The FIA WEC signs off in Bahrain
Having finished the year with another podium finish for the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 – it was a step up to the Hypercar class for driver Mattia Drudi as he and car regular Marco Sorensen put in some additional laps around the Bahrain International Circuit as part of the rookie test for the Italian.
He in turn was joined by the son of the team owner, Gray Newell who stepped up from the teams GT World Challenge America and his true Vantage GT3 variant of car and up to the Vantage LMGT3 as used by the team throughout the season just complete. Lead by Darren Turner back in the States, his progression into the LMGT3 variant was this time overseen by the car regular Zacharie Robichon.
Split over both morning and afternoons sessions, saw Drudi post the nineth fastest Hyperclass class time with a 1:50:985 before going slightly faster in session two to finish thirteenth overall whilst Newell started his LMGT3 account 2:04:805 in the morning before improving massively with a 2:03:554 in the afternoon.
The #10 Racing Spirit of Leman AMR Vantage LMGT3 also ran for a few laps in the afternoon with Jonny Adam behind the wheel before he returns to the international stage again within the forthcoming Asian Le Mans Series. Adam was there as part of the ongoing AMR Drivers Academy test.
Then at the end of season awards night, there was one last AMR powered success as Eduardo Barrichello cemented his mark on the championship by winning the Revelation of the Year Award for his efforts in what was his debut season in GT racing.
Photo credits – Teams / Championship / social media
Monday, November 10, 2025 |
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More milestones met for Valkyrie and another class podium in LMGT3 rounds off the WEC season
The Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar concluded its debut season of global competition with a second-straight points finish, at the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain, on Saturday, after leading a round of the FIA World Endurance Championship for the first time.
The seventh-place result for Aston Martin THOR Team’s #009 entry, driven by three-time WEC GT champion Marco Sørensen, Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis, added to the fifth-place finish the team had taken last-time out in Japan on a weekend of notable landmarks for the unique 6.5-litre, V12-powered British hypercar.
A magnificent performance in Hypercar qualifying was the highlight of Saturday’s on-track action as the #007 entry of British trio Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble and Ross Gunn led the #009 in an all-Valkyrie one-two; ensuring that both Aston Martin THOR Team cars would progress to the Hyperpole session and challenge for pole position for the first time. Sixth and ninth positions on the grid marked the first time two Valkyries had qualified inside the top 10 in the WEC.
Aston Martin’s first ‘Le Mans Hypercar showed more potential during the eight-hour race as, following a mid-race safety car period that bunched the field, Riberas charged from fifth place into the lead – the first time Valkyrie has headed a WEC race. It was a fitting end to a trail-blazing debut season that featured the car’s maiden podium finish in North America’s IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship in October’s gruelling Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Raced by the works Aston Martin THOR Team, it is the only car in WEC’s premier category derived from a road-legal hypercar and made its global debut in the Qatar 1812km in February over a grueling season that has covered more than 22,000 racing miles, and eight rounds of WEC (including the 24 Hours of Le Mans) for the two stunning, green Aston Martins.
“The aim for Aston Martin in Hypercar in 2025 was to compete in endurance racing at the very highest level of competition, both globally in WEC and in North America in IMSA,” said Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport. “Both are magnificent series with manufacturers, teams and drivers that have been at the pinnacle of the sport for, in some cases, decades. To have brought such a unique car as Valkyrie to the stage, to start where we did, and to consistently improve our performances to the point where we’ve come to the WEC finale in Bahrain and perform the way we have, shows the ability and desire of everybody that is a part of this programme. We have made satisfying progress in 2025 and will continue to build on this next season.”
Aston Martin’s most successful sportscar of all time, the Vantage meanwhile finished the FIA World Endurance Championship season with a podium finish in the LMGT3 class in Bahrain.
The Heart of Racing Team drivers Ian James, Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi finished third in an action-packed race to claim the team’s first top-three finish of the season for the ultimate racing version of Aston Martin’s most focused sportscar.
The Heart of Racing Team drivers Ian James, Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi finished third in an action-packed race to claim the team’s first top-three finish of the season for the ultimate racing version of Aston Martin’s most focused sportscar.
The trio ran inside the top six throughout the race with Aston Martin works driver Drudi closing down a 30-second gap to the leaders with two hours to go to put himself in the hunt for victory in the closing stages.
THOR’s result was the second WEC podium finish of the season for Vantage, after Racing Spirit of Léman finished third in Brazil during the summer. It was also a 14th WEC rostrum finish for Vantage in Bahrain; those results scored across the LMGT3 class and its predecessors, LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am. RSL’s Anthony McIntosh, Eduardo Barrichello and Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse-Clot finished 14th in LMGT3 aboard their #10 Vantage.
“The ultra-close nature of the competition in WEC means that to fight at the front, you must have first-rate machinery and partner teams capable of delivering when it counts,” said Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport. “In The Heart of Racing Team and Racing Spirit of Léman we have two outstanding partners, who have both scored pole positions and podium finishes this year. This is a testament to the strength of both organisations, to the accessibility and robustness of Vantage to drivers of all levels of experience, and to a set of regulations that keeps the competing machines close. We are already looking ahead to a 2026 season.”
Source material – Aston Martin
Sunday, November 09, 2025 |
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The difference as season makes for the Aston Martin Valkyrie
Since those early days of first just wanting to finish and to literally keep the doors on the car, many things have changed and so going into tomorrow’s seasonal finale in Bahrain, the fruits of that progress and development has been very apparent.
Running of course parallel race programs with their IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship sister car, recent results have seen at least one of these Valkyries first break into Hyperpole qualifying within the WEC before securing their first ever podium finish at the season finale of the IMSA Championship.
Having had many of the team and crew get in some last minute R&R on the Galapagos Islands before this week’s finale, that investment have proved worthwhile for the team as the #007 Valkyrie of Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble and Ross Gunn topped the qualifying timing screen for the first time, narrowly beating the sister #009 car of Marco Sorenson, Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis for a well-deserved 1-2 in class.
Moving into the later Hyperpole session, the fairytale season ending wasn’t quite there unfortunately as the #009 eventually finished sixth fastest with the #007 nineth ahead of tomorrow’s eight-hour race. Compare and contrast that to the distant P18 and P16 positions at the opening round in Qatar!!
It was harder work for the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 crews however, as both the #27 Heart of Racing AMR of Ian James, Mattia Drudi and Zacharie Robichon and the #10 Racing Spirit of Leman AMR of Anthony McIntosh, Eduardo Barrichello and Valentin Hasse-Clot struggled within the mid table of their class during the three earlier Free Practice sessions after another swathe of Balance of Performance adjustments across the class.
As always, one hot lap is never enough for any endurance race as (like all), both crews will have another eight hours to improve upon their P4 and P15 qualifying positions (for the #27 and #10 cars respectively) after their own Qualifying and Hyperpole sessions.
The final race of the FIA WEC season will be waved off at 14:00hrs local before finishing under the veil of darkness (although the circuit is mostly floodlit) where all four crews could seriously improve upon their final championship positions in class with thirty eight points being again on offer to each class winner.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Friday, November 07, 2025 |
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Aston Martin aiming to finish on a continued high at eluding round of the WEC this weekend
Valkyrie is the first Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) to be produced by Aston Martin. Raced by the works Aston Martin The Heart Of Racing Team, it is the only car in WEC’s premier category derived from a road-legal hypercar and made its global debut in the Qatar 1812km in February. This unique, ambitious and trail-blazing programme has grown in competitiveness at every turn through a gruelling season that has already covered nearly 22,000 racing miles, and seven WEC rounds (including the 24 Hours of Le Mans) for the two stunning, green Aston Martins.
“Aston Martin entered Hypercar in 2025 to compete on the world stage in endurance racing and at the highest level of competition,’ said Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport. “In WEC, and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in North America, we have found that level of competition to be extremely high, full of great talent with some well-established and deservedly respected programmes to race against.
“This is a worthy testament to the sanctioning bodies, the ACO, FIA and IMSA, who jointly created a set of regulations to allow cars of different architectures to compete against each other on the world stage. They took on a noble challenge and it is one they should be complimented on achieving.”
Valkyrie’s sporting momentum continues to grow after a highly promising September in which it fought for a podium position in the 6 Hours of Fuji (JPN) before recording its best WEC finish with fifth position overall. This, after the unique 6.5 litre V12-powered British hypercar ran as high as fourth position in the rain-affected race in Austin, earlier in the same month. Then in the IMSA finale – the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta – in mid-October, Valkyrie clinched its first podium in global competition, coming home within five seconds of a famous maiden victory.
This all follows an encouraging 24 Hours of Le Mans (in June) where both Valkyrie hypercars completed their maiden twice-around-the-clock event without issue to finish 12th and 14th, and the Aston Martin THOR Team registered the cars’ – and Aston Martin’s – first Manufacturers’ World Championship points in the Hypercar class.
The three works drivers responsible for the podium in Atlanta, Roman De Angelis, Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas, all return to action in Bahrain as the eight-hour race length requires that each car is shared by three racers.
Gunn will re-join his British compatriots Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble in the #007 Valkyrie, having shared the car with them in Qatar and again at Le Mans. The same goes for De Angelis, who will drive the #009 entry alongside Riberas and three-time WEC GT champion Marco Sørensen.
After the event, the 2024 Spa 24 Hours winner and Aston Martin works driver Mattia Drudi will get his first chance to sample WEC-specification Hypercar class machinery when he drives the Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie in the official Rookie Test in Bahrain on Sunday 9 November – the day after the 2025 season concludes.
Drudi, who shares the #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with The Heart of Racing Team Principal Ian James and Zacharie Robichon, has been given the opportunity after consistently delivering world-class performances in LMGT3; notably his breathtaking class pole position for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“Of course, I’m super excited to drive a car that is already iconic in the Hypercar Class, even though it is only its first season racing in WEC,” said Drudi. “I’ve been closely following the progress of Valkyrie throughout the championship and it was fantastic to see it record a strong result at Fuji.
“It will be interesting for me to drive straight after a race weekend so I can compare my data with what’s been collected during the event. It will also be a challenge to get used to a car that will be completely new for me. I must thank The Heart of Racing team for giving me the chance to drive the Valkyrie in the Rookie Test. It will be the perfect way to end my first WEC season with Aston Martin.”
James added: “Mattia thoroughly deserves this opportunity. Having raced alongside him all season, I’ve been able to witness his exceptional talent and I’m really interested to see what he makes of Valkyrie.”
Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s most successful sportscar of all time, Vantage, also heads into the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship – the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain – hunting for a victorious conclusion to an exciting season within its LMGT3 class.
Through five iterations spanning 13 seasons Vantage has claimed 53 GT class victories – the second highest of any manufacturer. Responsible for 11 world championship titles, and five 24 Hours of Le Mans class wins in the WEC era, Vantage has also claimed 68 class pole positions. The most successful GTE Am (2012-2022) car of all-time, Vantage recorded 33 wins and 29 pole positions before the class was retired to make way for the current LMGT3 category, which embarks on its 16th race this weekend.
Vantage’s record at Bahrain is also exceptional with seven class victories derived from 13 podium appearances as well as nine class pole positions.
Again, Aston Martin partner team The Heart of Racing heads into the Bahrain finale fighting for a place in the top three of the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Drivers’ and Teams’ standings; building on fifth place in its first full WEC season in 2024. Currently fifth in the championship again this season, THOR has amassed 63 points - 18 behind third place with 38 points available for victory and another one for pole position. Team principal Ian James will race the #27 Vantage alongside Zach Robichon and AMR works driver Mattia Drudi.
Racing Spirit of Léman once again calls upon Anthony McIntosh, who starred on his WEC debut at July’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo. With the American driving alongside Eduardo Barrichello and Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse Clot in the #10 Vantage GT3, the trio achieved the team’s first WEC podium finish in LMGT3.
The Heart of Racing’s GT World Challenge America podium finisher Gray Newell will be given the chance to experience WEC’s LMGT3 class for the first time when he makes his series debut in the Rookie Test, on Sunday, following the season finale in Bahrain.
The 28-year-old American has earned the opportunity after an impressive debut season in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3, where he finished on the GT World Challenge America Pro-Am podium three times alongside works driver Darren Turner in 2025.
“After a successful first year with the Vantage GT3 it’s a massive honour for me to be selected for the Rookie Test in Bahrain,” said Newell. “The Heart of Racing has done an incredible job of creating a vertical pipeline for its drivers, moving everyone forward and upwards as a team. I look forward to getting a feel for the Vantage GT3 in WEC trim as well as my first time on track with hypercar traffic. I could not ask for a more exciting way to end the 2025 season.”
Team Principal Ian James added: “Gray’s performances in 2025 have been outstanding. Since he joined THOR in 2021, he’s improved every season and is now blossoming into a driver that can look to achieve a great deal in endurance racing in the future. Giving him the chance to drive in the WEC team, in an LMGT3-spec Vantage, will be a hugely valuable experience for his continued development and is a just reward for a very strong season.”
Source material and photo credits – Aston Martin
Monday, November 03, 2025 |
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The FIA WEC rounds off under the lights of Bahrain with next season looking brighter still
Even before the thirty six strong full season Hypercar and LMGT3 classes had even turned a wheel at this final eight hour round, we were already aware of the inaugural LMGT3 Championship title going the way of the #92 Manthey PureRxing Porsche 911 GT3 R crew leaving both the Heart of Racing and D’Station Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 crews of Ian James/Alex Riberas/Daniel Mancinelli and Erwan Bastard/Clement Mateu/Marco Sorenson little to race for other the pride and personal development.
Having started the season so well at the opening round in Qatar with a double class podium for the two AMR teams, their racing endeavours with the latest version of the Vantage race car platform faired not so well over the remaining rounds and perhaps culminated with the #27 Heart of Racing car crashing out of a potential Le Mans 24hr podium winning position and onto its roof in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Obvious personal safety was all that mattered in that kind of scenario, and it was a relief to all to watch Mancinelli finally extricate himself from the car and be able to walk away unaided.
Obvious personal safety was all that mattered in that kind of scenario, and it was a relief to all to watch Mancinelli finally extricate himself from the car and be able to walk away unaided.
Whilst D’Station Racing P3 in Qatar was their best result of the season followed by a P9 at Le Mans for both Sorensen, Bastard along with a final cameo appearance from team owner Satoshi Hoshino, there was more to cheer from the American based Heart of Racing team within the AMR supported garage as a P2 in Brazil and a home win at CoTA gave the team class championship hope going into the penultimate round in Fuji but again that thing called Balance of Performance didn’t quite go in their favour.
With further (negative) changes for the AMR platform going into this weekend’s final round in Bahrain, the writing was kind of ‘on the wall’ as the two Aston Martin’s finished the season line astern to one another in P11 and P12 in class.
With further (negative) changes for the AMR platform going into this weekend’s final round in Bahrain, the writing was kind of ‘on the wall’ as the two Aston Martin’s finished the season line astern to one another in P11 and P12 in class.
These results left the Heart of Racing crew in fifth overall whilst the D’Station crew (of Bastard/Sorensen) finished P11 with Mateu a few places further back having skipped out Le Mans in place of Hoshino.
Inevitably, as one season closes the workings of another immediately take over and whilst we understand that the D’Station Racing team will be stepping away from the FIA WEC to concentrate more upon their national Super GT Series endeavours, we also understand that Swiss based Racing Spirit of Leman may well be stepping into their shoes for 2025 with possibly part of the successful European Le Mans Series driver line up of Derek DeBoer and Valentin Hasse-Clot.
Then there is the Heart of Racing team who have already shown off their latest project in the form of an Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar in time for a duel commitment into the topflight classes of the WEC an IMSA Series. Indeed, one such platform will be circulating around Bahrain International today as part of a collective Michelin tyre test!!
The future remains bright within the AMR family for 2025.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Monday, November 04, 2024 |
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D'Station Racing lose out on their Super GT hopes at Motegi
Racing out what has turned out to be their final WEC race at the season finale in Bahrain saw them eventually finish that eight-hour marathon twelfth out of the eventual fourteen LMGT3 finishes whilst their results from Motegi earlier this morning has effectively seen off any championship hopes that they may have had within their similarly numbered #777 Aston Martin Racing GT3.
With all the teams ‘bigwigs’ this time electing to stay within their national theatre of racing at Motegi this weekend, their #777 car of overall team manager Tomonobu Fujii and their former WEC driver in Charlie Fagg needed to at least continue their recent streak of GT300 class podium finishes in order to keep their class hopes alive in both this race and the season finale from Suzuka in a month’s time.
The wet conditions of Free Practice allowed Fujii to claim the top position in class during the morning session, but they were unable to replicate that feat come Qualifying where the #777 eventually claimed a fifth row slot.
Race day on Sunday and at least the rains had passed leaving a clear and bright day for this three-hour penultimate round. Despite making up early places, the inevitable sequence of multiple Full Course Yellows and Safety Cars again caught the #777 out of sequence for them to eventually sixth in class.
This result also saw the two of the three cars above them in class again finish upon the podium in a 1-2 position, so the points position now is that the team now do not have any championship hopes at the final round next month but as we know, their 2025 priorities have now changed with the Super GT Series now their main racing focus over the WEC moving forward.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Sunday, November 03, 2024 |
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Final WEC grid set ahead of tomorrows eight hour marathon in the desert of Bahrain
This afternoon’s final Hypercar and LMGT3 class Qualifying sessions saw the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Racing LMGT3 of Ian James progress through to their Hyperpole session whilst the #777 D’Station Racing AMR of Clement Mateu narrowly missed out on that feat by finishing just 0.122 of a second of what was required for them to finish within the top ten and progress in the Hyperpole session as both cars had laps deleted for track limit violations.
Whilst their race starting position was then cemented in P11 out of the class entry of eighteen cars, the #27 car ran a further five lap session of Hyperpole to claim a P6 starting position for Saturdays race – some three quarters of a second off the pole setting pace of both United Autosport McLarens.
Obviously qualifying pace and race pace are two distinct things in their own right as we know, as we would image that that with a blistering eight-hour affair in front of them that tyre strategy has already come into play.
Looking through the earlier Free Practice times, that is clear during FP1 when both Astons featured at the bottom of the timing screen, posting lap times (at best) two and a half seconds off the pace before the #27 improved upon this to complete the track practice availability to just over 0.165 of a second.
How much of that is down to strategy over ultimate pace from the new Vantage LMGT3 will not be clearly seen until the race gets underway but at least there is no championship pressure to perform over and above the rest with the LMGT3 class title already having been claimed after the previous round from Fuji.
The race itself begins at 14:00hrs local after which on Sunday will be the now customary Rookie Driver Test.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
The race itself begins at 14:00hrs local after which on Sunday will be the now customary Rookie Driver Test.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Friday, November 01, 2024 |
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The Vantage LMGT3 again tamed ahead of WEC finale from Bahrain
The race results from last time out at Fuji Speedway back in mid-September final saw the class championship aspirations of both the Heart of Racing and D’Station Racing team’s firmly put to rest but both teams will be looking to finish upon something of a high for varying reasons.
No changes are expected from within either the #27 Heart of Racing or #777 D’Station Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3’s as Ian James/Daniel Mancinelli and Alex Riberas team up again within the American HoRT entry whilst Clement Mateu/Erwan Bastard and Marco Sorensen will race out what might well be the final WEC round for the Japanese D’Station Racing entry as they look more homeward for their 2025 campaigns – that has yet to be confirmed by the team though.
What is certainly changing within both Aston Martins is their Balance of Performance requirements as Vantage LMGT3 sees both base weight increases (over and above any success ballast) as well as power decreases all ahead of an eight-hour finale around the widespread desert circuit of Bahrain within their eighteen strong class.
Whilst the D’Station Racing team ponder upon what maybe next for them and where, the Heart of Racing already have that answer as they continue to develop their much awaiting Aston Martin Valkyrie which they will run in both the FIA WEC Hypercar and IMSA GTP classes next season as well as a smaller LMGT3/GTD package in either series.
Earlier photographs of the new car being tested around both Silverstone and Donington Park were recently updated with video of it testing at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta ahead of its global debut at the Roar before the 24 test at Daytona in early 2025.
Despite the class championship having already been claimed by the #92 Manthey PureRacing Porsche, the #27 crew presently rest P4 within the LMGT3 Drivers Championship and in easy reach of the other two teams above if the race results go in their favour whilst Erwan and Sorensen sit P8 (Mateu P12 thanks to him missing Le Mans in favour of team boss Satoshi Hoshino) so the best that these guys can hope for is progression up to about fourth with the same degree of racing fortune being received.
Track action begins on Thursday with Free Practice 1 and 2 before Free Practice 3 and qualifying later on Friday before the eight-hour race being waved off at 14:00hrs local on Saturday.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 |
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AMR powered teams looking to round off the WEC with a win in Bahrain
Aston Martin’s new GT3-based challenger, which is closely derived from the new Vantage road car unveiled earlier this year at Silverstone, is built around a proven bonded aluminium chassis and powered by a fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine. The car has already earned its maiden victory in WEC this season, winning the Lone Star Le Mans round at the Circuit of the Americas [COTA] with The Heart of Racing team [THoR], in September. Driver crews from THoR and D’station Racing have stood on the podium steps on four other occasions throughout 2024.
Thanks to a spectacular home race at COTA, THoR led the way in Round 5 from pole, recording the fastest LMGT3 class lap on route to the team’s maiden WEC victory. Another points finish in the most recent round at Fuji in Japan last month means that team principal and driver Ian James (GBR), Alex Riberas (ESP) and Daniel Mancinelli (ITA) are right in the fight for second place in the LMGT3 Endurance Trophy for drivers’ and teams. Just seven points separate three GT crews contesting the runner-up place, with 39 points available in Bahrain.
Should THoR achieve its goal, it would wrap up a strong season with the new Vantage GT3 for the US-based outfit, having already secured runner-up in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro class drivers’ and teams’ championships at Road Atlanta earlier this month. Aston Martin works driver Ross Gunn (GBR) narrowly missed out on his first IMSA full series crown by just five points, having taken a win and four podiums – including third in the Petit Le Mans finale. New Vantage also took Aston Martin to second in the manufacturers’ championship in North America’s premier GT endurance series.
D’station Racing has also enjoyed great success with the Vantage GT3 domestically, where it remains in title contention for the GT300 class in the Japanese-based SUPER GT Series – having recorded Aston Martin’s maiden victory in the championship at Suzuka in June.
The team, owned by former WEC racer Satoshi Hoshino (JPN) and managed by SUPER GT Series class winner Tomonobu Fujii (JPN), comes to Bahrain hoping to improve on its best WEC finishes of second in class, recorded at the same race, in Bahrain, last year.
Among D’station Racing’s driving strength is Aston Martin’s most decorated active works driver, Marco Sørensen (DEN), a three-time FIA WEC champion in the GT classes and a Rolex 24 and 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner, and now the most recent Spa 24 Hours winner alongside fellow works drivers Nicki Thiim (DEN) and Mattia Drudi (ITA). Erwan Bastard (FRA), a French and European GT4 title-winner, join the Dane in the #777 Vantage.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: “No matter what is left to come from 2024, I believe we are safe to declare the season a successful start to the new Vantage GT3’s career. A resounding a victory in COTA for THoR along with podiums for both our US partners and D’station Racing prove what a raceable GT car the Aston Martin is for both professional and amateur drivers alike in WEC. In contention for championships around the world, Vantage is still fighting for titles in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe and the SUPER GT Series in Japan. To be competing for second on its debut in the world championship proves what an excellent option it will be for any existing or potential partner in year two.”
Aston Martin’s record at Bahrain in WEC is excellent. Vantage took pole for the inaugural race there in 2012 and went on to finish second with Darren Turner (GBR) and Stefan Mücke (DEU). Since then, it has won in each of its three previous configurations (Vantage V8, V8 Vantage GTE and Vantage GTE) in the GT class, and Aston Martin has recorded seven class victories all told. In total, Aston Martin crews have stood on the podium no less than 15 times. Last year’s event witnessed D’station Racing’s best WEC result (second in the LMGTE class), while THoR recorded its maiden WEC podium with third place.
Official practice for the 8 Hours of Bahrain begins on Thursday, 31 October at 1215 local time (0915 GMT) with the race beginning at 1400 (1100 GMT) on Saturday.
Source material - AMR
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 |
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D'Station Racing search for that edge that will keep them in Super GT GT300 Championship contention
That means that this weekend’s trip to Twin Ring Motegi circuit will be its penultimate three-hour round before a rescheduled trip to Suzuka in mid-December.
For the D’Station Racing entry, this weekend sees another clash with its World Endurance Championship crew as they embark upon the final eight-hour round of that series over in Bahrain in what mainstream media has reported to be, their final WEC involvement before a more concentrated Super GT Series approach next season.
That means that Team Manager Tomonobu Fujii will be again on domestic racing duties this weekend as he and co-driver Charlie Fagg seek out that little bit of difference in race pace that will see them break their recent performance mould and take the GT300 Championship race to the two crews presently listed above them in class.
That means that Team Manager Tomonobu Fujii will be again on domestic racing duties this weekend as he and co-driver Charlie Fagg seek out that little bit of difference in race pace that will see them break their recent performance mould and take the GT300 Championship race to the two crews presently listed above them in class.
Despite a decent Qualifying and early race pace last time out at Autopolis two weeks ago, a late Safety Car period for a heavy impact involving a topflight GT500 car saw the #777 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 get caught out in its final push to the flag to finish fifth overall in class despite having lead the class for much of the race.
Going into this penultimate round, results from Autopolis have seen the crew slip to fourth in the drivers table (from third beforehand) but still just twenty points behind the class leaders and with twenty points being available per round, the GT300 class is still wide open.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Monday, October 28, 2024 |
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Their slim LMGT3 Championship hopes finally slip through the fingers of the two AMR crews in Fuji
For them and their AMR powered stablemates from the locally based D’Station Racing team, a combination of better performance, better strategy and massively enhanced championship points position going into this six-hour round were all too much for either Aston Martin team with both the race and the inaugural LMGT3 Championship wins going to other teams.
With the new 2024 Vantage LMGT3 being the machine to have in Texas, that certainly was not the case under the shadows of Mount Fuji as both the #27 Heart of Racing car of Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli and Alex Riberas together with the #777 D’Station racing car of Clement Mateu, Erwan Bastard and Marco Sorenson had little to offer in terms of resistance against the performances of their peers with qualifying positions being down within the midst of their class.
Despite that, both cars gave it their best shot with the #27 car of James quickly moving up into the top five in class whilst Mateu was slightly slower in moving up as shenanigans within the topflight class placed the race under a quick Safety Car period.
Quarter distance and the race was running well for both Aston Martin’s, both running within the top ten, as the two bronze rated drivers drove out the remanence of their minimum drive time under a Virtual and actual Safety Car following a track clean up exercise by Race Control before handing over to their respective silver grade drivers for the middle stints.
Cycling as high as third for the #27 crew, neither Aston Martin seemed to have the pace to compete along the circuits long straight into what became the favourite place of action into turn one.
Going into the final third of the race, the LMGT3 Champiosnhip leading Manthey Pure RX Porsche was then at the head of the class which made the Fuji 6Hr a near impossible task for the #27 crew as their slim hopes were reliant upon podium finish of their own with the #92 not scoring.
Further VSC and SC call outs brough the classes back together again as Hypercars either failed by the trackside or collected each other in the heat of the battle and with the only car able to challenge the #92 Porsche on track struggling around with a puncture, the championship writing was already on the wall with still over ninety minutes remaining.
With the sun beginning to fade over the circuit, troubles for the #777 were again compounded after Sorenson first received a Drive Through penalty for crossing the pit exit blend line before being further reported to race stewards for allegedly exceeding the maximum power parameters of the cars BoP.
At the end of another exciting six hours of mixed class racing, the #92 Porsche eventually finished second overall to seal the LMGT3 Championship win so by the #777 eventually snatching a late P7 finish in class on the final lap and a P9 finish eventually for the #27 car all counted for nothing.
The season concludes again after another eight hour battle within the deserts of Bahrain in early November.
Photo credits – Teams / AMR / WEC
Monday, September 16, 2024 |
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