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Aston Martin Vantage GT3 heads to Japan as WEC’s newest LMGT3 class winner

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Published
09/17/2024 by

The new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is back in FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] action at in the 6 Hours of Fuji, in Japan, this weekend, less than two weeks after The Heart of Racing [THoR] clinched the British ultraluxury sportscar brand’s first win of the season in the series.

Thanks to a spectacular run on home ground at the Circuit of the Americas [COTA], THoR led the way from pole, and recorded the fastest LMGT3 class lap en route to its maiden WEC victory just 10 days ago. Now it is the turn of Aston Martin Racing’s other WEC partner team D’station Racing to race on native turf, as it returns to its very roots. The team’s headquarters are stationed just a few miles from the circuit in the foothills of Mount Fuji.

The team, owned by former WEC racer Satoshi Hoshino (JPN) and managed by SUPER GT Series class winner Tomonobu Fujii (JPN), comes to Fuji hoping to improve on its best WEC finishes of third in class, recorded at Fuji in 2022. D’station Racing equalled that result when it was on the podium again this year in the season-opening Qatar 1812 race at Lusail, in March.

Among D’station Racing’s driving strength is Aston Martin’s most decorated active works driver, Marco Sørensen (DEN), a three-time FIA WEC champion in the GT classes and a Rolex 24 and 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner, and now the most recent Spa 24 Hours winner alongside fellow works drivers Nicki Thiim (DEN) and Mattia Drudi (ITA). Erwan Bastard (FRA), a French and European GT4 title-winner, join the Dane in the #777 Vantage.

For THoR, Fuji represents an opportunity for the team to close the gap in the battle for second in the LMGT3 class drivers’ and teams’ standings. Following team principal and driver Ian James (GBR), Alex Riberas (ESP) and Daniel Mancinelli’s (ITA) breakthrough win at COTA, THoR is now nine points away from second place and 37 points off the leaders. There is a maximum of 26 points available (one point for pole and 25 for victory) this weekend, while the season finale in Bahrain offers up another 39, meaning there are potentially 65 left to be scored in the remaining rounds of the 2024 season.

So far this year, THoR has recorded two second places and a victory in an exceptional first full season that has witnessed the #27 Vantage be a contender in virtually every race and record no less than five points finishes from seven starts.

Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: “The Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is now a race winner in WEC, thanks to the outstanding performance of The Heart of Racing’s drivers and team at COTA, last time out. But we firmly believe there is plenty more to come from new Vantage, which is still in its first year of competition and we are learning more about it with every race as we build-up data. Both our partner teams competing in Fuji are capable of fighting for the podium again this weekend and we are looking forward to seeing what they can achieve with a car that is now really delivering on its potential.”

Aston Martin’s new GT3-based challenger is closely derived from the new Vantage road car unveiled earlier this year at Silverstone and is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminium chassis and powered by a fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine. It’s COTA win meant that Vantage is the third different car to win in the new LMGT3 class, which features no less than nine manufacturers in 2024.

Aston Martin’s record at Fuji in WEC is outstanding. Vantage has won in each of its three previous configurations (Vantage V8, V8 Vantage GTE and Vantage GTE) in the GT class, and has recorded two double-class victories (in 2013 and 2019/20) among the seven wins it has taken from its ten previous visits to the circuit. The brand has also won the event in two of the last three visits with partner teams. In total, Aston Martin crews have stood on the podium no less than 16 times, and on only two occasions has the Fuji podium been Aston Martin free since the series began in 2012.

Official practice for the 6 Hours of Fuji begins on Friday, 13 September at 1100 local time (0300 BST) with the race beginning at 1100 (0300 BST) on Sunday. Follow details of the event via the official series websites and Apps.

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