2014 marks ten years of Aston Martin Racing and the luxury sportcar maker’s has confirmed its most extensive motorsport campaign in its 101-year history. The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) will once again be the highlight of the calendar, as the team fields four V8 Vantage GTEs in the full season, and as many as seven cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the third round of the championship.
Returning to make a full-season assault on the WEC, after narrowly missing out on the world championship title in 2013, is the #97 Gulf-liveried Vantage GTE of Darren Turner and Stefan Mücke. Having been with Aston Martin Racing since its inception in 2004, Turner joins the team in celebrating the tenth anniversary.
The second of the two LMGTE Pro cars, the Interush-supported #99 Bamboo Engineering Vantage GTE, will be piloted by Aston Martin Racing’s newest signings: Fernando Rees (BR) who formerly drove with the 2012 LMGTE Am Championship team, WTCC driver Alex MacDowall (GB) and Craft Racing AMR’s Darryl O’Young (HK), who all tested the car at the official Aston Martin Racing test session in Portimao last week.
“The test went really well in Portimao, and we have another test planned soon,” said Rees. “The team is working really hard and I am really happy to continue in the WEC and be part of the Aston Martin Racing family.”
In the third WEC entry, the all-Danish #95 Young Driver car, David Heinemeier-Hansson will join last year’s drivers Kristian Poulsen, Christoffer Nygaard and Nicki Thiim, the latter competing at selected rounds due to clashes with other commitments. Also in the GTE Am class, a fourth Vantage GTE will compete, with the team mates driving alongside experienced Canadian Paul Dalla Lana to be confirmed at a later date.
The drivers for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the fourth round of the WEC and the highest profile endurance race in the world, will also be confirmed nearer the time, but the team has announced that Bruno Senna (BR) will make his return following a successful race in 2013.
“This year marks the tenth anniversary for Aston Martin Racing and we can celebrate a decade of modern sportscar racing with our largest campaign yet,” said John Gaw, Team Principal at Aston Martin Racing.
Information taken from Aston Martin Racing press release
Photos: DREW GIBSON PHOTOGRAPHY. 1) The No.97 LMGTE Pro entry testing at Portimao in Portugal last week; 2) Fernando Rees and Alex MacDowall will be teamed with Darryl O'Young in the No.99 Bamboo Engineering Aston Martin Vantage entry.
