Zandvoort disappoints the AMR runners in both Sprint Cup and GT4 European Series
Zandvoort wasn’t presumably the circuit of choice for the Aston Martin Racing powered runners within both the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup and GT4 European Series Vantage GT3 and GT4 runners at the weekend as many came close, none were able to threaten the top steps of either series podiums.
Both racing only their second rounds of the season for both the GT3 runners within the GTWCE Series after their season opener around the Grand Prix loop of the Brands Hatch circuit and the whole host of runners within the GT4 only series, the twists and turns of the seaside nestled Dutch circuit (as well as their competition) proved difficult for the seven AMR powered runners within both series.
The GTWCE Series did welcome a third AMR powered crew as Ricardo Baptista and Raphael Suzuki finally made their series debut within their #270 Comtoyou Racing AMR alongside that of their #21 stablemates in the form of Jamie Day and Kobe Pauwels and the #35 Walkenhorst entry of Matteo Villagomez and Henrique Chaves amongst the forty-one strong entry.
Racing within the Bronze, Silver and Pro classes respectively by the #270 and #35 cars got roughed up within the opening hour-long race of the weekend and whilst the Brazilian crew within the #270 were still able to finish their debut race, the #35 car sadly didn’t due to damage. Despite finishing well down the overall order in P15, the #21 Comtoyou entry narrowly missed the class podium with a P4 finish.
It was a similar tale within Sunday’s final round for both the #270 and #35 as although both finish this time around, both cars were well outside of the points for their efforts with only the #21 crew replicating a higher order finish with another P4 placement in class.
Four AMR Vantage GT4 crews were also in action within the supporting GT4 European Series with two cars apiece from both the Mirage Racing and Racing Spirit of Leman stables.
This time racing with forty-three competitors, only the Pro-Am entry of the #7 Mirage Racing AMR for Stanislav Safronov and Alexandr Vaintrub threatened the class podium with a P2 finish in race one and then a P3 finish on Sunday for them to now slot in a distant second to the dominating Henrik Still/Joachim Bolting driven Porsche.
The GTWCE Sprint Cup series will be back in action from Misano in mid-July whilst the GT4’s will be back in action slightly earlier at Spa Week at the end of June.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Safronov and Vaintrub go again with Mirage Racing in FFSA GT4 Series in 2025
Back in their familiar Mirage Racing AMR Vantage GT4 Evo sees Stanislav Safronov and Aleksandre Vaintrub return to the series for another attempt at the Pro-Am title having come up a little short last season in a year that they competed in both the outgoing and incoming variants of the Vantage platform.
This season starts again in Nogaro in mid-April, presumably after an official test at the circuit a week or so beforehand but this year, the series will only be running with both the Pro-Am and Am classes so that should free up a little track space for the lesser abled drivers over the five-round season.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Mirage Racing enter opening round of Iberian Supercar Series with young Russian karter
The French team stands as a prominent force in both the GT4 European Series and the Championnat de France FFSA GT-GT4 France. Aligned with the British automaker, Mirage Racing now extends its dedication to the premier circuit racing competition on the Iberian Peninsula.
Mirage Racing started GT4 racing in 2019 and is nowadays a strong contender in the category, with a Pro-Am win in the European series and five in the French championship, in the same class.
For the Iberian campaign, the team based at Montastruc-la-Conseillère will be fielding a race-winning Aston Martin for series newcomer Stepan Suslov, marking his debut in GT racing following four seasons in Russian karting.
Stepan Suslov eagerly anticipates the challenge ahead and aims to start off on the right foot. "I’m really glad to start my journey in GT racing by joining the experienced Mirage Racing Team for the Iberian Supercars. Looking forward to learning and gaining experience this year and hoping that we will show good results straight out of the gate,” said Stepan Suslov.
The Jerez circuit will host the opening round of the Iberian Supercars season this weekend.
Source material – Iberian Supercars
Welcome Forsetti Motorsport
Following the order of two new Aston Martin GT4 Cars, set to debut in a few weeks time, alongside the acquisition of a proven race winner which competed in the 2023 instalment of the British GT Championship, the all-new team are set to officially break cover at Snetterton circuit later this month.
The team, who will be headquartered in a brand new, state of the art premises just a stone’s throw away from the track, at Snetterton Business Park, are seeking to secure podiums and victories in their debut season(s) and have quickly set about constructing a team to achieve that target.
The team will be headed up by former McLaren and Haas F1 Engineer Joe Holloway, who joins the team as Technical Director. He’ll be joined by a number of highly skilled technicians and mechanics that have experience working across paddocks such as Formula 1, WEC, GT World Challenge and IMSA to name but a few.
Out with the next winner and in with the next candidates as the AMR Drivers Academy resets for 2023
Aston Martin Racing has named its latest AMR Driver Academy graduate as Romain Leroux. The 20-year-old Parisian joins a growing list of Aston Martin star graduates that includes IMSA GTD Pro front-runner Ross Gunn, reigning IMSA GTD champion Roman De Angelis, works driver Valentin Hasse Clot and former British GT4 champion Tom Canning.
Leroux, the 2021 FFSA GT4 champion and a runner-up in last year’s ADAC GT4 series, stood out among the 22 candidates in 2022 for his extraordinary consistency in all categories and for his attitude towards the Academy processes, as well as his willingness to mentor other younger and less experienced AMR Academy drivers. The Frenchman now steps up to the Vantage GT3 in 2023, racing alongside two of this year’s AMR Academy candidates Jacob Riegel (DEU) and Jeff Kingsley (USA) in BULLITT Racing’s new GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup programme.
Leroux said of his AMR Academy graduation: “I am honoured to be recognized by Aston Martin for my success over the past two seasons. My objective when I enrolled in the AMR Academy in 2021 was to establish a relationship with a manufacturer. Being named the winner of the 2022 AMR Academy is a significant achievement that reflects my hard work and improvement as a driver. Now I’m looking forward to building on this with the Vantage GT3 this season.”
Aston Martin Racing has also announced this year’s candidates for the annual initiative designed to fast-track talent from within its thriving partner team network and is a way for AMR to contribute back to motorsport by investing in and honing future talent.
A unique and unrivalled platform for learning and development with an established manufacturer, this essential initiative is fine-tuned every year and improved to effectively coach drivers in the early stages of their careers. Competitors aged between 17 and 26 with Vantage GT3 and GT4 race programmes in recognised championships are eligible. The prize on offer for the successful graduate includes financial support towards their 2024 race programme, as well as assistance and guidance from the factory, tailored to their season plans. Further evaluation of the most outstanding candidates may also include a test in a Vantage GT3 at the end of the 2023 season.
The candidates benefit from a three-day seminar that includes media training with FIA World Endurance Championship commentator Louise Beckett, simulator training at Base Performance, a DNAFit assessment including a bespoke training programme and nutrition plan, Aston Martin Racing in-house commercial training and a factory-based engineering workshop to further their understanding of how to competitively set-up Vantage.
Huw Tasker, AMR Head of Partner Racing, said: “We are delighted for Romain, who has produced two outstanding seasons of racing in Vantage and has shown all the qualities and characteristics that made his predecessors stand-out as AMR Driver Academy graduates – and we’re certain that he will continue to flourish as a driver within our ranks through 2023 and beyond. As a mechanism for assessing and identifying outstanding talent within our partner ranks, the AMR Driver Academy remains instructive and essential, and looking at the list of candidates lined up for 2023 we’re certain that tradition is set to continue.”
2023 ASTON MARTIN RACING DRIVER ACADEMY CANDIDATES Hugo Bac (FRA) AGS Events GT4 European Series GT4 Florian Briche (FRA) JSB GT4 European Series GT4 Jessica Backman (SWE) PROsport ADAC GT4 GT4 Vincent Bouteiller (FRA) AGS Events GT4 European Series GT4 Jamie Day (GBR) Mirage Racing GT4 European Series GT4 Alex Denning (IRL) Newbridge Racing GT4 European Series GT4 Emil Heyerdahl (NOR) Mirage Racing GT4 European Series GT4 Seb Hopkins (GBR) R-Racing British GT GT4 Jeff Kingsley (CAN) BULLITT Racing GTWC Europe GT3 David Kullman (CHE) Mirage Racing FFSA GT4 GT4 Konstantin Lachenauer (CHE) Racing Spirit of Léman GT4 European Series GT4 Giovanni Maschio (ITA) Lazarus Italian GT GT3 Josh Miller (GBR) R-Racing British GT GT4 Mike David Ortmann (DEU) PROsport NLS GT3 Jacob Riegel (DEU) Bullitt Racing GTWC Europe GT3 Maxime Robin (FRA) TF Sport European Le Mans GTE Ruben del Sarte (FRA) Mirage Racing GT4 European Series GT4 Hugo Sasse (DEU) PROsport NLS GT3 Kajus Siksnelis (LIT) GPA GT4 European Series GT4 Rory van der Steur (USA) Van der Steur Racing IMPC GT4 Casper Stevenson (GBR) TF Sport FIA WEC GTE Ben Tuck (GBR) TF Sport European Le Mans GTE Matteo Villagomez (COL) Racing Spirit of Léman FFSA GT4 GT4 Victor Weyrich (FRA) Racing Spirit of Léman GT4 European Series GT4 Source material and photo credits - AMR |
Racing Spirit of Lemans step up to the Le Mans Cup with a Vantage GT3
News today from the ACO sanctioned Le Mans Cup Series has confirmed the return of an Aston Martin Racing powered team to the series, but this time with a change in actual team but with the return of a familiar face to guide it.
Not included within the entry this time around has seen the Spanish based Bullitt Racing team be replaced for the 2023 season by the French based Racing Spirit of Lemans team as they step up from GT4 to the GT3 class with an all-new driver line up that will include AMR factory driver Valentin Hasse-Clot amongst them.
Already scheduled to compete within the main European Le Mans Series with a TF Sport prepared AMR Vantage GTE, the young Frenchman will again take on double driving duties within the ELMS support series with a gentleman driver yet to be identified by either the team or the series as he did with Bullitt Racing last season with Stephen Pattrick.
Having tasted the Aston Martin last season within the GT4 European Series and FFSA GT4 Series, this announcement will be a significant step up the ladder for the team as the series embarks upon its six-round season, including its traditional double header round at Le Mans in June but all starting in Barcelona in mid-April with its Prologue and opening round a week later.
Photo credit - Team
Unachievable odds face the final Aston Martin crew as the FFSA GT4 Series reaches its conclusion this weekend?
Having competed at Nogaro, Magny-Cours, Albi, Spa Francorchamps and most recently Ledenon at the start of September, this weekend’s finale again sees a plethora of Aston Martin Racing powered teams conclude their season with just one crew retaining the remotest of possibilities in lifting a class title at the end of the two-hour long races.
With twenty-six points being available from each race, it is the #72 GPA Racing AMR Vantage GT4 of Kevin Jimenez and Florent Grizaud who presently rest in third within their Am Class who retain the only championship possibility, but their will reply upon total disaster for the two crews ahead of them to overcome the forty-seven-point deficit to the class leaders.
Two podium finishes for the French crew at the final races of the parallel GT4 European Series in Barcelona (all under the watchful guidance of AMR factory driver Valentin Hasse-Clot) will have given the team the maximum incentive to succeed this weekend.
Eight AMR Vantage GT4 crews are listed upon the entry list for this weekend although some names have already changed from those posted by the series. With Hasse-Clot now confirmed to be on Aston Martin Racing duty with the Bullitt Racing team at the final round of the Le Mans Cup Series from Portimao, his and co-drivers Arnold Robin positions within the #13 Mirage Racing AMR Vantage GT4 have been filled with the return of Ruben Del Sarte and Paul Aural König who re-join forces having raced together with the French squad within the GT4 European Series at Hockenheim earlier this year.
Three further Astons are again entered by the AGS Events Racing team with another of their mid-season driver revised line ups, with two more from the Racing Spirit of Lemans team as well as another car from the GPA Racing team with so far just one driver being listed in Matthieu Casalonga.
Except for the Am class, the remaining Pro-Am and Silver classes within the series have not been threatened by any AMR powered team beyond that of Hasse-Clot and Romano Ricci who did in the early stages of the season to lead the Pro-Am class before two lowly points scores and injury to Ricci lost them that momentum.
As usual, both races will be streamed live via the series social media channels.
Photo credits – Teams / Series
Just a couple of title chances as twelve Aston Martins take on the final rounds of the GT4 European Series in Spain
Always a popular series, the final weekend welcomes another near capacity grid of forty-eight cars with some battling it out to the conclusion of their class whilst others dip that metaphorical toe into the water ahead of any decision for next season.
Amongst those forty-eight cars, we have been told to expect a whopping twelve Aston Martin Racing powered teams competing again through all three available classes with a few crews returning to their earlier combinations whilst we also welcome new crews to the series for the first time.
Amongst the latter we see the FFSA GT4 entry of the GPA Racing’s Florent Grizaud and Kevin Jimenez join the sister SRO series for the first time ahead of their French national series finale in just two weeks’ time as well as Ruben Del Sarte partnering British GT GT4 racer and GT4 Championship contender Jamie Day aboard the #58 Mirage Racing AMR Vantage.
From a season ending championship stand point of view, just two AMR crews stand any mathematical chance of securing the Silver Class by the end of the weekend with the #24 Prosport Racing duo of Mike David Ortmann and Hugo Sasse best placed in third but still thirty eight points behind the leading Mercedes whilst the #10 Racing Spirit of Lemans AMR of Konstantin Lachenauer and Gus Bowers really do need to win both races and rely upon the leaders failing to score to have any hope there.
In the Pro-Am class, it’s just the #25 Prosport Racing car of Rodrique Gillion/Nico Verdonck and the return of the #9 Racing One AMR of Christian Gisy/Ralf Kelleners again but they both sit mid table with just personal pride and ambition to race for whilst we also see three cars compete within the Am class.
Like we’ve said earlier, it’s a series debut for the #72 GPA Racing crew whilst the #18 Racing One AMR of Henrik Pederson-Lyngbye and the #89 AGS Events Racing AMR of Julien Lambert and Wilfried Cazalbon both see the season out in Spain but with still a very distinct chance for the French #89 crew being just twenty-two points behind their class leaders.
The #6 Racing One car of Moritz/Vincent Gisy, the #7 AGS Events AMR of Mike Parisy/Nicolas Gomar, #80 AGS Events AMR of Tom Verdier/Loris Cabirou and the #19 Racing Spirit of Lemans AMR of Tom Canning/Akhil Rabindra complete the Aston Martin powered driver line up going into this final round.
Photo credits – Teams / GT4 European Series
Not Aston Martins day at the latest round of the GT4 European Series from Misano
Both the Prosport Racing and Racing Spirit of Lemans crews had enjoyed some fine results in the series (and others) up until now and everyone was hopeful of similar performances that helped both teams settle at the top of the Silver Cup Drivers Championship leader board going into the weekend.
Whilst we all know that Qualifying may not necessarily paint an accurate picture of overall performances, the results of Q1 did show that the two Spirit of Lemans cars of Tom Canning/Akhil Rabindra (#19) and Gus Bowers/Konstantin Lachenauer (#10) were still amongst the top runners with their P5 and P8 overall positions whilst the double race winners of last time, the #24 Prosport Racing AMR of Higo Sasse/Mike David-Ortmann was way back in P17 overall.
With five other Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4s amongst the grid of forty-five cars (after the unfortunate early demise of the #9 Racing One car during Free Practice), the odds were surely still stacked in the favour of at least one of these coming through by the end of the first hour long race.
Due to sheer numbers involved, the opening corners were of course a little bit fraught but at least they were clean as the natural hierarchy of performance soon made clear who was fastest and who wasn’t – sadly for the AMR runners, the utter dominance of the Mercedes AMG GT4 quickly proved that it wasn’t to be Astons day this around.
The next pain for some came just after the pit stop window as Wilfried Cazalbon parked his #89 Am Class AGS Events Racing car with a clear technical issue having only just taken over from Julien Lambert. Whatever the problem was, that car would not compete again over the weekend.
With the two Pro-Am Aston Martin being the last to pit, by the time debris was cleared from the AGS car, Am drivers Rodrique Gillion and Henrik Lyngbye-Pederson each found themselves running within the top 10 on merit as the race went back to green but with just fourteen minutes remaining, contact between two Mercedes spun one of them around and straight into the path of the #25 Prosport Car of Gillion causing extensive front end damage to both cars.
Another Safety Car and then more issues for the AMR runners as Bowers pitted his #10 car with technical issues that would lose the then Silver Class leaders valuable points as the #24 Sasse/Ortmann car eventually came through for a P15 overall/P3 in Silver finish with the #19 Rabindra/Canning car just behind in P17/P4. The #5 Racing One car of Thijmen Nabuurs/Kenton Koch car would persevere for a P6 Silver finish with the #18 Racing One AM car of Pederson/Lungstrass fifth in Am and the #80 AGS car of Tom Verdier/Ruben Del Sarte the last of the AMR finishes in P27 overall/P10 in Silver.
Sundays second race was sadly not a great deal better as the #24 Prosport car of Sasse failed to finish even the opening lap as an early puncture saw the young German elect to call it a day rather than risk the pointless process of limping his car back to the pit lane.
Despite this early negative, the #80 AGS car of Verdier and the #5 Racing One car of Nabuurs at least looked racy as they put early challenges onto those in front before an early Safety Car was called as a McLaren impacted along the pit wall.
The #10 Racing Spirit of Lemans car would again suffer an untimely exit from the race as Lachenauer would this time be forced to retire his car with technical issues just after the pit window as again, the Mercedes AMG cars just ‘walked away’ at the front.
Despite the best of efforts from all those involved, the best AMR result in Race 2 would be the P10 overall and P6 in Silver finish from the #19 Rabindra/Canning car with the #5 Racing One Nabuurs/Koch effort at least being the more consistent of them down in P12 overall/P8 in silver.
These results have seen the #10 crew lose the lead of the Silver Class to a Mercedes powered crew after their double race win in Misano and the Aston Martin crews double DNF. The sister #19 crew and the #24 Prosport crew remain in P2 and P3 respectively with a similar fate with the #89 AGS crew of Cazalbon/Lambert losing their Am class lead thanks to their double DNF as well.
Next top for the Series will be at Spa Francorchamps later this month during the SRO’s annual Speed Week.
Photo credits – GT4 European Series
A better day for #teamAMR as many prepare to race this weekend
Over in Detroit, the sole AMR Vantage GTD from the Heart of Racing team of Roman de Angelis and Ross Gunn went back to where that duo left off last time around at the Belle Isle circuit with the Canadian claiming a P2 in class starting position ahead of this evenings IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Champion Sprint Cup event. The crew are back together again this time around only due to Maxime Martin being busy in France.
Then back over to Europe and France to be exact we off course have had the second day of the Le Pesage or scrutineering ahead of tomorrows 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day with both the #33 and #777 TF Sport prepared AMR Vantage GTE’s going through the on-stage interviews, technical scrutiny and public photo opportunities within the Place de La Republique.
On stage, Ben Keating commented upon the continued ease withy how the AMR Vantage platform drives – especially around the Circuit de La Sarthe and how the sole object for his 2022 attendance would be to claim a class win this time around.
Comments from Satoshi Hoshino and Tomonobu Fujii were also the same of the AMR but jokingly how the #33 car was always ‘just a little faster’!!
By the time tomorrow’s morning test session comes around, the three GTE crews missing drivers will of course be back from their undertakings at the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup’s visit to Paul Ricard in southern France and their 1000km of Paul Ricard which also runs tonight.
After the horrors of yesterday, Marco Sorenson was thankfully fighting fit and back in the chair of the #95 Beechdean AMR Pro Class entry which he shares with Nicki Thiim and Maxime Martin and following a 04:00 finish from rebuilding the car of Sorenson’s accident in Free Practice, saw the #95 chalk up a P10 Qualifying slot straight out of the garage. A huge job undertaken by the crew there.
Also at Paul Ricard, is the GT4 European Series and the eleven AMR Vantage GT4 cars competing within that. After Qualifying for today’s hour-long race, sees both the PROsport Racing and Racing Spirit of Leman’s cars starting from the front of the Silver Cup and Pro-Am grids with Nico Verdonck placing his #25 Prosport car on the front row of the grid after not completing any timed laps during the two Free Practice sessions.
It going to get busy again this weekend!!
Photo credits – D Gibson / AMR / GTWCE / GT4 European / ACO live stream
Street Art Racing fly the AMR flag in GT Open and GT Open Cup at Paul Ricard
Having already competed at Estoril in Portugal at the beginning of May, twenty other GT3 crews are again listed upon this weekend’s entry list, this time including the #007 Street Art Racing AMR Vantage of Pascal Bachmann who will race solo for this event and possibly the remainder of the season.
Having missed the opening round due to business commitments, the former GT4 European Series Am Class Champion has tested their former Optimum Motorsport AMR at various circuits around Europe in preparation for his GT3 race debut at Le Castellet but his quest for a suitably funded co-driver has so far gone unfulfilled.
Now confirmed as competing within the Series Am class, the #007 shares a solo driver status with that of the #8 Lamborghini car within a class of eight other entries.
As usual, the GT Open Series will feature two races over the weekend with a seventy-minute race on Saturday followed by a reverse driver (where applicable) sixty-minute race on Sunday.
The GT Cup shares the weekend with the opening round of the smaller GT Open Cup Series where it is expected that Street Art Racing are again the sole AMR entry for their drivers Julian Darras and Jahid Fazal-Karim. They will also compete with a two fifty-five-minute race programme over the weekend.
That entry list has yet to be confirmed by the series
Photo credits - SAR