It was a frustrating trip to the Dutch circuit of Zandvoort for the Belgian based Comtoyou Racing after they arrived earlier this week for the second rounds of both the DTM Series and the ADAC GT Masters Series.

Having already had a busy couple of days at Spa Francorchamps with their Prologue testing duties ahead of the Spa 24, it was double driving duties for all but one of their drivers and a triple stint for one of those.

 

Having raced already at the faster and wider Red Bull Ring in the opening rounds of both series, the tight and twisty coastal circuit of Zandvoort was always going to be a tall ask for their three Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered runners with their available BoP never going to see their cars of either series.

Race one in DTM was uneventful for the #007 of Nicki Thiim and the #008 of Nicolas Baert as Thiim qualified and finished ninth overall whilst Baert improved from his P19 start to finish P17 within the twenty-one starters.

 

Race two also didn’t go their way after Baert suffered from another tyre failure whilst Thiim was given penalty for earlier contact which resulted in both Aston’s finishing at the rear of the pack.

Within the ADAC GT Masters Series, it was still a learning curve for Baudouin Detout as he prepared to compete in only his second competitive GT3 powered race weekend under the watchful eye of Jamie Day aboard their #39 Aston Martin.

 

Starting the weekend in sixth after Day’s earlier qualifying run, Detout would start the car before handing over the Englishman to end the busy day of Saturday P11 out of the entry of fifteen cars. Race two on Sunday would start the other way around in driver rotation with Day being able to elevate their car from its P15 starting position before handing over to Detout to eventually finish P8 overall.

The next round for both series will be from the Lausitzring in mid-June.

Photo credits – Team / Series

 

 

 

 

The second rounds of the German based DTM and ADAC GT Masters Series take place this weekend from the Dutch coastal circuit of Zandvoort with the Belgian based Comtoyou Racing team back in action within each series.

For the programme heading DTM Series, the team will be back with their two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 Evo’s as Nicki Thiim carries on his incredibly busy week that started over a week ago in fact during the earlier Qualification stages of the ADAC Ravenol N24, through the twenty-four-hour race itself before moving onto Spa Francorchamps earlier this week for some Crowdstrike Spa 24 testing.

 

Whilst the Dane drives his #007 car, the sister #008 car will again be driven by Nicolas Baert having also attended Spa for the two-day Prologue test with the team.

First time out this season in the series was at the Red Bull Ring, Austria back in late April where a difficult opening qualifying session and later Race 1 was improved upon on the second day where Thiim finished P5 overall and Baert P17.

 

This weekend will see another difficult weekend for the AMR Vantage platform in terms of power characteristics around the tight and twisty circuit where the teams only data from last season saw both cars finish at the tail of the pack. This weekend’s entry list also shows another nineteen strong entry (21 cars in total) for the two one-hour races.

Joining them at the circuits will be the fifteen-car entry of the ADAC GT Masters Series with the Comtoyou Racing team also fielding another AMR Vantage GT3 Evo powered crew within that series.

 

Their #39 entry of Jamie Day and Baudouin Detout will take on only their second race together in their silver class.

Last time out for these guys in Austria saw Day secure a front row start for race 1 for them to finish eighth before dropping down to P10 in race two for what was still Detout’s first competitive GT3 racing weekend.

 

This weekend will be fast and furious for sure!

Photo credits – Teams / Series

 

 

 

 

 

 

It sadly wasn’t to be that fairytale ending to Nicki Thiim’s first Aston Martin Racing powered adventure within the DTM Series opening race weekend in Austria but the writing already upon the wall as to where his intent lies.

Racing his #007 Comtoyou Racing AMR Vantage GT3 alongside that of the #008 Comtoyou Racing entry for Nicolas Baert, the two Astons formed part of the twenty-one-car entry for this weekend’s opening round from the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

 

Racing their two one-hour pitstop punctuated races as solo drivers, Saturday’s Qualifying and race one certainly didn’t go in the favour of either AMR racer as Thiim would start from P12 whilst Baert would start P18.

With neither driver inexperienced within this series, it was a case of building upon what you had available to you as Thiim would rally before finishing P10 at the end whilst Baert would continue to experience significant issues within his car before he was ultimately forced to retire with suspension failure.

 

Race two on Sunday was better for both drivers (thanks to an overnight reduction in their cars Balance of Performance minimum weight) after their respective P7 and P17 qualifying positions saw the Dane come home P5 overall, just nine seconds off the race winning time but having grabbed the accolade of the fastest lap in the process. Baert would also have better fortune this time securing his first finish to the season in P17.

The next round will be from Zandvoort at the end of May

Photo credits – Team / ADAC

 

 

 

 

 

It will be a very busy race card at the Red Bell Ring this weekend as three German based GT series kick off their 2026 season just over the border in Austria.

The headline series will again be the DTM Series but supporting them this weekend will be both the ADAC GT Masters Series and well as the ADAC GT4 Germany Series with an interesting line up of Aston Martin Racing powered crews between them.

 

The Belgian based Comtoyou Racing team have come back for a second season within the DTM, having dipped that metaphorical toe into the series last year with two ‘junior’ drivers but this year they will have a real race winning contender within their midst as Nicki Thiim is finally released amongst the expected twenty one car full season entry with one of their AMR Vantage GT3 Evo’s.

Supporting him will be Nicolas Baert who returns to the series within his #008 car to prove just what he has learnt from his last season efforts as a solo driver within this weekend’s two one-hour races.

 

In the ADAC GT Masters Series, the Belgian team also has another of their AMR Vantage GT3 Evo cars within their expected fifteen strong GT3 based grid as Luxembourger Baudouin Detout steps up to the GT3 class for his first full competitive season with that platform alongside the Dubai domiciled young Brit, Jamie Day.

They too will compete in two 0ne-hour races over the weekend.

 

Rounding off the Red Bull Ring race card as far as we are concerned will be the return of the Cosy Racing by ESM and their lone Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 that they raced so well last season despite arriving late to the party.

Jan Philipp Springob returns to the team after something of a success debut season with the Eastside Motorsport team last season and he will be joined by another returnee to the team in Philipp Gogollok after he was one half to the teams endeavours within this series with there then brand-new Vantage GT4.

They too will compete in two one-hour races after all three series recently enjoyed an official test day at the circuit earlier this month.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

 

 

 

 

There is obviously some serious method in their madness from the Belgian based Comtoyou Racing team as they today confirm a fourth car in this year’s Spa 24.

Already fielding three such Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3’s into the Blue Riband event of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Series, the team has today reported on a driver line up that raced one of their cars at last weekend’s visit from the Creventic 24H Series at the circuit plus one more extra-ordinary signing.

 

Their new #700 entry will again be the trio of drivers that ran so well within last weekend’s first half of the Spa 12Hr in Nicolas Baert, Xavier Knauf and Gregory Servais but they will also now be joined by Sarah Bovy in her first AMR powered race since the fall of the Iron Dames team at the end of last season.

Reporting this news upon social media earlier today, the team also confirmed a patriotic livery for the car in lieu of the more standardised green with yellow stripe that we have been accustomed to.

The 2026 Spa 24 will run over the 27-28th June.

Photo credits – Team / 24h Series

 

 

 

The trio of Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3’s which will be competing within this weekend’s second round of the 24H Series visit to Spa Francorchamps have now been confirmed.

Naturally, we will be seeing the #90 full season entry from the Spanish based E2P Racing team with their trio of drivers in Pablo Burguera, Oliver Campos and Antonio Sainero.

 

We have already seen that the Belgian based Comtoyou Racing team will be expanding their early 2026 racing endeavours with two additional AMR Vantage GT3’s with their DTM racer Nicolas Baert joining forces with his countrymen Gregory Servais and Xavier Knauf within their #41 entry.

They will now be joined by the returning Tom Coronel and Jan Jaap Van Roon within their #40 car for a second attempt at a GT3 race meeting after their somewhat disastrous debut within the GT Winter Series this year that saw them fail to make either race following an accident during Qualifying for Jaap Van Roon at a rain soaked Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona in mid-March.

 

Whilst this will be just a toe in the water for both Comtoyou Racing entries, it will be serious business again for the E2P Racing crew after they secured a P6 finish in class after the opening 6 plus 6-hour races from Mugello a month ago.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / GT Winter Series

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Belgian based Comtoyou Racing team are certainly putting an early stamp onto their 2026 racing commitments as they today confirm a two car Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered entry into the German DTM Series.

Having earlier announced an expanded Vantage GT3 entry into both the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance and Sprint Cup Series, today’s new sees their DTM 2026 ambitions take a massive step forward as their driver line up now includes factory driver Nicki Thiim within their midst.

 

 

Taking tentative debut steps within the series last season with their young drivers Nicolas Baert and Gilles Magnus, today’s news also confirms that the son of the team owner (Baert) will also be returning to the series where he acknowledges that “We made huge progress in 2025,” said the 24-year-old. “DTM is a tough arena to race in, but this year we go in with the advantage of knowing the car, the circuits, the tyres and the championship. This combined with Nicki's experience, which I'm sure I can learn from, gives us all the elements to make big steps forward in 2026.”

For the Dane, he lists this as something of a dream come true, “It's no secret that I have wanted to race in DTM all my life, because when I was a kid, it was the centre of my universe when my father raced in it,” said Thiim, who already has a DTM victory to his name, at the Norisring in 2024. “I've already achieved that ambition, but when the DTM moved to an-all GT3 platform, I've wanted to represent Aston Martin in the series. So, this is another dream come true for me.

 

 

This season will be another eight event – two races per event format for the solo driven cars with the season starting at the Red Bull Ring in Austria towards the end of April.

Photo credits – AMR / social media

 

Five now familiar Aston Martin Racing powered cars and crews will again take to the race track this weekend as both the DTM and ADAC GT4 Germany Series conclude their final races of their 2025 season around the Hockenheimring circuit in Germany.

Whilst it has been an eight-round double header undertaking for the mostly twenty-four strong GT3 powered grid of the DTM Series, the numbers of participants within the supporting GT4 Germany Series has fluctuated a bit over their five previous rounds but this final weekend will again see both Comtoyou Racing AMR Vantage GT3’s within DTM and the Eastside Motorsport and pair of Prosport Racing Vantage GT4’s with the ADAC series.

 

The DTM Series also moves onto the Sachsenring this weekend for its sixth round to their season having also raced at the Nurburgring two weeks ago.

At the event, the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3’s from the Belgian based Comtoyou Racing team received an overnight Balance of Performance improvement in-between races that did take one of their cars up from the lower end of twenty-two strong grid up to P3 in qualifying before Gilles Magnus eventually finished in P7 for their best overall finish in the series to date.

 

The fifth round of the German DTM Series was equally as chaotic as its ADAC GT4 Germany support series as they in turn raced out their two, one-hour races on the Nürburgring’s Grand Prix circuit.

Amongst the twenty-four single driver GT3 entries were of course the two Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3’s of Gilles Magnus (#7) and Nicolas Baert (#8) as both looked to capitalise upon apparent pace found within their cars at the previous round at the improvised street circuit layout of the Norisring.

 

Also racing at the Nurburgring this weekend will be the DTM Series and their twenty-two provisional entries including the two Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3’s of Gilles Magnus and Nicolas Baert.

This will be their fifth round of an eight-round season after having raced last time out around the Norisring back in Early July.

 

Disappointment for the two Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 drivers at the end of another busy DTM weekend after earlier Free Practice and Qualifying pace was not realised during the brutality of the two races around the tight Norisring circuit.

Earlier pace for the #7 car of Nicolas Baert and the #8 car of Gilles Magnus had seen the son of the team owner circulate as high as second within Free Practice and his qualifying pace was also there during the two split sessions although his P2 time for race 2 was annulled after it was found that his car exceeded its permitted turbo boost.

 

The two full season Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 crews return to the DTM Series this weekend for the German series fourth round of the season from the Norisring.

Straight off the back of the Spa 24 hour event where the Belgian team had four such cars entered into that event and where none of them actually finished thanks to either mechanical defect but mainly accident induced damage (not of their making), it would have been something of a rush job to get these two cars turned around in time for this rounds track action which started today.

Nicolas Baert and Gilles Magnus are back within their familiar #8 and #7 cars respectively and both have come out looking racing during today’s earlier Free Practice 1 and 2 sessions where Magnus ended the day second quickest and with his team mate just a quarter of a second down in P8.

The Belgian based Comtoyou Racing team continue there long string of back-to-back race weekend’s this weekend as they make a relatively short hop over the border ahead of the next round of the DTM Series from Zandvoort.

Having been in Monza last weekend for the then second round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Series, there they suffered two separate incidences where one of their Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 Evo’s was serious damaged – one for Antoine Potty in Free Practice and another for Kobe Pauwel at the start of Sunday’s race.

 

The second round of the German DTM Series took place at the weekend from the Lausitzring with both Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 crews again in action.

With two more-hour long races around the fast and furious tri-oval infield circuit layout, it was always going to difficult for the two still relatively inexperienced GT3 racers in Gilles Magnus and Nicolas Baert to take the race to the peers, but improvements were still needed after the disaster of the opening round from Oschersleben.

 

Twenty-four cars will compete at the Lausitzring this weekend in the second round of the German DTM Series.

Two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 cars from the Belgian based Comtoyou Racing team will again be part of that entry as Nicolas Baert and Gilles Magnes again prepare to compete within this fiercely competitive solo driver series within the #7 and #8 cars respectively.