Aston Martin’s new Vantage GT3 will compete this weekend in the ‘ADAC Total 24h Nürburgring’ race, continuing the tradition of victory.
Aston Martin has a legacy of over 60 years of success at the challenging Nürburgring. In the late 1950s, legendary Grand Prix drivers Tony Brooks, Sir Stirling Moss, and Sir Jack Brabham contributed to Aston Martin’s achievement of three consecutive victories in the 1000km race. One of these victories in 1959 helped Aston Martin secure the crown in the World Sports Car Championship. Furthermore, 1959 marked the year that the Aston Martin DBR1 clinched overall victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours, with the 92nd Le Mans 24 Hours set to be held in France on June 15-16.
Since its return to the sports car racing scene in the mid-2000s, Aston Martin has consistently participated in the Nürburgring 24-hour race, either directly or through partner teams. As a result, every Aston Martin Vantage model has earned at least ten class victories and more than 25 podium finishes since 2006.
Throughout June, during which three major endurance races are held, Aston Martin will compete in all races, including the Crowdstrike Spa 24 Hours later in the month, debuting the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 at the most prestigious 24-hour race.
This year, as in 2022 when Vantage led the Nürburgring 24 Hours overnight, Aston Martin has partnered with top teams to showcase exceptional skills once again. They will join forces with Valkenhorst Motorsports, winners of the 2018 Spa 24 Hours and the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series, to compete in this race. Valkenhorst Motorsports plans to enter three Vantage GT3 cars in the SP9 PRO, PRO-AM, and AM classes.
The #34 Vantage GT3 in the SP9 PRO class will be driven by Aston Martin driver and current Nürburgring 24-hour race champion David Pittard, known as a specialist in the Nordschleife. Twice FIA World Endurance GT Champion Nicki Thiim will join him as a partner. Together, they will receive support from Christian Krognes and Kuba Giermaziak.
David Pittard stated, “The Nürburgring is a challenge where you cannot predict what you will face due to the numerous cars, varying weather conditions, and the tricky track, but it is also the best track for a driver. The new Vantage has shown excellent performance in every race I have participated in so far and is a car that boosts driver confidence, making it well-suited for the Nordschleife. It is an unpredictable race, but if luck is on our side and there are no issues, I expect to be in contention for the top positions, and as an Aston Martin driver, I would love to stand on the podium.”
PROsport Racing will enter the SP9 PRO-AM class with Nico Bastian, Marek Böckmann, and Hugo Sasse, who previously drove the older generation Vantage GT3. Additionally, they will enter two Vantage GT4 cars in the SP10 class and one in the SP8T class. Dörr Motorsport, who won the SP8T class in 2022, will also enter one Vantage GT4 in the same class and in the SP10 class this year.
Aston Martin’s endurance racing manager Adam Carter remarked, “The Nürburgring 24 Hours can summarize everything that endurance racing is about, highlighting the immense challenges of the racing course as well as its technical and human aspects. That is why winning in this race is particularly difficult and special. We expect the new Vantage GT3 to prove its competitiveness this weekend, just as it has in every race it has participated in before, securing a special place in the hearts of Aston Martin fans. We know that to win here, all elements must align perfectly, and our partner teams Valkenhorst Motorsports, Dörr Motorsport, and PROsport Racing know how to leverage all these factors effectively. We wish them all the best as we watch the race.”
Aston Martin made its debut in the Nürburgring 24-hour race in 2006 with a standard V8 Vantage, which laid the groundwork for the successful GT4 version. Since then, Aston Martin has become a prominent brand, achieving various class victories, including the 2018 SP9T class win. The 2018 SP9T class win marked the final competitive outing for the V12 Vantage GT3, where Maxime Martin, Nicki Thiim, Darren Turner, and Marco Sørensen led the race in heavy rain, finishing 4th overall. This record remains Aston Martin’s best performance in the Nürburgring 24-hour race.
The Vantage GT4 has seen remarkable progress. The previous generation model won the SP8T class in 2019 with drivers Jamie Chadwick, Alex Brundle, and Peter Cate. In 2020, the Garage 59 team finished third in the same class with an upgraded GT8R, which included Aston Martin drivers Jonny Adam, Alexander West, Chris Goodwin, and Darren Turner.
Aston Martin’s most recent class victory was in 2022, when Dörr Motorsport clinched 1-2 positions in the SP3T class with the Vantage GT4. The team also secured third place, following the PROsport Vantage GT4, which ranked second in the SP10 class. This marks the best results for a team based in Nürburgring.
The shining new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is making its mark with over 25 units competing in more than 10 major GT series worldwide, including the FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the Pirelli GT World Challenge series across Europe, Asia, and America, as well as the Japanese Super GT Championship. This number is expected to rise to at least 35 by the end of the competitive season.
The new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 inherits the legacy of its predecessor, which has won championships in various world series, sharing mechanical structure with the newly revealed Vantage road car in February this year. It features a robust twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine built on Aston Martin’s bonded aluminum chassis, all-new aerodynamics from front to back, significantly improved suspension, and state-of-the-art electronic devices, ensuring it possesses world-class competitive capabilities.
The ADAC Total 24h Nürburgring race qualifiers were held on May 30 at 1 PM local time, with the race set to begin on Saturday, June 1 at 4 PM. For more details about the race, please refer to the official website and app.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr