By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
The Auto Magazine
  • Home
  • Auto Shows
    Auto ShowsShow More
    BMW and Alvaro Barrington celebrate hydrogen mobility at Art Basel in Basel 2025
    June 18, 2025
    MHB DEALER EXPO 2025 – A Premier Automotive Networking Experience
    June 17, 2025
    Entries Open for The Cape 1000 – South Africa’s Most Beautiful Drive Returns for 2026
    June 10, 2025
    Ulterio Motiv Toyota Land Cruiser 6×6 and 6×4 to invade Land Cruiser Festival
    June 3, 2025
    Maserati enthrals at FuoriConcorso with GT2 Stradale and MCXtrema
    May 14, 2025
  • Bikes
    BikesShow More
    Desmo450 MX: Production of the first Ducati Motocross bike begins
    May 28, 2025
    25YM Honda NC750X
    May 13, 2025
    BMW Motorrad presents the new BMW R 1300 RS
    May 2, 2025
    BMW Motorrad presents the new BMW R 1300 RT
    April 30, 2025
    Honda NC750X Named Winner in 2025 Red Dot Design Award
    April 10, 2025
  • News
    NewsShow More
    Porsche 963 cars raise 600,000 euros in Le Mans towards Racing for Charity
    June 20, 2025
    50 Years of BMW Art Cars and the BMW 3 Series at the BMW Museum
    June 20, 2025
    Ford Performance Returns to Pikes Peak with Electric Super Mustang Mach-E Demonstrator
    June 20, 2025
    Winners of ISUZU AI Innovation Challenge 2024 announced
    June 18, 2025
    Kia Tasman Blazes New Trail 
    June 18, 2025
  • Concepts
    ConceptsShow More
    TOYOTA GAZOO Racing unveils liquid hydrogen-fueled “GR LH2 Racing Concept” at Le Mans
    June 11, 2025
    FIAT unveils the manifesto Grande Panda 4×4
    May 20, 2025
    Renault 4 Savane 4×4 Concept makes its global debut at Roland-Garros 2025
    May 16, 2025
    Hyundai Motor and Plus Unveil Concept for Autonomous Hydrogen Freight Ecosystem at ACT Expo 202
    May 2, 2025
    Hyundai Motor Unveils the new IONIQ 6 and IONIQ 6 N Line
    April 5, 2025
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    24-hour race at Le Mans, the Nürburgring and Spa – triple marathon for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport
    June 10, 2025
    Kosmas “Dudie” Mamaloukos – The Formidable Racing Talent
    May 15, 2025
    Hi-Range Safari City
    Hi-Range Safari City – The Premier outfitter for 4×4 customization
    May 15, 2025
    BEHIND THE SCENES: ARCHIE RUTHERFORD ON WHAT IT TAKES TO BRING THE W2RC TO SOUTH AFRICA
    May 9, 2025
    Europe and China’s automotive future in a shifting global order
    May 5, 2025
  • EVs
    EVsShow More
    Polestar 3 OTA update introduces new Abbey Road Studios Mode exclusively for Bowers & Wilkins audio system
    June 18, 2025
    No Compromise Ford Ranger PHEV Brings Electric Power to Europe’s Best-Selling Pickup
    June 18, 2025
    Scania launches MCS rapid charging solution at EVS38
    June 18, 2025
    Ford Begins Capri and Explorer Battery Pack Assembly in Cologne
    June 17, 2025
    Special Envoy Launches XPress – SA’s First Full EV Courier Fleet
    June 11, 2025
  • Motosport
    MotosportShow More
    Commanding performance by Škoda at Rally Poland
    June 20, 2025
    Nissan Formula E Team ready for Jakarta return as Season 11 enters closing stages
    June 20, 2025
    Martin Prokop Becomes First Privateer for Ford Raptor T1+
    June 18, 2025
    The 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans in Numbers
    June 18, 2025
    Samantha Tan makes her debut in the MINI John Cooper Works at the Nürburgring
    June 18, 2025
  • Trucks & Buses
    Trucks & BusesShow More
    Scania launches MCS rapid charging solution at EVS38
    June 18, 2025
    Daimler Truck and Volvo Group launch Coretura
    June 17, 2025
    Volvo Trucks launches upgraded Volvo Dynamic Steering system to increase road safety
    June 17, 2025
    MAN starts series production of electric trucks
    June 17, 2025
    UD Trucks Southern Africa celebrates dealers breaking barriers at 2025 awards ceremony
    June 11, 2025
  • Reviews
    ReviewsShow More
    THE NEW HAVAL H6 SUV IS HERE, AND IT’S BUILT FOR BIG MOMENTS!
    June 18, 2025
    THE NEW PEUGEOT E-208 GTi MORE PLEASURE. MORE GTi THAN EVER!
    June 17, 2025
    New BMW XM options: maximum exclusivity and breathtaking performance.
    June 12, 2025
    The Audi Q5 e-hybrid: all-rounder with great electric range
    June 11, 2025
    Lotus introduces 2026 Emira V6 SE and Emira Turbo
    June 6, 2025
  • Tech
    TechShow More
    New Kia App provides European drivers with a unified digital experience
    June 17, 2025
    Abbey Road Studios Mode makes global debut in Volvo EX90
    June 17, 2025
    Audi develops the picking process of the future
    June 2, 2025
    Volvo EX90 LiDAR and smartphone cameras: What you need to know
    June 2, 2025
    VNC Automotive Partners with P3 to Enhance the SPARQ OS Platform
    May 29, 2025
Hot News
Commanding performance by Škoda at Rally Poland
Porsche 963 cars raise 600,000 euros in Le Mans towards Racing for Charity
Nissan Formula E Team ready for Jakarta return as Season 11 enters closing stages
50 Years of BMW Art Cars and the BMW 3 Series at the BMW Museum
Ford Performance Returns to Pikes Peak with Electric Super Mustang Mach-E Demonstrator
Latest News

Kia EV9 and Telluride named to Car and Driver’s 2024 10Best Trucks and SUVs

Technology

Mercedes-Benz announces cooperation with Tencent and Electronic Arts at Auto China 2024

Latest News

Volvo Cars partners up with Plug and Play

Latest News

BMW Startup Garage marks 10 years

Font ResizerAa
The Auto MagazineThe Auto Magazine
  • Home
  • Auto Shows
  • Bikes
  • News
  • Concepts
  • Interviews
  • EVs
  • Motosport
  • Trucks & Buses
  • Reviews
  • Tech
Search
  • Home
  • Auto Shows
  • Bikes
  • News
  • Concepts
  • Interviews
  • EVs
  • Motosport
  • Trucks & Buses
  • Reviews
  • Tech
Follow US
Crafted by Intellegere Media. © 2024 The Auto Magazine. All rights reserved.
Motosport

Aston Martin Vantage GTE prepares for final farewell in FIA World Endurance Championship

Itumeleng Garebatshabe
Last updated: November 1, 2023 10:16
By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
755 Views
9 Min Read
Share
9 Min Read
2016 World Endurance Championship Le Mans 13-19th June 2016 Le Mans - France Photo: Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography
SHARE
  • Three Aston Martins to race in Bahrain as curtain falls on the GTE class era
  • Heart of Racing, TF Sport and D’station Racing target victory in season finale
  • Aston Martin aims to equal GTE win record in last race for current Vantage
  • Vantage GTE set to retire with 11 WEC titles and at least 52 class wins

The most successful GT racing car in the history of Aston Martin, the Vantage GTE, will make its final appearance in contemporary motorsport this weekend, as the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) concludes at the Bahrain International Circuit, in Sakhir.

Through its various derivatives, Vantage has been an ever-present in the WEC since scoring a podium finish in its inaugural event in 2012. It has recorded an incredible 52 class wins and claimed 11 world championship titles in that time.

- Advertisement -
Ad image

With the WEC’s current LMGTE regulations coming to an end after this weekend’s finale, to be replaced in 2024 by the new LMGT3 rules for which a forthcoming evolution of Aston Martin’s Vantage GT3 will be eligible, fans in Bahrain will witness the end of an incredible era of sportscar racing; one full of astonishing success for Vantage.

Fresh from its announcement as the works partner team for Aston Martin’s return to the top class of WEC with the Valkyrie hypercar in 2025, Heart of Racing prepares to end its debut campaign in the series on a high. Having taken over the #98 NorthWest AMR entry at Spa-Francorchamps in May, this year’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona GTD class winner has team principal Ian James (GBR), Daniel Mancinelli (ITA) and Alex Riberas (ESP) behind the wheel.

TF Sport, the 2022 world champion and this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans runner-up, will be spearheaded in Bahrain by the #25 ORT by TF Vantage raced by Ahmad Al Harthy – the first Omani driver to score a WEC pole position at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this year. As usual he is partnered by Michael Dinan (USA) and Aston Martin works driver Charlie Eastwood (IRL), the LM GTE Am class winner at Le Mans in 2020.

As well as running its own car, TF Sport assists Japanese team D’station Racing, which features a new face driving the #777 Vantage in Bahrain. With team owner Satoshi Hoshino (JPN) unavailable due to commitments elsewhere, Australian Liam Talbot – the current leader of GT World Challenge Australia and a former GT World Challenge Europe Endurance champion – will make his WEC debut. He partners team regulars Tomonobu Fujii (JPN) and Casper Stevenson (GBR).

All three teams aim to give the Vantage GTE a fitting send-off to an 11-year, 85-race (including Bahrain) WEC career that has featured an incredible 11 world titles, 52 individual wins and five class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

AMR’s Darren Turner (GBR), Stefan Mücke (DEU) and Adrian Fernandez (MEX) began the legend with a GTE Pro podium finish in third place at the inaugural WEC race; the 12 Hours of Sebring (USA), in 2012 on what was the debut of the Vantage V8. A maiden victory followed at the season-ending race at the Shanghai International Circuit in China for Turner and Mücke. One year later and AMR recorded its first WEC title with Vantage when British duo Jamie Campbell-Walter and Stuart Hall took the GTE Am drivers’ crown.

Vantage’s first Le Mans win – to add to the back-to-back GT class victories for the DBR9 GT1 at La Sarthe in the previous decade – came in 2014 when ‘Dane Train’ trio Kristian Poulsen, David Heinemeier Hansson and Nicki Thiim succeeded in GTE Am. Poulsen and Heinemeier Hansson made it back-to-back Drivers’ Championships for Vantage later the same season, as well as AMR securing the Teams’ crown.

It was Thiim’s turn to taste title glory two years later, in 2016. He and another Dane, Marco Sørensen, took the by-then upgraded Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE to the GTE Pro class world championship crown and confirmed the Teams’ honours for Aston Martin Racing. There was further success for Vantage in the European Le Mans Series [ELMS] that year as British trio Andrew Howard, Alex Macdowall and Turner won the LMGTE title with Aston Martin Racing securing the Teams’ crown. Over the years Vantage scored a total of four wins in the ELMS GTE class.

The final flourish for the second-generation V8 Vantage GTE came in 2017 as long-time Aston Martin racer Paul Dalla Lana (CDN), Pedro Lamy (POR) and Mathias Lauda (AUT) won the GTE Am Drivers’ and Teams’ crown and Aston Martin Racing team-mates Jonny Adam (GBR), Daniel Serra (BRA) and Turner scored a famous GTE Pro success over long-time rival Corvette at Le Mans.

The current-specification Vantage GTE, a prototype version of the British-built race car derived from Aston Martin’s critically-acclaimed ultra-luxury sportscar, which shares the same aluminium body-frame and a specially-tuned version of the four-litre V8 turbo-charged production engine, made its debut at the beginning of the 2018-19 WEC ‘Super Season’ and has since set new standards for GT racing.

Having won twice in its inaugural campaign, Thiim and Sørensen clinched their second GTE Pro title in 2019/20. Aston Martin were crowned FIA GT Manufacturers’ World Champions on the same day when Maxime Martin (BEL), Alex Lynn (GBR) and Harry Tincknell (GBR) won the GTE Pro class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and TF Sport’s Salih Yoluç (TUR), Charlie Eastwood (IRL) and Adam did likewise in GTE Am.

A further GTE Am victory at Le Mans followed in 2022 as TF Sport again triumphed with Ben Keating (USA), Henrique Chaves (POR) and Sørensen. It was not quite the end though, as in an incredible year Keating and Sørensen also became FIA GTE Am Drivers’ World Champions and TF secured the Teams’ crown. TF Sport’s outstanding contribution also ensured that Aston Martin won more GTE Am victories more than any other manufacturer in WEC history. With one race left to go, that tally stands at 32 wins…

Aston Martin’s Head of Endurance Racing, Adam Carter, said: “Aston Martin has been one of the pillars of the World Endurance Championship since the very foundation of the category, and through the GTE class, Vantage has set an exceptional standard for others to follow.

“Just as racing has always been in our brand’s DNA, enduring performance is a core value that has shone brightly through the entire GTE era where Vantage is concerned. On behalf of Aston Martin, I would like to offer our sincere thanks to all those who have raced Vantage in the GTE era, to all of our partners who have run programmes through it or contributed to it, and to all the people who have worked so hard on the project through its life-span. We know that what comes next is an intensely exciting period in sportscar racing, both in the hypercar class and also the new LMGT3 class, and we intend to play our own role in that, but for now, let’s soak in the final flourish of a glorious category that has given back so much to Aston Martin.”

The BAPCO 6 Hours of Bahrain begins at 1400 local time (1000 GMT) on Saturday 4 November, and finishes under floodlights as night encroaches. Practice and qualifying take place on Thursday and Friday respectively.

TAGGED:Aston Martin Vantage GTEFIA World Endurance Championship

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Stay Updated! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn VKontakte Telegram Email Copy Link Print
Share
ByItumeleng Garebatshabe
Editor
Follow:
Itumeleng is the Managing Editor of The Auto Magazine. He is a tech and car enthusiast

Follow US

FacebookLike
XFollow
InstagramFollow
YoutubeSubscribe
TiktokFollow
TelegramFollow
Google NewsFollow
LinkedInFollow
- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

You Might Also Like

Motosport

Team Peugeot TotalEnergies won the FIA WEC and ACO Low-Carbon Impact Award

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
November 6, 2023
Motosport

Double finish and top ten for Alpine at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
June 17, 2025
Motosport

Stoffel Vandoorne, official driver of Team Peugeot TotalEnergies for the 2024 season

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
September 22, 2023
Motosport

Bumper grid for the start of the 16th Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe season at Imola

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
April 16, 2024
Porsche 963, Porsche Penske Motorsport (#6), Kevin Estre (F), Andre Lotterer (D), Laurens Vanthoor (B)
Motosport

Porsche Penske Motorsport shows fighting spirit in Texas

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
September 2, 2024
Motosport

Successful baptism of fire for the Alpine A424 in Qatar

By Itumeleng Garebatshabe
March 3, 2024

The Auto Magazine

  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookie Policy
  • Bikes
  • Electric Vehicles
  • Trucks & Buses
  • Auto Shows
  • Latest News
  • Motosport

Made by Intellegere Media. All rights reserved. 2023

Don't not sell my personal information
Join Us!
Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc.

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.
adbanner