Development History
The Aston Martin Vantage GTE was developed in tandem with the Vantage road car, between Aston Martin Racing and the Aston Martin headquarters in Gaydon, [6] with the car being entirely developed in house by the two companies. [7] The car had its initial shakedown in the UK, at the Rockingham Motor Speedway, [8] and subsequently had 2 30 hour endurance tests during its development, at the Circuito de Andalucia and then the Circuito de Navarra in Spain during October 2017. [9] This was also complemented by tests at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida, with the team praising the durability and reliability of the car. [10] [11] Ahead of its official World Endurance Championship debut, at the WEC Prologue held at the Circuit Paul Ricard , the car was revealed to have completed over 20,000 km in pre-season test, with testing being held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, Motorland Aragon, and the Algarve International Circuit. [12] [13]
At the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day, the team debuted a new low-downforce kit, designed to reduce the overall drag on the car, due to the previous aerokit being a revised WEC Sprint kit, with Le Mans specific revisions. The kit was tested at Monza, and was found to be highly effective compared to the kit used at the 2018 edition of the race. [14]
Alessandro Pier Guidi is a racing driver from Italy. A Ferrari factory driver since 2017, he won the LMGTE Pro FIA World Endurance Championship in 2017, 2021 and 2022, the 2019 and 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGTE Pro class, and claimed the 24 Hours of Spa in 2021, as well as taking an overall win at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans along with James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi.
Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston Martin to sports car racing with the DBR9, a heavily modified variant of the Aston Martin DB9. Since the DBR9's racing debut in 2005, Aston Martin Racing has expanded to build a variety of cars available to customers, as well as development of Aston Martin's V12 engine for Le Mans Prototype use. Aston Martin Racing's program has earned several successes over the years.
The CLM P1/01, renamed ENSO CLM P1/01 in 2017, is a sports prototype racing car built for Lotus Racing in 2014. The Lotus team entered the last five rounds of the World Endurance championship in 2014, but later took name as the Austrian based team ByKolles Racing. It is designed to meet the 2014 LMP1-L regulations for Le Mans Prototypes in the FIA World Endurance Championship as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The P1/01 debuted at the 2014 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship was the seventh season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series is open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into four categories. The season marked the first move to a winter schedule for the championship, with the season starting at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in May 2018 and concluding at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2019. World championship titles were awarded for LMP drivers, GTE drivers, LMP1 teams and GTE manufacturers.
The Aston Martin Vantage is a two-seater sports car built by British manufacturer Aston Martin since 2018. It replaces the previous model which had been in production for 12 years.
The 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship was the eighth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series co-organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series is open to Le Mans Prototypes and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into four categories. World Championship titles were awarded for LMP drivers, LMP1 teams, GTE drivers and GTE manufacturers. With the new winter scheduling format, the series began at Silverstone Circuit in September 2019 and ended with the 2020 8 Hours of Bahrain in November 2020.
The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship was the ninth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series is open to prototype and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into four categories. World Championship titles were awarded to the leading manufacturers and drivers in both the prototype and grand tourer divisions.
The Ferrari 488 GTE is a grand tourer racing car built by Ferrari's in-house Competizioni GT unit, for competition in endurance racing. It is a replacement for the Ferrari 458 Italia GT racing car, using the Ferrari 488 GTB as a base. The car is built in accordance with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest/FIA LM GTE regulations introduced for the 2016 season, and it currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series. The car had its race debut at the 2016 24 Hours of Daytona, with the Scuderia Corsa and Risi Competizione teams.
The 2019 4 Hours of Silverstone, officially known as the 2019 WEC 4 Hours of Silverstone, was an endurance sportscar racing event held on 1 September 2019, as the opening round of the 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship. This was the inaugural running of the race, in a 4 hours format, having previously been run as the 6 Hours of Silverstone. The race was won overall by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and José María López, in the #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid run by Toyota Gazoo Racing.
The Chevrolet Corvette C8.R is a grand tourer racing car built by Pratt Miller and Chevrolet for competition in endurance racing. It serves as the replacement for the Corvette C7.R, using the C8 generation Chevrolet Corvette as a base. Corvette Racing fielded the C8.R in the IMSA SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans (GTLM) class starting with the 2020 season. The car was built to LM GTE specifications as per GTLM rules.
The 2019 8 Hours of Bahrain, formally known as the 2019 BAPCO 8 Hours of Bahrain, for sponsorship reasons, was an endurance sportscar racing event held on 14 December 2019, as the fourth round of the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship. This would mark the return of the FIA WEC to the Bahrain International Circuit for the first time since 2017, and would also be the inaugural running of the race, in an extended 8 hours format, having previously been run as the 6 Hours of Bahrain.
Sarah Bovy is a Belgian female racing driver. She has recently competed with the Iron Dames team in multiple series, including the FIA World Endurance Championship and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Roberto Lacorte is an Italian entrepreneur, racing driver, and sailor.
Ross Gunn is a British professional racing driver, and Aston Martin Racing works driver who currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Sebastian "Seb" Priaulx is a British racing driver who competes for AO Racing Team in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
The 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship was the eleventh season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series was open to prototype and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into three categories. World Championship titles were awarded to the leading drivers in both the prototype and grand tourer divisions and to the leading manufacturer in prototype division.
David Pittard is a British racing driver who competes in the Nürburgring Endurance Series and IMSA SportsCar Championship. He was part of the Frikadelli Racing Team entry which won the 2023 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
Scott Huffaker II is an American racing driver who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and FIA World Endurance Championship.
Mikkel Overgaard Pedersen is a Danish racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Dempsey-Proton Racing.
The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R is a GT racing car designed & built by Pratt Miller Engineering & Chevrolet to primarily compete in the LMGT3 and GTD & GTD Pro in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship, respectively. The car was built to GT3 specifications and is expected to make its competitive debut at the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona.
