Aston Martin Racing will return to Le Mans with two-car entry

Now that the sports car endurance racing season is in full swing, everyone has begun looking forward to the “crown jewel” of the year – Le Mans. Aston Martin Racing will return to production-derived motorsport at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 16-17 June with a pair of V8-powered Vantage GTEs. Works drivers Darren Turner, Stefan Mücke and Adrian Fernandez will crew the lead Vantage GTE in the GTE Pro category, while Aston Martin Racing’s long-established partner team Young Driver AMR will join forces with the factory outfit to run the second car in the GTE Am class.

The Car
The Vantage GTE is a development of the Vantage GT2, with significant improvements to all areas including the engine, drivetrain and suspension. Carrying the iconic Gulf colors, the new car made its competitive debut at round one of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 60th anniversary edition of the 12 Hours of Sebring, on March 17th.

At the heart of the Vantage GTE is the road-going Aston Martin V8 Vantage. The GTE is a significantly updated version of the original GT2 car and has been specifically designed to compete in championships running to the Automobile Club De L’Ouest GTE regulations. Under the bonnet, the engine is based on the standard Aston Martin V8, but with competition components including cylinder heads, connecting rods, valves, camshafts and a racing exhaust system. As in the road car, the transmission is mid-rear mounted, but with a six-speed semi-automatic sequential transmission and competition clutch. The transmission also has a dedicated oil/air cooling system.

The bonded aluminum structure is taken directly from the V8 Vantage road car. Aston Martin Racing then integrates an aerospace specification steel roll cage built to FIA standards. With the exception of the roof, the bodywork is manufactured from lightweight carbon fiber and features an advanced aerodynamic package with carbon fiber splitter, flat floor and diffuser, as well as a carbon fiber rear wing designed using the latest computational fluid dynamics techniques. The Vantage GTE retains the road car’s double wishbone suspension layout at the front and rear, but with bespoke wishbones and coil springs over Koni adjustable aluminum bodied dampers. Powerful but lightweight six-piston Brembo racing calipers are fitted to the front axle with similar four-piston calipers at the rear.

The Team
The factory’s partnership with Young Driver AMR has proven highly successful in the past.  Six outright wins in the fiercely competitive FIA GT1 World Championship since 2010 demonstrates just how formidable the association has been, while the driver pairing of Turner and Mücke finished a close second in the Drivers’ standings of the same series in 2011 under Young Driver AMR’s guidance.

The decision to incorporate Young Driver AMR into the factory team for Le Mans gives 26-year-old Christoffer Nygaard the opportunity to prove his talent at sports car racing’s highest level. 2009 Le Mans class winner Kristian Poulsen and five-time Le Mans competitor Allan Simonsen, himself a former Aston Martin racer, complete the all-Danish driver line-up for the second Vantage GTE.

John Gaw, Aston Martin Racing team principal, said: “When we last competed in the GT category at Le Mans, we dominated our class for two consecutive years in 2007 and 2008. Aston Martin Racing has long been a force to be reckoned with in GT motorsport, so we’ve set ourselves typically high targets for Le Mans this year. We’re confident that our GTE Pro crew can score a strong result following its podium at the 12 Hours of Sebring in the WEC and we’re expecting Nygaard, Poulsen and Simonsen to finish on the GTE Am podium at the very least.

“I’m thrilled to welcome the Danish trio into the team. Upwards of 50,000 race fans make the pilgrimage from Denmark to Le Mans each year and I hope they will cheer us on throughout the 24 hours. Our partnership with Young Driver AMR is one of our most valued so to be teaming up for the world’s most famous race is very exciting indeed.

“The GTE Am category is important to us because we want to show what our partner teams will be able to achieve with the Aston Martin Vantage GTE from 2013 onwards. The car has already shown considerable promise and we’ll continue to improve it during our forthcoming WEC and ALMS outings.”

The Racing
The factory team’s preparations for endurance racing’s crowning event continued at the American Le Mans Series qualifier at Long Beach, California, a few weeks ago, followed by the second FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) round at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, on May 5. Aston Martin Racing will also compete in the ALMS qualifier at Laguna Seca on 12 May and attend the official Le Mans test on June 3 in preparation for the celebrated 24-hour race. The team’s return to the GT class at Le Mans coincides with the Aston Martin Festival, which will witness up to 50 of the marque’s competition cars racing at La Sarthe on the morning of the 24-hour epic in an exclusive 45-minute race.

Young Driver AMR will continue its partnership with the factory as it contests the thriving ADAC GT Masters series in Germany with a pair of V12-powered Vantage GT3s.