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 FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercontinental Le Mans Cup which began in 2010 and is the first endurance series of world championship status since the demise of the World Sportscar Championship at the end of 1992. The World Endurance Championship name was previously used by the FIA from 1981 to 1985.
Jota Sport is a British sports car racing team. Founded as Team Jota by Sam Hignett and John Stack, Jota Sport is part of the Jota Group which is owned by Sam Hignett and David Clark. The team is based in Tunbridge Wells in England. Jota Sport has finished on the overall podium of 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans with two Oreca in an alliance with Jackie Chan DC Racing. In 2018/2019 Jota competed, in partnership with Arden International, RP Motorsport, Jackie Chan DC Racing and Aston Martin in the FIA World Endurance Championship with two ORECA 07 LMP2 and in the GT World Challenge Europe with Mclaren 720S GT3 cars.
The 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship was the sixth 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 began at the Silverstone Circuit in April and will end at the Bahrain International Circuit in November, and include the 85th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. World championship titles will be awarded to the leading prototype drivers and manufacturers, while for the first time in the World Endurance Championship the leading grand touring drivers and manufacturers will also be awarded a world championship.
Ahmet Salih Yoluç is a Turkish racing driver. As a bronze-ranked competitor, Yoluç has taken notable accolades in sportscar racing, including the 2020 LMGTE Am class victory at Le Mans, the Pro-Am title in the 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, as well as the 2022 European Le Mans Series and 2023 Asian Le Mans Series championships in the LMP2 category.
Charlie Eastwood is a racing driver from Northern Ireland who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for TF Sport. Having been an Aston Martin factory driver, Eastwood was signed by Corvette Racing in 2023.
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 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 Rebellion R13 is a sports prototype racing car built by French constructor Oreca on behalf of Swiss-based team Rebellion Racing. It is a variation of the Oreca 07, created to compete in the LMP1 class. It would later be renamed by Alpine to Alpine A480 when it was rebadged to run as a grandfathered into the Hypercar class in 2021 and 2022.
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 was served as 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 formerly competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and in the GTLM class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The car had its race debut at the 2016 24 Hours of Daytona, with the Scuderia Corsa and Risi Competizione teams.
The Porsche 911 RSR-19 is a racing car developed by Porsche to compete in the LM GTE category of the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series, and the GTLM category of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. It serves as the direct replacement for the Porsche 911 RSR (2017). The car made its racing debut at the 2019 4 Hours of Silverstone. The car was unveiled at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed, at the timing gantry of the Hillclimb circuit, just moments before its first public run, with Gianmaria Bruni at the wheel.
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.
The 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship was the tenth 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 four categories. World Championship titles were awarded to the leading manufacturers and drivers in both the prototype and grand tourer divisions.
Ross Gunn is a British professional racing driver, and Aston Martin Racing works driver who currently competes 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.
The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R is a GT racing car designed and built by Pratt Miller Engineering and 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 made its competitive debut at the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona.
