R-Motorsport

Last updated
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg R-Motorsport
Founded2015
BaseNiederwil bei Gossau, Sankt Gallen
Team principal(s)Florian Kamelger
Former series Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
GT World Challenge Europe
GT4 European Series
Intercontinental GT Challenge

R-Motorsport was a Swiss motor racing team founded in 2015. The team raced Aston Martins as they are affiliated with the dealership in Sankt Gallen; the only one in Switzerland. [1]

Contents

History

Founded in late 2015, R-Motorsport would spend its formative years as part of a tie-up with parent company AF Racing AG and Red Bull Advanced Technologies working on the Aston Martin Valkyrie before entering the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2018. [2] The team found success quickly, winning just their second race at Silverstone with Jake Dennis, Nicki Thiim and Matthieu Vaxivière – aiding the trio to 13th in the championship. [3] The team then went on to represent the Aston Martin marque at the 2019 Bathurst 12 Hour, and in the last race for the V12 Vantage scored a shock pole position and second placing. [4]

HWA Racelab would then coax the Swiss squad into the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters to replace their outgoing Mercedes-Benz association for 2019. [5] The Vantage DTM broke cover just days before their pre-season team test in Jerez having been built in less than 100 days due to time constraints. [6] Despite Paul di Resta's third-place in the first qualifying session at the Hockenheimring, all four cars struggled with copious mechanical problems. Daniel Juncadella scored the team's best result of sixth at the first race in Nuremberg, with Di Resta on course for a surprise win at Brands Hatch before he was falsely penalised for jumping the start. [7] R-Motorsport and HWA – the engine builder for the program – would point the blame at each other for the poor season, withdrawing from the DTM's joint race with Super GT at Fuji Speedway in November before the partnership eventually split. [8] [9] With both entities owning vehicle IP, Aston Martin was withdrawn from the DTM ahead of 2020 and all four cars were sold to a Hong Kong buyer. [10] [11] The team continued their GT program in conjunction with their DTM entry, with Dennis, Marvin Kirchhöfer and Alex Lynn scoring a podium in the team's last race of the year. [12]

2020 began with a two-car assault on the Bathurst 12 Hour, but only one car started the race after Kirchhöfer flipped the #62 car in qualifying. [13] Dennis, Scott Dixon and Rick Kelly finished the race 16th outright, two laps down. [14]

Results

Jake Dennis driving the Aston Martin Vantage DTM at the Hockenheimring in 2019. Jake Dennis 2019 DTM Hockenheim (May) FP1.jpg
Jake Dennis driving the Aston Martin Vantage DTM at the Hockenheimring in 2019.

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Series results

YearCarNo.DriversClass1234567T.C.Points
2018 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 62 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Brundle P MNZ
9
SIL
5
LEC
38
9th40
Flag of Germany.svg Marvin Kirchhöfer SPA6
17
SPA12
17
SPA24
35
BAR
19
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Maxime Martin
Flag of Austria.svg Dominik Baumann
76 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jake Dennis P MNZ
Ret
SIL
1
LEC
31
SPA6
13
SPA12
11
SPA24
9
BAR
40
Flag of Denmark.svg Nicki Thiim
Flag of France.svg Matthieu Vaxivière
2019 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 62 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Maxime Martin P MNZ
37
SIL
17
LEC
10
SPA6
64
SPA12
64
SPA24
Ret
BAR
17
7th39
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Matt Parry
Flag of France.svg Matthieu Vaxivière
76 Flag of Denmark.svg Nicki Thiim P MNZ
19
SIL
DNS
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jake Dennis LEC
4
SPA6
5
SPA12
25
SPA24
19
BAR
2
Flag of Germany.svg Marvin Kirchhöfer
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lynn
762 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ricky Collard S SPA6
68
SPA12
68
SPA24
Ret
Flag of Austria.svg Ferdinand Habsburg
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Hugo de Sadeleer
Flag of Finland.svg Aaro Vainio

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

YearEntrantCarNo.Drivers123456789101112131415161718T.C.Points
Flag of Germany.svg HOC1 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg ZOL Flag of Italy.svg MIS Flag of Germany.svg NRM Flag of the Netherlands.svg ASS Flag of the United Kingdom.svg BRH Flag of Germany.svg LAU Flag of Germany.svg NÜR Flag of Germany.svg HOC2
2019 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg R-Motorsport I Aston Martin Vantage DTM 3 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Paul di Resta Ret378DNS16Ret12Ret14814†1413Ret12DNS7DNS8th38
76 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jake Dennis 1111Ret6151391212RetRet911RetRet14118
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg R-Motorsport II23 Flag of Spain.svg Daniel Juncadella 916†RetRet1314610Ret710812121012RetRet9th26
62 Flag of Austria.svg Ferdinand von Habsburg Ret129Ret14121011131215†1115Ret1115DNS11

3 – One point for 3rd in qualifying.
† – Did not finish, but was classified having completed 90% of the race distance.

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

YearCar#DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
2019 62 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jake Dennis
Flag of Germany.svg Marvin Kirchhöfer
Flag of France.svg Matthieu Vaxivière
Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 APP3122nd2nd
760 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Andreas Bänziger
Flag of Austria.svg Florian Kamelger
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Leemhuis
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Matt Parry
GT3 Pro-Am168DNFDNF
2020 62 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Oliver Caldwell
Flag of Italy.svg Luca Ghiotto
Flag of Germany.svg Marvin Kirchhöfer
Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 GT3 Pro0WDWD
76 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jake Dennis
Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rick Kelly
GT3 Pro30816th10th

References

  1. "R-Motorsport – Motor racing at Aston Martin St. Gallen". Aston Martin Sankt Gallen. 1 March 2016.
  2. "Brundle, Dennis join new R-Motorsport Blancpain effort". Motorsport.com. 1 December 2017.
  3. "R-Motorsport Retains Silverstone Win". Sportscar365. 9 July 2018.
  4. "R-Motorsport Deliver Best Ever Aston Martin Result At Bathurst". Jake Dennis. 3 February 2019.
  5. "R-Motorsport Aston Martin to replace Mercedes in the DTM". Autosport. 11 October 2018.
  6. "R-Motorsport Aston Martin DTM car breaks cover". Motorsport.com. 5 March 2019.
  7. "Di Resta adamant he didn't jump Brands Hatch start". Motorsport.com. 11 August 2019.
  8. "R-Motorsport pulls out of DTM/Super GT joint race". Motorsport.com. 15 September 2019.
  9. "R-Motorsport confirms split with DTM partner HWA". Motorsport.com. 24 October 2019.
  10. "R-Motorsport Aston Martin squad withdraws from DTM after one season". Autosport. 24 January 2020.
  11. "Aston Martin rules out HWA running Vantages in DTM". Motorsport.com. 30 January 2020.
  12. "The Weekend Roundup: Barcelona". Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 2 October 2019.
  13. "Bathurst 12 Hour: terrifying crash for Kirchhoefer". Motorsport.tv on YouTube. 1 February 2020.
  14. "Bentley takes comprehensive win in Bathurst 12 Hour". Speedcafe. 2 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.

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