Aston Martin continues LMGTE Am title defence as FIA WEC heads to Monza
TF Sport and D’station Racing goal first WEC victory of 2023 for Vantage
Rolex 24 winner Coronary heart of Racing searching for to regain IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD factors lead at Mosport
Works driver Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas goal for IMSA GTD Professional win
Tuesday, 4 July, 2023, Gaydon, UK: The world’s two most prestigious sportscar collection – the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) and the North American-based IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – are again in motion this weekend as Aston Martin’s a number of championship-winning Vantage seeks a victorious begin to the second half of 2023.
A few of Aston Martin Racing’s key associate groups, the Coronary heart of Racing (HoR), TF Sport and D’station Racing will compete on each side of the Atlantic because the WEC recommences post-24 Hours of Le Mans at Monza (Italy), and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship continues on the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport), in Canada.
On a run of two consecutive WEC podiums, together with on the 24 Hours of Le Mans final month, reigning FIA WEC LMGTE Am class champions TF Sport and drivers Ahmad Al Harthy (OMN) and Michael Dinan (USA), supported by works driver Charlie Eastwood (IRL), head to the 6 Hours of Monza on Sunday searching for to present the Aston Martin Vantage GTE its first win of the season and its first WEC class victory on the cathedral of pace.
Monza represents a essential level within the championship as TF Sport seems to construct momentum into its world title defence. Having completed in second place prior to now two rounds at Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans, a robust result’s crucial with solely the 6 Hours of Fuji (JPN) on 10 September and the normal 8-Hour finale in Bahrain on 4 November nonetheless to happen.
Aston Martin Racing associate staff D’station Racing has additionally loved its finest WEC end result up to now at Monza, ending third on the circuit’s championship debut in 2021. Satoshi Hoshino (JPN), Tomonobu Fujii (JPN) and Casper Stevenson (GBR) goal to attain related, or higher, on the WEC’s final go to to the venue earlier than switching to Imola in 2024.
HoR in the meantime has at all times deliberate to focus its efforts on Spherical 6 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, with the 160-minute race at Mosport falling on the identical weekend as Spherical 5 of the WEC. Because of this NorthWest AMR’s vacant entry, which was taken by HoR at Spa and Le Mans, will stay dormant for the Italian race earlier than being pressed again into motion in Fuji.
The Seattle-based staff, which received the Rolex 24 at Daytona to kick off the season, is eager to get better its GTD factors lead with reigning champion Roman De Angelis (CAN) – on residence soil – and co-driver LMGTE Am world champion Marco Sørensen (DEN) within the #27 Vantage GT3. The automobile received its class on the similar occasion final season. Works driver Ross Gunn (GBR) and Alex Riberas (ESP) in the meantime have proven race-winning tempo all season and are searching for to lastly clinch the victory that has eluded them to date in 2023.
The Vantage GTE and GT3 are prototype variations of the British-built race automobile derived from Aston Martin’s critically-acclaimed ultra-luxury sportscar and share the identical aluminium body-frame and a specially-tuned model of the four-litre V8 turbo-charged manufacturing engine. In all its variants (GTE, GT3 and GT4), Vantage is outstandingly profitable, and is at the moment the reigning Rolex 24 at Daytona and a three-times 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner, in addition to defending champion within the GT Am class of each the FIA WEC and IMSA.
Huw Tasker, AMR Head of Companion Racing, stated: “This weekend is pivotal for our associate groups on each side of the Atlantic. TF Sport has constructed up momentum in current WEC rounds and a win now feels tantalisingly shut at a circuit Vantage has at all times gone effectively on. D’station Racing deserves a robust end result to match all of the onerous work the staff has put in and Monza presents an incredible alternative for this. In IMSA, the Coronary heart of Racing has repeatedly confirmed it may be a pressure with Vantage and we are able to anticipate extra of the identical from the staff at Mosport this weekend. Each HoR Aston Martins have been on the rostrum at this occasion final yr, and the staff is proving to be simply as aggressive in 2023.”
Official apply for the 6 Hours of Monza begins on Friday, 6 July, at 1130 CET, with the race starting at 1230 on Sunday. Observe particulars of the occasion by way of the official WEC web site and App. Spherical 6 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship begins with free apply at 1450 native time on Friday with the race beginning at 1205 on Sunday. Go to the IMSA web site for particulars of learn how to observe the race.
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