Everything has shaped up rather nicely ahead of tomorrow morning’s final race of the 2025 Michelin Le Mans Cup Series season with both Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered crews populating the front row of the final grid at Portimao.

Having learned of the full season entered #11 Code Racing Development late change in driver line up to series debutants Pascal Huteau and David Kullmann in replacement of the previous advertised Philipp Sager and Valentin Hasse-Clot as well as the guesting #91 Blackthorn AMR of Alex Martin and Charles Bateman making their first appearance together, it appears that their status of no pressure being upon them was enough for both crews to post the two fastest laps time to otherwise dominate the GT3 class front row.

 

Today sees a big change in driver line for the #11 Code Racing Development Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 for this weekend’s final round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup Series at Portimao as well as an additional entry.

The earlier provisional entry list again showed the usual Philipp Sager again being paired up with Valentin Hasse-Clot in lieu of an absent Rory Van Der Steur but today sees even that change to a whole new pairing.

 

Now fully deserving of its own post sees further news from the Prosport Racing team confirmed today that goes along with their other news of yesterday.

Having confirmed their return to the GT4 Winter Series for their final round of their season in Barcelona next weekend with one of their 2019 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s and a GT rookie driver line up, today sees the German based team reveal an AMR Vantage GT3 driver line up for the same event within the GT Winter Series set of races.

 

A very healthy seven Aston Martin Racing powered entries help to make up the hundred plus entries ahead of this weekend’s NLS (Nurburgring Langstrecken Serie) double header opener around the infamous Nordschleife.

Locally based Prosport Racing head that assault with both the GT3 and GT4 classes as they welcome back familiar faces amongst other, as do the Doer Motorsport team within both group sets too – just in smaller numbers and with variations per Saturday and Sunday events.

 

It was a successful return to the Iberian Supercars Series for the now, two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 crews as the GT4/TCR based grid ran for the first time at Jarama in early June around the Spanish circuit of Jerez.

Welcoming back the class leading #007 Araujo Competicao Aston Martin of Alvaro Ramos and Fernando Soares, for this return to racing after their summer break also saw the first running of the #777 Alexandre Martin and Rubin Vaquinhas.

Whilst we wait to see the latest evolution of the Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 race car to hit the track of Portimao in Portugal for a two-day Goodyear tyre test, a few conversation points over the weekend certainly put ‘some more meat onto the bones’ for us regarding the car’s finer detail.

With all GT based race cars heavily homologated against it’s road car equivalent, we understand that the timing and secrecy around this test and development programme has indeed been hindered/delayed by the requirements of that road car equivalent pushing back the timings of this new race car.

With that development having started just over a year ago when both Ross Gunn and Maxime Martin hit the tracks of southern Europe testing what turned out to be hidden, internal components of the car, that rate of development only recently ramped up to a position where visual details of the car were only allowed to be released at a recent track testing event at Silverstone a couple of weeks ago.

In between these test sessions (which have usually been abroad) a similar hard sell effort to that of the 2018 variant has also been underway with countless Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE/GT3 team owners already having sampled the goods. This week’s two-day event in Portugal will be no different with similar Customer and Partner team participation expected.

Whilst the exact technical detail remains a closely guarded secret, we understand that it would be fair to say that all bar the doors and the roof has been changed as each corner and full aero package has been revisited and revised into what we see today. We also understand that the engine and gearbox remain unchanged – mechanically at least although we would expect some form of digital remastering of its controlling software to come into play to cater for this new cars apparent performance improvements.

When asked about any 2024 racing endeavours, one team owner remarked that it was already his car down in Portugal and when we looked at what was on offer at Donington, that was indeed chassis 16A-22-2, the chassis we take it that was written off after an incident last season at Paul Ricard which had to be rebuilt in time for the Spa 24 and not his usual platform.

That means that we already know about the test and development chassis down in Portimao as that car was the original 2017 GTE test bed before being converted into the 2018 GT3 test bed, first seen in public at the Le Mans Festival with Ross Gunn before being run by the Beechdean AMR team and Andrew Howard as his latest  R&D car acquisition from Prodrive.

Was it better than the current model we asked? – “oh, yer!” was the answer, along with a massive smile!

Photo credits – Auto Express

 

Prosport Racing will head to Hockenheim this weekend with two ADAC GT4 Germany Series Championships firmly within their sights as their defending Championship look to retain their overall crown with Prosport Racing claiming the Team’s title.

 

It was a championship winning kind of weekend as tow Aston Martin Racing powered teams finally laid their hands upon the ultimate prize that they had been chasing all season making another win apiece for the Vantage GT3 and GT4 platform.

In Germany, there was on Saturday the running of the final Nurburgring Langstrecken Serie around the notorious Nurburgring Nordschliefe as both the Doer Motorsport entered a solo Vantage GT3 again and the Prosport Racing teams two of each platform into this final round.

Hopefully this will not get lost under the tranche of Aston Martin IMSA/FIA WEC Valkyrie news that came out from both sides of the Atlantic earlier today, this weekend sees five Aston Martin Racing powered crews due to take part within the final round of the Nurburgring Langstrecken Serie.

Precisely the kind of teams also targeted within today’s news regarding the imminently expected arrival of the new Vantage GT3 and GT4 race car platforms, sees both the Doer Motorsport and Prosport Racing teams again enter both versions of the existing car for this weekend’s four-hour race.

 

The German based ADAC GT4 Germany Series is back in action with its penultimate round of the season from the Sachsenring this weekend.

Continuing the theme that was raised last time out from the Lausitzring, we again see just the quartet of Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s from the Prosport Racing team as the Doer Motorsport team will indeed by busy elsewhere with the double header of rounds six and seven of the NLS Series around the Nordschliefe.

 

Championship points were certainly hard to come by at the weekend for the four Prosport Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 crews competing within this weekend’s fourth round of the ADAC GT4 Germany Series around the banked oval and infield of the Lausitzring.

Having lost the Doer Motorsport team from championship contention since the last round at the Nurburgring, AMR honours have been left to the Christoph Esser lead team and principally their #1 crew of reigning champions Mike David Ortmann and Hugo Sasse.

 

This time, only four Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 crews enter this weekend’s fourth round of the ADAC GT4 Germany Series from the Lausitzring as the Doer Motorsport entry prepares themselves for another twelve-hour adventure around the Nordschliefe next month.

That leaves ‘just’ the four entries from the Prosport Racing team to fly the flag again having enjoyed something of a special event last time out at their local Nurburgring circuit earlier in the month where both the #1 and #48 car each returned with class silverware for their efforts.

 

This weekend sees the third round of the ADAC GT4 Germany Series take place around the Nurburgring with another twist to the Aston Martin Racing powered contingent in store too.

Starting out at Oschersleben at the end of May before progressing to Zandvoort in Holland four weeks later saw the Bachman siblings start and then end their series endeavours with the Prosport Racing team, for them to be replaced ahead of the last round and for two series debutants to take their places again in Germany.

 

The two races of the second round of the GT4 Germany Series from Zandvoort at the weekend sadly produced a full set on non-podium winning positions for the five Aston Martin Racing powered crews at the weekend as the series again supported the DTM Series at the Dutch coastal circuit.

With Vantage GT4 crews from both the Prosport Racing and Doer Motorsport teams, actually making the second round with already a feat of achievement after all four of their cars were damaged in a road traffic accident coming away from the opening round from Oschersleben a few weeks ago.