Seven Aston Martin Vantage GT3s competed for strongest attack ever at Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa

• Aston Martin chases overall glory at 100^e anniversary of the Spa 24-hour race
• Two Aston Martin Vantage GT3s with a fully professional line-up competed in the top class
• ComToYou Racing and Walkenhorst Motorsport will field a record seven Vantage GT3s in this year's Spa 24 Hours
• New Aston Martin Vantage GT3 aims for first significant twice-around-the-clock success at Spa 24 Hours debut
• Nine Aston Martin Vantage GT4s took part in the GT4 European Series double-header support event

ThursdayJune 27, 2024, Spa-Francorchamps: Aston Martin's new Vantage GT3 will make its debut this weekend during the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa. The British brand of ultra-luxury sports cars wants to win the race for the first time since the event became a GT3 race in 2012.

No fewer than seven Vantages (the largest ever contingent of Aston Martin GT3s) have been entered by two of Aston Martin’s new-for-2024 partner teams, ComToYou Racing and Walkenhorst Motorsport. This represents more than 10% of the mammoth 67-strong entry, which includes nine competing global manufacturers and five all-sport classes.

Both teams enter the 100^e anniversary of an event that Aston Martin last won in 1948 (when the race was run under different rules), aiming to cap a milestone month that has seen first victories for the new Vantage GT3 in North America, Asia and Europe. The Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa represents the last chance in 2024 to take home some silverware in a blue streamer, twice 24 hours a day, with Vantage shining at the Rolex 24 Hours, the Nrburgring 24 Hours and the recent 24 Hours of Le Gentlemen.

Both teams' bids are boosted by the presence of an all-works driver line-up with their separate Pro class entries. ComToYou Racings #7 will bring a sense of familiarity to Aston Martin Racing fans around the world as Dane Train duo Nicki Thiim and Marco Srensen reunite alongside Mattia Drudi (ITA). Together, Thiim and Srensen have won five FIA ​​GT World Endurance Championship titles and two Le Mans 24 Hours victories. However, neither has ever won the Spa classic, although their teammate Drudi, the reigning Fanatec GT World Europe Sprint Cup champion, finished second overall in 2020.

Walkenhorst Motorsports #34 has an equally exciting line-up with 2023 24 Hours of Nrburgring winner David Pittard (GBR), joined by 2022 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Henrique Chaves and Ross Gunn (GBR) as winner on the podium to achieve the first victory of the new Vantage GT3 in IMSA.

Together, Aston Martin's six factory drivers represent the strongest ever attack on the brand's Pro class. Furthermore, Vantage comes into the event in rich form, having won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the SUPER GT Series, the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Series and the Road to Le Mans event over the past four weekends.

ComToYou Racing has entered three more Vantage GT3s, all sharing the mechanical architecture of the new Vantage road car unveiled at Silverstone earlier this year, and built around Aston Martin's proven bonded aluminum chassis and powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4 .0-liter V8 engine.

The Belgian team's number 11 Bronze Cup entry is piloted by John de Wilde (BEL), Kobe Pauwels (BEL), Job van Uitert (NED) and Dante Rappange (NED). It also has two Silver Cup entries; the #12 will be driven by Nicolas Baert (BEL), Esteban Muth (BEL), Sebastian Gaard (DEN) and Erwan Bastard (FRA), while the #21 will consist of Charles Clark (GBR), Sam Dejonghe (BEL) , Matisse Lismont (BEL) and Xavier Maassen (NED).

Walkenhorst Motorsport will bring a strong Silver Cup line-up to its fleet of Vantage GT3s, with Romain Leroux (FRA), Lorcan Hanafin (GBR) and Maxime Robin (FRA) in the #35. Meanwhile, the team’s Bronze Cup #36 car will also be a competitive force with drivers Tim Creswick (GBR), Mex Jansen (NED) and Ben Green (GBR).

Aston Martin has an even greater share of the double-header supporting GT4 European Series, with no fewer than nine Vantage GT4s entered by five partner teams including Forsetti Motorsport, GPA Racing, Mirage Racing, Racing Sprirt of Lman and PROsport Racing.

Adam Carter, Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: The Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa represents perhaps the purest form of GT endurance racing as it is only open to GT3 cars. It makes it a unique and difficult, and therefore perfect, test of our new Vantage GT3. The car performed well in June, winning on three continents, including North America, and shone at the 24 Hours of Le Mans two weeks ago. The accident has played a role in all the major 24-hour races so far this season, so let's hope we've had enough of that before Spa. Sixty-seven entries from nine manufacturers tell their own stories of what this race means for the sport at its 100th^e anniversary, and it would be a proud statement to say that the new Vantage had excelled in this event.

Aston Martin recorded its best finish of the GT3 era in 2021, as Gunn, Srensen and Thiim took a competitive third place overall, after leading for much of the race. Before that, the best GT finish for an Aston Martin in 2008 was also third place with the Gigawave DBR9. Aston Martin last won the event in 1948, when it was under different regulations, with a 2-litre Sports DB1 driven by Britons St John Horsfall and Leslie Johnson.

The event starts on Thursday, June 27 with a 90-minute free practice session at 11:20 AM CET. Qualifying will take place from 2035 CET on the same day, while a special Superpole session will take place on Friday at 1545-1615 CET. The race starts on Saturday June 29 at 4:30 PM CET

Follow event details via the official Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe, powered by AWS website and app.

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