heady V12 GTD days in IMSA a few years ago.

This time around it will be their longstanding driver/driver coach Derek DeBoer who is the lucky one as he will race alongside the former IMSA Heart of Racing AMR Vantage GTD Sprint Cup Champion Ross Gunn in the #007 car for the first-time next weekend.

This car replaces the former Ian Lacey entered AMR Vantage GT3 of Drew Staveley and Frank Gannett who championed the brand with this series for the previous two years without not much success. Indeed, the tight connection between the two AMR customer teams continue as we believe the #007 is the former Lacey prepared car.

Moving into the second round of the GT America Series sees six Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s compete this time over the five that entered the first round at St Petersburg, but then many of those six are from different squads as well.

Race winner last time out Jason Bell returns with his #2 Flying Lizard prepared car alongside new (for him) teammate Elias Sabo in his #8 Flying Lizard car who races his first 2023 GT America event as well as the return of Gray Newell, Ross Chouest and Todd Coleman in their #25 Heart of Racing, #50 Chouest Povoledo and #69 Archangel Aston Martins respectively.

The #77 TR3 AMR of Paul Kiebler is another new listing this season after he has elected to race a mixture of both IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and GT America/GT4 America events this year. The #55 Accelerating Performance AMR of Moisey Uretsky is not listed this time around.

Finally, we have the opening round of the dual driver, multi-classed GT4 America Series again kick off its 2023 season at Sonoma as seven Aston Martin powered teams return and/or debut within this hour long – pit stop punctuated series.

Returnees for 2023 sees the #8 Flying Lizard car of Sabo and Andy Lee, Ross Chouest and Aaron Povoledo in their #50 car of the same team and the #24 Heart of Racing AMR of Gray Newell and Ian James mix it up amongst the new for 2023 names within a second Heart of Racing car and new entries from the Archangel, TR3 and the Van Der Steur teams.

The #26 Heart car is something special as the team give two young ladies (Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt) the opportunity to perform on a larger stage for the first time after the America and New Zealander beat off similarly abled ladies in a head-to-head test weekend to win this fully supported prize of a GT4 America full season entry.

The #69 Archangel car of Todd Coleman gets another co-driver for this series in Billy Johnson whilst the #428 Van Der Steur team enters Brady Behrman and Coby Shield as they step up from the International GT Series. The #77 TR3 of Paul Kiebler has yet to confirm a second driver but we do suspect that it will be Jon Branam again.

All series will feature two races apiece over the Saturday/Sunday weekend.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

Labels: Archangel, chouest Povoledo racing, CSJ Motorsport, Flying Lizards, gt American, GT world challenge America, GT4 America, Heart of Racing, Sonoma, tr3, TRG, van der steur, Vantage GT3, Vantage GT4

British Endurance Championship kicks off at Silverstone tomorrow with some familiar faces

Friday, March 24, 2023

Here we were looking forward to a final weekend devoid of Aston Martin Racing powered team participation this weekend before things really kick off again next – and then we see that the British Endurance Championship start their 2023 endeavours tomorrow.

Opening their account around the full Grand Prix circuit of Silverstone sees twenty-three multi-class cars scheduled to compete in tomorrow’s three-hour opener.

With many of those testing at the circuit today, tomorrows entry sees the return of both the #6 Venture Innovations Aston Martin Vulcan of Gleb Stepanov and Stephen Tompkins and the #50 MKH Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 of Peter Montague and Stuart Hill.

Both cars ran in the Championship last season – the Vulcan at pre-selected rounds where the cars power characteristics could be used more effectively and without undue risk to the car but more successfully for the #50 Class D car of Montague/Hill and sometimes Dan Brown which came third overall and first in class for their efforts.

Again running a single day programme for the Endurance rounds, tomorrow will be made up of an early forty-minute Free Practice session before launching straight into Qualifying before the green flag to their season opener at 13:40hrs local.

Photo credits – Team / social media / Stephen Jackman (Eat my Pixels)

Labels: Aston Martin, Aston Martin Racing, British Endurance Championship, Hall, MKH Racing, montague, Silverstone, stepanov, Testing, Tomkins, vantage gt4, Venture, Vulcan

AMR Vantage GTE team news ahead of ELMS opener

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE teams grabbed the headlines yesterday with a public reveal for one and a double driver change in their European Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans for the other.

Firstly, we had the Danish based GMB Motorsport team hit the news as they adjusted their originally determined and announced driver line ups to each include one half of the 2019/20 World Endurance Championship GTE Pro Drivers Championship winning “Dane Train” into that equation.

Now joining their remaining crew of Jens Reno Moller and Gustav Birch within the ELMS season this year will be non-other than Nikki Thiim whilst his co-Championship winning teammate of Marco Sorenson joins both Moller and Birch at this years centenary event of the 24 Hours of Le Mans thanks to the team win of the GT3 Class in last season Le Mans Cup Series.

Now featuring another full “Dane Train’ within these two headline ACO events will surely be another crowd favourite in the making!

Then in Le Mans last night, we had the Project 24 team officially launch their own ELMS and Le Mans AMR Vantage GTE entry for brothers Max and Arnold Robin and their ‘resident’ professional driver in Valentin Hasse-Clot.

With the help of the official LM24 compare Bruno Vanderstick to whip up the attending sponsors, partners, friends and family into something of a frenzy last night, the real business starts in just under a month’s time as the ELMS teams kick off their 2023 season in Barcelona with the Official Prologue Test just a couple of days ahead of the opening four-hour round at the circuit.

The #44 GMB Motorsport and the #72 Project24 TF Sport prepared cars will be joined by the #95 TF Sport AMR Vantage GTE entry of John Hartshorne, Jonny Adam and Ben Tuck.

Photo Credits – Teams / social media

Labels: Adam, Aston Martin Racing, Birch, Catalunya, ELMS, GMB Motorsport, Hartshorne, Hasse-Clot, Le Mans, Moller, Prologue, robin, Sorenson, Testing, TF Sport, Thiim, Tuck, Vantage GTE, wec gte pro

Newbridge AMR enter the GT4 European Series in 2023

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Having successfully defended their British GT GT4 Pro-Am Drivers Championship titles with Matt Topham and Darren Turner last season, the Newbridge AMR Team take a different tack to 2023 - not with an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 as expected but across the channel and into another highly competitive, multi-class GT4 series.

Today's announcement went by the way of ................

"The wait is over...

Newbridge Motorsport will be contesting the European GT4 Series in 2023!

Two time British GT Pro-AM Champion Matt Topham and 2022 Young Irish Driver of the Year Alex Denning will focus on a full season campaign in the Newbridge Motorsport Aston Martin GT4

New bridge Motorsports experience in delivering both race and championship success, positions our drivers with the competitive advantage to deliver positive European GT4 Championship results in 2023.

Lets Go!"

Source material - Newbridge

Labels: Aston Martin Racing, British GT, Denning, gt4 European, Newbridge Motorsport, topham, Turner, Vantage GT4

Sorenson to join GMB Motorsport AMR team at Le Mans and Thiim for the ELMS

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

The three-time defending FIA World Endurance GT Champion and Aston Martin Racing works driver Marco Sørensen, who won Le Mans for the first time last year, will be joining GMB Motorsport in the pursuit of ultimate success in this summer’s edition of the legendary 24 hour race.

GMB Motorsport has secured a massive enforcement ahead of this summer’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the team will be participating for the very first time. The winner from last year’s GTE Am class, Danish Marco Sørensen, will be defending his victory wearing a GMB driving suit. The three-times World Champion and Aston Martin Racing Factory Driver will be sharing the seat of our brand-new Aston Martin Vantage GTE with Gustav Birch and Jens Reno Møller, when this year’s 24H Le Mans commences.

This of course creates a lot of excitement for the head of sporting at GMB Motorsport, Henrik Lundgaard. Henrik is looking forward to a successful collaboration between GMB and the driver from Aston Martin Racing:

– Marco is one the fastest Aston Martin drivers and has shown his class in endurance racing for years through victories in some of the grandest 24-hour races and of course three world titles. When the possibility of a collaboration arose, we did not hesitate for a second. It’s not every day you get the opportunity to make an agreement with a defending Le Mans-champion. We are looking forward to seeing,what this alliance can amount to at the race this summer. We are very excited.

The agreement with Aston Martin Racing and Marco Sørensen only covers this one race, which means it will be a while before you see Marco in a red GMB-race car. The 2023 version of Le Mans will be raced between the 10th and the 11th of June.

Having already helped the team set up their new car, todays news also sees Nikki Thiim joining the team for their European Le Mans Series adventures alongside both Birch and Moller.

Source material / Photo credits - GMB Motorsport

Labels: Aston Martin Racing, Birch, ELMS, GMB Motorsport, Le Mans, Moller, Sorenson, Thiim, Vantage GTE

Feathers Motorsport returns for full season of GT Cup action

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

The GT Cup class-winning race team Feathers Motorsport (FMS) will return to the British GT Cup for a full assault on the overall and GTH Class titles in 2023. The Northamptonshire-based organisation, which runs an Inspire Engineering-prepared version of the ultra-successful Aston Martin Vantage GT4, confirmed its return during the season launch ot Donington Park on Thursday.

FMS, which earned four victories and five further podiums in 2021, also features a refreshed driver line-up as 2019 Aston Martin Racing Academy winner Tom Canning joins FMS’s regular driver James Guess on a fulltime basis.

The 21-year-old, from Somerset, is no stranger to the team, having stood in for Darren Turner on a couple of occasions in 2021. Canning was also the first driver to clinch a championship in the multiple title-winning Vantage GT4 in 2019, and is vastly experienced with a car that he has raced extensively in the SRO GT4 European Series.

For Guess, FMS’s latest GT Cup campaign represents a wonderful opportunity to finally clinch the GT Cup title he’s coveted for some time, having finished runner-up in 2020 and then shone in the team’s first season with the Vantage.

Canning said: “I’ve really enjoyed racing for FMS in the past, and because of the way team is set-up, with its small friendly feel, I feel very much part of the project. All the elements are in place for us to have a strong season. James is fast team-mate, we know the Vantage can win, and Feathers, supported by Inspire Engineering, provide excellent cars to race with. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Guess, added: “We proved we can win with the Aston Martin on many occasions in 2021. It’s super exciting to be getting back behind the wheel for the first time in too long. The focus now is to make the most of this opportunity, which I’m grateful to Feathers Motorsport for providing, and I hope to be able to pay them back with championship success in 2023.”

Team Manager Simon Rose, said: “We’ve spent time carefully and deliberately planning our racing return and during that period we looked at various different arenas in which to compete – but in the end we chose to come back to the GT Cup. Not only is it a series we know and love, it’s also one that represents unfinished for Feathers Motorsport.

With the support we receive from Inspire Engineering, and the Aston Martin Vantage they will prepare as well as invaluable service from Aston Martin Racing, and two fine drivers, we have all the elements we need to put together an excellent campaign. That’s certainly the target!”

Source material - Feathers Motorsport

Labels: Aston Martin Racing, canning, Feathers Motorsport, gt cup, Guess, Turner, Vantage GT4

Tough luck for the Heart of Racing team at Sebring

Sunday, March 19, 2023

The Heart of Racing (HOR) was back in IMSA WeatherTech action this weekend, returning to another legendary circuit to take on the Sebring 12 Hour with the two-car squad looking to build on its strong start to the 2023 season.

HOR drivers Roman De Angelis, Marco Sorensen, and Ian James teamed in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GTD, while the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin GTD PRO machine once again had Alex Riberas, Ross Gunn, and David Pittard sharing the driving duties.

Starting from the seventh row, James powered through the opening three hours of the race and moved forward as the track temperatures rose in the warm Florida conditions. Racing forward and into podium contention within the first hour, James then turned the car over to Sorensen. De Angelis was next up in the car, driving it up to third before turning the Aston Martin back to Sorensen, who drove the car into the lead on lap 185.

After a driver change under a caution, De Angelis was hit from behind on the restart, forcing him back to thirteenth. Over the course of 24 laps and two caution periods, De Angelis made his way back to sit second in GTD competition with three and half hours remaining. Sorensen took the Aston Martin to the lead on lap 284 before a caution returned just three laps later.

Unfortunately, the promising run to a Sebring podium ended when Sorenson was forced off track as he raced through traffic late in the race. The World Champion was able to get the car off to a safe location, but the race was run for the team.

The GTD Pro effort saw Riberas place the Aston Martin Vantage third on the starting grid. A pair of procedural penalties slowed the effort briefly before Gunn took over the controls in seventh. But the bad luck didn’t stop there, as three and half hours into the race Gunn encountered an electrical issue exiting turn seven forcing the car to the paddock. The HOR team was able to diagnose and fix this issue in just 18 minutes and get the Aston Martin back on track. Restarting 10 laps down, the No. 23 team continued to push forward as the team continued to deliver quick pit stops and well-executed strategy to take an eighth place finish.

The Heart of Racing’s next IMSA WeatherTech event will be the Grand Prix of Long Beach April 14th and 15th.

Source material - HoRT

Labels: Aston Martin Racing, CSJ Motorsport, De Angelis, Gunn, Heart of Racing, imsa, James, pittard, Riberas, Sebring, Sorenson, Vantage GT3

Nine Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4s line up at FFSA GT4 opener from Nogaro next weekend

Ohhh to have been in Adelaide last weekend!!

Another quartet of Aston Martins take on the Green Hell this weekend in NLS2 (UPDATED)

Feathers fly the AMR flag at GT Cup opener this weekend

Success for both Aston Martin runners at BEC opener at Silverstone yesterday

More packed grids as the GT World Challenge and GT4 America kick off in Sonoma with the GT America Series too

British Endurance Championship kicks off at Silverstone tomorrow with some familiar faces

AMR Vantage GTE team news ahead of ELMS opener

Newbridge AMR enter the GT4 European Series in 2023

Sorenson to join GMB Motorsport AMR team at Le Mans and Thiim for the ELMS

Feathers Motorsport returns for full season of GT Cup action

Tough luck for the Heart of Racing team at Sebring

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