Having taken the world stage by storm with a debuting SP8T class win at the ADAC Total 24N event the weekend after Le Mans 24 earlier this year, one of the AMR Performance Centre's Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 returns to the scene at this weekends round of the VLN Series.

This weekend sees just a single AMR car entered into the halfway stage of the German VLN Series around the infamous and notorious Green Hell circuit that is the Nordschleife with two very well established Aston Martin runners in the form of Marc Muller supporting American businessman and gentleman driver David Thilenius aboard the #158 SP8T class AMR Vantage GT4.


Having competed together in this years N24 aboard the outgoing Aston Martin Vantage GT8, they and co drivers Tony Richards and Heinz Jurgen Kroner sadly failed to finish the race in the normally aspirated former N24 class winning car.

We hope that this revisit will be slightly more 'profitable' for them!

Photo credits - AMR

All four new Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4's entered by both the AMR Performance Centre and PROsport Performance customer team made significant improvements over the course of yesterdays weather interrupted track sessions, all ahead of this weekends ADAC Total 24 H race from the infamous Nordschelife circuit in southern Germany.

Having 'baptised' their new GT4 racing chariot at the most perhaps the most difficult racing circuit in the world last month in the events preceding Qualification Race, available track time yesterday afternoon was somewhat limited due to torrential rain around parts of the 26km during the earlier Free Practice session that resulted in it being red flagged and not resumed due to the number of cars having incidents around the circuit.


During Free Practice, representative lap times were at least being entered by three of the five Aston Martins competing at the event (the fifth being the AMR performance Centre entered Vantage GT8 customer car) and they were headed by the #36 Darren Turner / Chris Goodwin / Christian Gebhardt SP8T car which was ahead of the #68 PROsport Performance car of Jorg Viebahn / Joonas Lappalainen / Nicolaj Moller-Madson car by just 1/10th of a second.

With the circuit eventually drying out enough for the first of the Qualifying session yesterday evening, these times became history as again the #36 car wiped nearly twenty seconds off its best lap time to end the session the fastest AMR car in overall P40 with a lap time of 9:03:493. This time all five cars were able to enter the required number of laps per driver to 'Qualify' for the race with further qualifying sessions to be used to determine their precise starting position and were spread between P40 and P77 of the 155 car grid that completed Q1.


Early issues with the GT8 and #37 Vantage GT4 were quickly overcome to allow each crew to get their schedule back on track despite the earlier loss of track time with the GT8 ending its first day 4th fastest in its SP8 class.

As the crews now look forward to todays further two Qualifying sessions, all are presently placed as follows in the proceedings:-

So after Q1, positions are: SP8T 

P1 #36 Darren Turner / Chris Goodwin / Christian Gebhardt
P4 #37 Jamie Chadwick / Alex Brundle / Peter Cate

SP10

P2 #68 Jorg Viebahn / Joonas Lappalainen / Nicolaj Moller-Madson
P5 #76 Christoph Breuer / Alex Mies / Kay van Berlo / Mike David Ortmann

SP8

P4 #35 Marco Muller / Tony Richard / Heinz Jurgen Kroner / David Thilenius


The start of the ADAC Total 24 H race itself starts at 15:30hrs so there is still a long way to go!

Photo credits - AMR / Frozenspeed

Today sees 160 cars confirmed for this years ADAC Total 24H race from the Nordschleife in just over three weeks time, this year featuring four examples of the new 2109 specification Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 as well as the venerable and former class winning Aston Martin Vantage GT8.

The two AMR Vantage GT4's being entered and supported by the local AMR Performance Centre in the SP8T class includes those who undertook the events Qualifying Race at the circuit two weeks ago and again includes double driving duties for AMR factory driver Darren Turner aboard both of them.

The other two AMR Vantage GT4 cars are being entered by the PROsport Performance AMR Partner team and will compete within the SP10 class, a move that Aston Martin have often utilised in to avoid the factory competing directly against its customer cars.


Despite previous communications, it sadly appears that AMR factory reserve driver Ross Gunn will now not be involved with either of the two factory supported GT4's with his place now being taken by Turner as he will switch between cars just like he did at the Qualifying Race. The GT8 and the two PROsport Performance entered cars will be strictly customer based but the names with the GT8 car being very familiar to those who follow the VLN Series.

Driver line up are confirmed as being

#35 Aston Martin Vantage GT8 SP8 Class
Marco Muller
Tony Richards
David Thilenius
Heinz Jurgen Kroner

#36 AMR Performance Centre Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 SP8T Class
Darren Turner
Chris Goodwin
Chris Harris
Christian Gebhardt

#37 AMR Performance Centre Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 SP8T Class
Darren Turner
Jamie Chadwick
Peter Cate
Alex Brundle

#68 PROsport Performance Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 SP10 Class 
Christoph Breuer
Kay van Berlo
Alexander Mies
Mike David Ortmann


#76 PROsport Performance Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 SP10 Class
Jorg Viebahn
Nicolaj Moller-Madson
Jonas Lappeleinen




The race takes place over the weekend of 22-23rd June - the weekend after Le Mans 24.


Photo credits - AMR / GT4 European Series

Like so many races around the historic Nordschelife circuit, the weather plays a significant part in determining the outcome of such events and todays VLN3 race was no different.

Whereas the previous round of the series earlier this month never really got started due to lingering fog and unexpected snow falling around the circuit,  todays ADAC ACAS H&R Cup started under heavy clouds that soon started to deposit their large volume of precipitation around the circuit just as the cars assembled on the grids for the start of the four race.


For Aston Martin there were no championship standings to go chasing after - rather than just getting their selection of drivers through the event so that they then qualify for their full VLN Permit and to settle some other drivers in to the mannerism's of the new V8 turbo charged AMR Vantage GT4 all ahead of the full ADAC Zurich 24H race in mid June.

Going for their permits were again Martin Brundle and Alex West who would this time be joined by Aston Martin's High Performance Test Driver and Garage 59 driver Chris Goodwin, whereas already qualified for that qualification - Jamie Chadwick, Peter Cate and Christian Gebhardt would drive the new Vantage GT4 around the Green Hell for the first time in competition.


Despite the deluge of rain that fell onto the circuit during the first hour and whilst many of other cars were systematically crashing out of the race, cool heads within the two AMR Vantage GT4's cars kept them on the tarmac but unfortunately for the #134 AMR Performance Centre Vantage GT8 of Marco Muller and Tony Richards, they became victim to their own tail end damage to their car that would prove end their race early.

Cycling through their require nine racing laps apiece, the #150 AMR Development Centre supported Vantage GT4, the trio of age old experienced drivers also came through to win the SP8 class by over 11 seconds to their only other class finishing rival. Not a bad achievement considering the atrocious conditions.


For the trio aboard the new Vantage GT4, racing in the different class of SP8T because of its turbo charged engine, they were to finish P5 in class and leaves things comfortably placed ready for the Qualifying race in just three weeks time.

Photo credits - Social media

After having the second round of the VLN Series snowed off earlier this month, round three takes place this weekend and features names already announced by Aston Martin Racing as featuring in this years factory plans for the forthcoming ADAC Zurich 24H race later in June.

As part of the two car factory supported GT4 entry effort into the big race sees that likes of newly recruited AMR Junior driver Jamie Chadwick pairing up once again with the Nordschleife guru that is Peter Cate in an AMR Performance Centre prepared Vantage GT4 in the SP8T class. They will be joined this weekend by both Chris Goodwin and Christian Gebhardt in the #156 car.


Also competing at the VLN3 event on Saturday will see the return of both Martin Brundle and Alex West aboard the #150 AMR Performance Centre GT4 in the SP8 class as both of these drivers make their way to a full GT3 Nordschleife Permit in time for June. Both drivers missed out on the weather effected VLN2 by virtue of their prior commitments in both F1 and Blancpain GT respectively.

Rounding off the trio of cars sees the return of both Marco Muller and Tony Richards again in the Vantage GT8 that they (with others) shall also race at the N24.


The ADAC GT Masters Series finally gets under this weekend from the 3.6km circuit at Oschersleben in central Germany.

Two AMR Vantage GT3's from the PROsport Performance team will be entered into the series and will compete under the PROpeak Performance banner. Their four driver line up will consist of AMR Factory driver Maxime Martin with Daniel Keilwitz as well as drivers new to the series in Hugo de Sadeleer and Valentin Hasse-Clot for their two opening races on Saturday and Sunday.


That series in in turn supported by the ADAC GT4 Germany series within which again we will see see the PROpeak Performance team enter two AMR Vantage GT4's as a third stage to a hectic schedule of GT4 racing of theirs in this and the GT4 European Series and 24H Series as well.


Drivers Florian Thoma pairs with Jeremy Lesoudier and Joonas Lappalainen pairs with Joerg Viebahn.


The International GT Open Championship opens its 2019 account this weekend with the first of a series of seven double header weekends starting at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France.

Returning to the Championship will again be the Optimum Motorsport pairing of Ollie Wilkinson and Bradley Ellis this time in their new Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 that they raced so will in at the opening rounds of the British GT Championship from Oulton Park last weekend finishing with a P3 overall podium in race 1.


The duo have already tested at the circuit at the official winter test there back in February but that was early doors for them having only just received the car from the Prodrive factory. Despite that, they still finished seventh quickest at the end of the first day of testing.


After an emphatic win at the opening five hour endurance round from Suzuka, Japanese based D'Station AMR Racing return to the Pirelli Super Taikyu Series for its second round from the Sugo Circuit in the north of the country.


Local drivers Satoshi Hoshino and Tsubasa Kondo are once again due to be joined by AMR factory driver Darren Turner for the shorter three hour race aboard the teams #777 AMR Vantage GT3 (ST-X) class car on Sunday.

Thats another hectic schedule of #TeamAMR racing from around the world - good luck to you all!

Photo credits - AMR / D'Station AMR / Optimum / Prosport

Interesting news coming out of Aston Martin Racing today with the confirmation of two new V8  Vantage GT4's being entered by the factory team into the ADAC Total 24H from the Nordschleife this June.

Supported by the local AMR Performance Centre, drivers Alex Brundle, Jamie Chadwick, Chris Goodwin, Darren Turner, Ross Gunn and Peter Cate have all be confirmed.

For the former 2015 British GT GT4 Champion Jamie Chadwick, she has now also now gone on to be confirmed today as another junior works driver for the team and follows in the footsteps of Andrew Watson and Charlie Eastwood who have also recently risen to such status.


With the possibilities of any factory entered GT3's into the race looking a distant possibility for 2019, this news will be the closest that we shall get to that this year. That doesn't necessarily mean that there will be no Vantage GT3's at the N24 this year as Garage 59's co-owner Alex West is presently going for his full Nordschleife Permit in the opening rounds of the VLN Series this year so we will have to wait and see.

Chadwick and Brundle will start upon this AMR project together at next weekends VLN Series race and then again at the Qualification race in May. They will be joined by Aston Martins Nordschleife specialist Peter Cate and AMR factory driver Gunn racing in the SP10 class.

Brundle had his first taster of the new Vantage GT4 at the BRDC Track Day event at Silverstone yesterday.


The second car entered into the SP8T class will be made of of Darren Turner, Chris Harris, Chris Goodwin and Christian Gebhardt with a third Aston Martin - the extremely successful Vantage GT8 being entered by a customer squad.

David King, President, Aston Martin Racing, added: “Jamie is one the brightest talents in the British junior ranks and must be considered among the favourites in the exciting new W Series. We’ve been keeping a watchful eye on her progress and working with her ad hoc since she won the British GT4 Championship in one of our cars and it was clear that the time was right to bring her more formally into the fold so that we may play a deeper role in her career development. 

The second round of the German DMV GTC Series at Hockenheim proved itself to be something of a reality check for the two Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage GT3's after a good showing by the then single AMR car entered at round one.

Timo Scheibner and his Schaler Motorsport team were back with 'their' bronze and black Vantage GT3, the car that had earned them three credible P4 finishes in the opening two rounds of the GTC Series as well as the Dunlop 60 event.


For round two, Scheibner was joined by the guardian of most of the remaining AMR V12 Vantage GT3 fleet in the world including his car - Alex Lienau who was himself joined by BRDC Chairman and historic racer John Grant - long term friend of both Lienau and Scheibner.

Unfortunately race 1 didn't fair too well for the trio of gentlemen racers as both cars failed to finish through various technical issues with race 2 fairing no better for the Englishman - retiring his car after just one lap.


In Fridays sixty minute Dunlop 60 race, Scheiber at least finished top of his Class 2 opponents although the former AMR Brussels Racing of Lienau and Grant only managed three laps. Later, it transpired that the #14 car may have looked the part in all of its Red Bull livery but it was suffering from fundamental handling issues - issues that a novice GT3 racer like Grant would forever be unable to remedy or control from within the car.

Lets hope that this trio can remedy things before the next round of the Series at the Red Bull Ring, Austria towards the end of May.


Further south in Germany, the second round of the VLN Series suffered no better with Saturday morning Qualifying again getting delayed by morning fog around the circuit before the formation lap could then take place ahead of todays four hour race.

Unfortunately for the 181 cars that did Qualify - racing only lasted two laps before the red was first red flagged and then abandoned due to heavy snow falling around the circuit meaning for a very short day at the office for drivers Marco Muller and Jesse Menczer in the AMR Performance Centre Vantage GT8.

The next round of the series is at the end of the month.

Photo credits - DMV GTC / VLN

The Aston Martin Vantage GT8 makes a racing return at the VLN2 meeting this weekend with a new AMR Performance Centre customer teaming up with the car for the first time.

Marco Muller again leads the way for the this time sole Aston Martin car in the 190 odd strong entry for the second round of the 2019 VLN season around the Nordschleife - he will this time be joined by American racer Jesse Menczer, a driver who has Porsche and Radical racing experience in the States as well as some prior experience of the 'Green Hell' in a lower class of car.

Its been a good start to the racing weekend for Aston Martin Racing, its affiliates and customer teams around the world as all get ready for the start of their respective races tomorrow and Sunday.

Starting at the top, the World Endurance Championship reconvenes at Fuji International, Japan this weekend for what is the fourth round of their transitional Super-Season with the factory team looking to build upon the success and promises that were delivered last time out at Silverstone in August.

Keeping their drivers actively engaged with their customer teams around Europe looks to have paid off in the early sessions with the #95 GTE Pro car of Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim heading the timing screen at the end of Free Practice 2 today. With the ten cars in GTE Pro being split by less than 1 second proves just how tight and competitive the class has become and how every milli-second counts.

The AMR Performance Centre entered Vantage GT8 with drivers Andy Palmer, Peter Cate and Chris Hoy qualified P13 in the TCE grid, third in the SP3 class for the start of tomorrows 24H Series twelve hour race around Spa Francorchamps. Despite this appears to be the Aston Martin's CEO first racing experience of the iconic track the trio were fastest in class for all of the other sessions on track today.

The race begins at 09:50 tomorrow.


A bit further south at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France, Matt George and James Holder stuck their #144 Generation AMR SuperRacing V8 Vantage GT4 at the top of the timing screen by the end of todays first Free Practice and then backed that up with a P5 by the end of FP2 this afternoon.

Not involved in the outstanding Championship battles, the duo are clearly enjoying themselves as they wind up their European season before looking forward to another winter campaign. Qualifying and the weekends first race take place tomorrow with the final race of the year on Sunday.


GT Cup concludes its 2018 season at Silverstone at the weekend with GTH Class Champions Adam Hatfield and Chris Murphy looking to extend that to include the overall championship win as well. Whitebridge AMR will be busy though having entered three V8 Vantage GT4's for both Hatfield/Murphy as well as one each for James Murphy and a returning Barry McMahon.


Nigel Hudson will be the sole V12 Vantage GT3 representative at the meeting and will again race solo after his very up and down return to the Championship at Donington last month.

Good luck to them all!

Photo credits - AMR / Adrenal Media / Steve Jackman / FFSA / 24H Series / TF Sport

Two more series come to the end of their 2018 campaigns or their racing involvement within continental Europe. The Creventic's 24H Series round off their European part of their season this weekend at Spa whilst the French FFSA GT4 Championship rounds of their season with a championship decider at Paul Ricard.

For the twelve hours of Spa, Aston Martin Lagonda CEO Andy Palmer makes another appearance in the series with Peter Cate after their first experiences with the Series at the 24Hours of the Circuit of the Americas in Texas last year aboard the Aston Martin Vantage GT8.


Returning with the trusted AMR Performance Centre prepared Vantage GT8 this weekend, Palmer and Cate will this time be joined by former gold medal Olympian Sir Chris Hoy. The former Nissan based GT and LMP racer has obviously been wooed away and enticed into the Aston Martin brand having enjoyed his return to the race track at Le Mans during the Aston Martin arcing Festival back in June when he shared a Vantage GT4 with former F1 racer Martin Brundle.


Running the shorter race format than the series name usually suggests, track activity at Spa starts this Friday morning with Private testing before day and night Qualifying later in the afternoon/evening ready for an 09:50hrs (local) race start on Saturday.


Seeing out their final race in the French National GT4 Championship will be the Appleby Engineering prepared Generation AMR SuperRacing V8 Vantage GT4 of James Holder and Matt George.

With the primary focus from all concerned this year being on the development of the new Jaguar GT4 Invictus Games Racing project within the British GT Championship that Holder has financed, that has left little time for the team to participate in the full FFSA season. Speaking with the team at the BGT finale at Donington last month, this race may also be the last with the normally aspirated V8 Vantage with the team holding options on the Prodrive factory for the new turbo charged car.

Photo credit - FFSA

With so many national and European race series having already come to an end you would have thought that this year's motor racing season was coming to another natural conclusion for the year, but in fact this weekend is just as busy as another other in the year (and will be for the next few weeks) as many members of the #TeamAMR family will be striving for success around the world.

Firstly, the China GT Championship's penultimate round in the more central Chinese city of Wuhan is already underway with a mid week fixture around its street circuit as China Equity AMR look to strengthen their slender four point GT4 championship lead over the chasing pack with just four races remaining.


In a slight change to the driver line up, Stanley Yang takes his seat back again behind the wheel of the  team's championship leading #618 car and will with freshly crowned British GT GT4 Champion Jack Mitchell as Ryan Liu takes a 'back seat'. The team's #619 car will again be driven by David Pun and Will O'Brien.


We understand from race organisers that there will be NO live stream of either race over their social media channels which is a great shame!


With huge significance for the Aston Martin Racing team, Saturday sees the first competitive race entry for its yet to be homologated V8 Vantage GT3 at the penultimate round of the German VLN Series from the Nordschleife. Entering its final and critical phase of development, the demands of the Green Hell will be used to finely tune the new GT3 platform ahead of its official homlogation date of early March 2019 but which time many new cars will have already been supplied to the first bunch of customer teams.

AMR factory drivers Darren Turner and Maxime Martin will get the honour of driving the #56 car in Saturday's four hour race and that will be after Martin and Jonny Adam have finished with it after a further two day test at the Circuit de Catalunya this week. You will recall that AMR test and WEC reserve driver Ross Gunn had the overall honour of launching the new car onto the world stage by 'coming first' in the Aston Martin Racing Festival race at Le Mans in June although then the car was  more a of GTE than a GT3.

Supporting the factory effort in the new GT3 and launching their own pathways through to the all important VLN GT3 Permit aboard one of the AMR Performance Centre's Vantage #150 GT4 will be Ross Gunn competing alongside AML development driver Chris Goodwin in what we believe may be his first public racing experience with Aston Martin?


Long term AMR Performance Centre customer Jurgen Kroner will again peddle his wares around the circuit in the Centre's Vantage S car alongside Marco Muller and a double stinting Turner in the AMR Performance centre #144 Vantage S.

Full season entry from Avia Racing will again be back with their #188 Vantage GT4, presumably desperate to overcome their recent run of bad luck with two DNF's and most latterly a DNS after a season that started so well for them.


Back in the UK, the Dunlop sponsored Britcar Championships hold their penultimate round of the season at Silverstone with just Chris Murphy and his Whitebridge AMR holding the flag for the marque with the EDF Motorsport prepared Vantage GT4 of Mal Sandford again sitting the round out after something of a mixed bag last time out at Snetterton.


Finally in club racing, the Aston Martin Owners Club also have their final round of the season at Silverstone alongside Britcar. It was hoped that Gleb Stepanov's Aston Martin Vulcan could have been there again after it wowed the crowd last time out at Snetterton but now we understand that following an extended run out at both the Best of Italy Festival and then a private Aston Martin Vulcan customer test at Vallelunga the other week, that has now put pay to that possibility sadly.


And at Snetterton 22GT Racing will be along with one of their V8 Vantage GT4's that they helped run at the Aston Martin Racing Festival At Le Mans in the 750MC event on Saturday.

Photo credits - EDF Motorsport / AMOC / AML / China GT