Aston Martin Targets LMGT3 Triumph at Imola with Latest Vantage GT3
Aston Martin is poised to contend for victory in the LMGT3 class at Imola, where the newest iteration of its Vantage GT3 will compete under the banners of 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) race winner The Heart of Racing (THOR) and Racing Spirit of Leman, which debuted in the series at Lusail in February.
Sharing its fundamental mechanical architecture with the ultra-luxury Vantage road car, the Vantage GT3 boasts Aston Martin’s renowned bonded aluminium chassis and a formidable twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine. This proven racing machine claimed top honours at last year’s 24 Hours of Spa, considered the pinnacle event for GT3-only competition.
Following a sixth-place finish in Qatar’s demanding 10-hour race, the US-based THOR squad plans to harness that promising start as a platform from which to pursue victory in Italy. Team Principal Ian James (GBR), the only returning member of a driver lineup that secured fourth place in a rain-soaked Imola race last year, also achieved LMGT3 success at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in 2023. He joins forces with 2021 IMSA GTD champion and 2023 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) GTE winner Zacharie Robichon (CAN), alongside Aston Martin works driver Mattia Drudi (ITA)—the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint champion and part of last year’s 24 Hours of Spa-winning crew. Drudi, racing on home turf in a WEC event for the first time, returns to the circuit where he claimed his maiden car-racing victory in 2014.
Racing Spirit of Leman also fields a Vantage GT3 after stepping up from the ELMS last year, having secured a points finish in Qatar. The Swiss outfit relies on Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse Clot (FRA), who partners with Derek DeBoer (USA) and Brazilian Eduardo Barrichello. Hasse Clot and DeBoer fondly recall Imola, where they clinched second place in LMGT3 during last year’s ELMS season with the Vantage.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, commented: “Vantage is Aston Martin’s most successful racing car in various forms, and this latest edition is ready to chase championship titles in its second year. Imola is a challenging and narrow circuit, and its unpredictable weather—evident from last year—only adds to the difficulty for LMGT3 teams. With two operationally strong partners in The Heart of Racing and Racing Spirit of Leman, supported by experienced driver line-ups, we have every chance to pursue further success at Imola.”
