It was to be a perfect four out of four top step podium finishes for Swiss racer Kevin Kullmann and his #74 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage GT4 as he signed off upon his 2025 racing preparations in style.

Competing within the opening round Ultimate Cup Series GT Sprint Cup from Paul Ricard in the south of France, the fresh liveried #74 was seen testing alongside last season’s Forsetti British GT GT4 racer Will Orton but it was to be a solo racing effort from Kullmann for the four twenty-five-minute sprint races.

This season coming diversification in classes by the GT4 Winter Series has attracted an early Aston Martin Racing powered entry from the Mucke Motorsport team.

Fielding one of their out of homologation AMR Vantage GT4’s, the German based team will be returning to the Iberian based series with their driver Thilo Goos within the new Club class as the Gedlich ran series pairs up with the Ultimate Cup Series in 2025.

 

The Swiss based Racing Spirit of Leman team go one last time in southern Europe this weekend as the Ultimate Cup Series runs out its last round of the season from Le Castellet.

Far from full season entrants, the Swiss team is back with a differing driver line up as Henri Lombard and Franck Dupuis will contest the four remaining GT Sprint races of the season within their #7 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 within the USC4 class.

They will compete amongst a mixed class grid of twenty-one cars over the course of the weekend after two thirty-five-minute Free Practice sessions, two fifteen minute Qualifying sessions and four twenty five minute races around the Mistral circuit.

Photo credits– Team / Series / social media

 

In other Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 related news, it was a sad end to the Street Art Racing’s return to the 24H Series as their #407 car had to be eventually pulled out of the twelve hours of Misano for safety reasons.

Racing one of their 17A variants of the Vantage GT4, the Jahid Fazal Karim, Pascal Bachmann and Julien Darras driver car had qualified on class pole on Friday and were running within that position before multiple punctures and braking issues forced the car back into the pits.

 

Three solo running Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s competing at individual events conclude this weekend’s AMR powered racing programme around the world.

Around in Bangsaen, we see the Thailand Super Series return to the track with their second round of the season at this coastal improvised road circuit.

 

A somewhat successful debut within the Ultimate Cup Series for the Portuguese based Racar Motorsport Aston Martin Racing powered team as their two Vantage GT4 crews secured five out of a possible eight class podiums at last weekend’s season opener.

Having got themselves race ready with a few rounds within the now concluded GT4 Winter Series, the team entered both of their available 17A versions of the Vantage GT4 for the series opener from Circuit Paul Ricard in France for drivers Antonio Lopes/Matthieu Martins aboard the #09 car and Ruben Vaquinhas and Roberto Faria aboard the #777 car.

 

With the two IMSA Series stealing much of the airtime this weekend with their visit to the bumps of the Sebring International Raceway, there is still much to keep an eye for from other Aston Martin Racing powered teams across the world as well.

Starting in France, the Ultimate Cup Series opens their 2024 account within their opening race weekend from the Circuit Paul Ricard which also hosts the opening salvo’s of their new AMR Trophy class.

 

The final race weekend of the European theatre proved itself to be another productive one for the three Aston Martin Racing powered teams competing within the final rounds of two European series with race podiums for some and Championship wins for others.

The Iberian Supercars Series was busy at Estoril, Portugal with another thirty-four mixed class entry which this time included three Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s amongst them.

 

Just as we had thought that the European based GT racing scene was coming to an end with just the final round of the Iberian Supercars Series from Estoril this weekend, we need to squeeze another southern European based series that is also doing likewise.

Whilst the Iberian series will have a couple of Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 powered crews within their midst, this weekend’s final round of the Ultimate Cup Series will see an ‘off the cuff’ Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 run for a trio of drivers put into touch with one another by (presumably) AMR factory driver Valentin Hasse-Clot.

 

Next seasons news is never far away as today sees the latest series to engage with the success of the Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 platform whilst in the hands of a suitable qualifying Am and Pro-Am driver combination.

Launching their Ultimate Cup AMR Trophy today, this Ultimate Cup Series bolt-on series will complement their already broad range of series that race under the umbrella of the Ultimate Cup Series around the circuits of Europe.

Listing it as a series for the latest 17A variant of Vantage GT4, this new AMR Trophy has been listed towards the Am and Pro-Am category of drivers competing (presumably) at their six round 2024 season announced earlier this month. We wonder if they will include with that the GT8R class car as well?

Photo credit - Series

 

There were extraordinary events at the final round of the Ultimate Cup Series from Estoril, Portugal at the weekend for the two Aston Martin Racing runners that rounded their European seasons off on something of a high.

Part time season entrant Team Virage returned with their young Mexican and AMR Drivers Academy racer, Jose Antonio Ledesma as he joined his third different co-driver in the series (Xavier Follenfant) for the final endurance race on Sunday to decide the winner of that Championship.

Two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s from two European based teams have made the long trip south to Estoril for the final round of the Ultimate Cup Series there this weekend.

The #16 Team Virage crew of Antonio Ledesma and Umberto D’Amato presently lie in second place of their GT class 5a class going into this final round having racked up a class win and second place finish in the two rounds that they have contested at both Paul Ricard and most recently at Le Mans.

Just seven points behind the leading CD Sport car of Thomas Accary and David Monclair after their two class wins from the opening two rounds that they attended; it will be as simple winner takes all affair this weekend.

Joining them in Portugal this weekend will also be the PROsport Racing AMR Vantage GT4 for drivers Nico Verdonck and his Gentleman driver client Rodrigue Gillion as they will race in both the NAPA GT Touring Endurance and Kennol GT Touring Sprint grids.

We expect this to be part of one final race weekend before winter and the Dubai 24 in early 2022 for both the team and drivers.

Photo credits – Team Virage / 24H Series

Christoph Esser’s PROsport Racing team is promising another diverse year of motor racing in 2021 with a busy season of European (and perhaps international) racing coming up for both their existing client base as well as new, but familiar faces in their Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 race cars.

First up for them in 2021 will be the 24H Series 24hrs of Dubai. Having already dispatched their sea container with all their necessary equipment earlier this month, long term customer Rodrique Gillian and ‘in-house’ driver coach Nico Verdonck will again form the basis of their Creventic series attack starting at Dubai in mid-January before moving onto further rounds at Spa and Portimao before potentially venturing on to the 12hrs of Sebring that is scheduled for mid-November.