Aston Martin Vantage GT3 chasing glory as FIA World Endurance Championship returns to COTA
New Aston Martin Vantage GT3 chasing victory on FIA World Endurance Championship Circuit of the Americas [COTA] debut Aston Martin the most successful GT manufacturer at Austin, as WEC returns to COTA for the first time since 2020 The Heart of Racing [THoR] all set to make its WEC home race ‘debut’ Vantage on the podium again in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as THoR GTD hot streak continues Works driver Ross Gunn closes in on IMSA GTD Pro points lead Tuesday, 27 August, 2024, Austin, USA: Aston Martin makes a racing return to the Circuit of the Americas [COTA] and the Lone Star Le Mans 6 hours race – scene of extraordinary success for Vantage in the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] – as the newest Vantage GT3 prepares to take its Texas bow in the hands of partner teams The Heart of Racing [THoR] and D’station Racing, this weekend. No other manufacturer boasts such a tremendous victory tally at the Austin venue, which returns to the WEC calendar for the first time since 2020 when Aston Martin also recorded a double-class victory. Indeed, the British ultraluxury sportscar brand has achieved no less than nine GT class wins in the six events COTA has staged since the series was formed in 2012. That’s a 75% win ratio, and four of those triumphs were double-class victories. Aston Martin’s GT3-based challenger, which is closely derived from the new Vantage road car unveiled earlier this year at Silverstone, is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminium chassis and is powered by a fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine. And while it awaits its first victory at world championship level, the car has already proven itself in other categories and is increasingly competitive in the closely-contested LMGT3 class, which features no less than nine manufacturers. THoR (which competes on home ground for the first time since it joined WEC at Spa in 2023), raced to second place in the most recent WEC round – the 6 Hours of Sao Paolo – in Brazil, last month. The result meant its driver crew, comprised of team principal Ian James (GBR), Alex Ribeiras (ESP) and Daniel Mancinelli (ITA), closed the gap in the fight for second in the LMGT3 points standings. They head into COTA fourth, 20 points from second, and 45 off the lead, with a maximum of 91 available from the last three races. This performance follows another second place in the season-opening Qatar 1812 event and a brilliant if unrewarded showing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 led for long periods of the event. D’station Racing has also recorded a podium result this season, finishing third in Qatar. Since then, the team has delivered a solid campaign with points finishes in every round, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans where the team recorded an important top ten finish in class with team owner Satoshi Hoshino stepping back in to the driver line-up. Hoshino’s seat is now re-occupied by Clément Mateu (FRA), who has contested all the rounds bar Le Mans. He is joined by 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, completes the driving strength in the #777. The trio sit seventh in the championship standings, just 11 points behind THoR. Outside of WEC, momentum around the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is already building as THoR’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign ramps up. The US-based team extended its podium-run to five consecutive rounds at the Virginia International Raceway, with both its cars recording top-three class finishes in the 160-minute sprint race, on Sunday. Works driver Ross Gunn (GBR), who shares the GTD Pro #23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with Alex Riberas (ESP), closed in on the class points lead with third place, to add to the duo’s recent victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park [Mosport] and Watkins Glen. Gunn, currently second in the standings, is now just 17 points away from the GTD Pro class lead (less than the 30-point difference between finishing first and second) and with two races left to run at Indianapolis and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta offering up a possible 770 points. Meanwhile former IMSA GTD champion Roman De Angelis and fellow Canadian team-mate Zacharie Robichon finished second in the GTD class with their #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 – this follows on from a third place at Road America last time out and a GTD class win at Mosport in mid-July. Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: “The Aston Martin Vantage GT3 has established itself as a competitive force on the global GT landscape in a relatively short period of time. And, but for some significant misfortune might also already have an FIA WEC class victory to its name to stand alongside its Spa 24 Hours win and The Heart of Racing’s multiple class wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and D’station Racing’s SUPER GT class win in Japan. Historically, Aston Martin has been incredibly successful at COTA in WEC, and the ingredients are there with both THoR and D’station Racing for the new Vantage GT3 to continue that trend this weekend.” Official practice for the Lone Star Le Mans begins on Friday, 30 August at 1240 local time (1840 BST) with the race beginning at 1300 (1900 BST) on Sunday. Follow details of the event via the official series websites and Apps.
